The Hospital

Prologue

It was evening and the busy roads of Hyderabad city were filled with several honking sounds from various cars and buses. Some people were stopping cars and crossing the road. Even though these people are supposed to wait for all cars to stop still they stop the car to cross the road. Some students whose nose was immersed in their books crossed the road without looking anywhere. Several cars and bikes gave a loud horn as they passed by such students. A pretty girl with pale, white skin who wore black glasses and had short black hair, that barely reached her neck, sat in the bus, watching everyone on the road. She wore a dark blue kurta over white leggings. The bus took a sudden turn and the middle-aged man, standing near her, who wore a white shirt and brown trousers almost fell over her. The pretty girl turned and glared at the man. 

"Hasn't anyone taught you how to behave with elders? You should get up and give me this seat." said the middle-aged man angrily.

"Yes nobody taught me anything. I do not have any family. My parents died long back. This seat is meant for ladies so do not ask me to get up. I feel safe only in this seat." The pretty girl snapped back.

People near them were now looking at them curiously. Two women in front of the pretty girl who wore a sari looked at the pretty girl before speaking loudly at her.

"What kind of girl is she?" Said a dark woman with a red Bindi on her forehead.

"So disrespectful!" Said the other woman who wore black glasses.

The pretty girl however did not say anything. She had used the same route yesterday and she had seen the same man falling over another girl repeatedly who stood in front of him. She was disgusted by his actions and she had always hated such men. It reminded her of the man who made her an orphan.

She had lost her father at the age of five. She remembered that fateful day when someone from a hospital had called her mother and informed her that he died in an accident. This news devastated her mother but she suspected something was not right. Right after her father's funeral, a nurse contacted her mother saying that she worked in the same hospital where her father was admitted. 

The nurse told her that the staff purposely delayed blood transfusion so that he could die. On top of it, he arrived hospital much before they were called and nobody told them about this. She also knew that her father had been worried and upset for a week before his death. There were some arguments and fights with his co-workers in his office that were making him upset. She had seen her father's frustration whenever he came home. Usually, she would insist that he take her out but that week she did ask even for a chocolate. 

She remembered how her mother went to the police to file a complaint about suspicious death but no inspector listened to her. They told her that it was a normal accident without even investigating it. She also met many lawyers but most good lawyers asked extravagant amounts. Her mother even tried calling back the nurse who had told the truth, but to her shock, she found out the nurse had gone missing. That nurse's family had filed a missing complaint for her.

Just a day before she took the poison, he, the man who killed my father visited our house. At first, he behaved as though he had sympathy for me and my mother. He had even asked whether we needed help with my education. Her mother denied any help and asked him to leave immediately upon hearing that he slapped her mother. She tried to stop him but being a little girl he easily pushed her away and tried to forcefully kiss her mother.  She immediately ran out to call the neighbors but he had gone by the time everyone came.

The pretty girl slowly pulled the zipper of the pink purse in her lap and pulled out a small white paper. It was the suicide note her mother had written before taking poison. 

Sneha,

I hope you can forgive me. I cannot handle this painful life anymore. I hope you do not hate me for leaving you alone but it is the best for you. I hope that you grow up and become someone kind and honest.

Folding the note, she put the paper back inside the purse. She closed her eyes as she sighed. Though she was full of remorse, she knew she should not cry. Any tear now in front of strangers will probably make her look stupid. Perhaps her mother never wanted her to hunt the evil man down but she could never rest without taking her revenge. 

The man who was responsible for destroying her family must pay for his evil deeds. He was the owner of a very prestigious medical hospital. He had many connections with various politicians and several high-ranking police officers. He also owned many pharmacies and clinics throughout the country.  Her father did not have any connection with him but one thing was clear. With whatever happened in the hospital, he was the one instructing the staff. The only way for her to know the truth was to join this hospital and find out what happened. She wanted to know why he was made to die like that. 

She worked immensely hard for the rest of her life. In the orphanage, she hardly mingled with anyone and focused all the time on her studies and eating healthy food. Once she finished high school, she left the orphanage and worked part-time while writing for the medical entrance exam. With the scholarship for free education, she finally became a doctor. After her internship, she finally applied for the post of duty medical officer in this hospital. She had only one motive in life and that was to find out the real cause of her father's death. She also wanted to punish the owner of the hospital. Had it not been for his power, her father would have been alive.

The bus stopped and she got up adjusting her purse before getting off the bus. Along with her many young women also got down. The pretty girl walked ahead as she kept looking to her right. A few minutes later, she reached a huge white gate that surrounded a large white rectangular building with blue windows. The lights around the building fell casting a purple color impression over the building.  On top of the building in bold, capital letters were written

'LAKSHMI NARAYAN MEDICAL HOSPITAL'