Hope Believe Magic

IVF

Rachna grabbed a coffee and a brownie. She looked around and found an empty seat in the corner, which she occupied. She wanted to give the older couple some, much needed, privacy. She settled down and started browsing through her phone, watching reels on instagram when she heard a familiar voice, "Is this seat taken?" She looked up and smiled at Rakesh. "Hello Doctor, please ukkarunga." He smiled back saying, "Thanks but please Rakesh ne koopdunga." Rachna smiled and said, "Ok doc.... I mean, Rakesh" and they both chuckled. He cleared his throat and said, "Enna indha nerathula inge vandhu ukkandhu irukeenga? Usually coffee vaangee udane room ku poiduveengale. Hmmm.... I am not stalking you. I just noticed that the past two times. Adhu thaan." Rachna nodded saying, "Oh ok. You don't seem like a stalker anyway but uncle and aunty were having a moment and I wanted to give them some privacy. What an amazing couple they are. Avanga love story solittu irukaanga. Wow! Their break up story before marriage was so sad." Rakesh gave a nervous laugh, "You have not even heard their stories and struggles yet. In fact, you have only heard the good part of their life. Avanga madiri irukardhu ellam is just one in a million. They turmoils they have faced are unimaginable and the thing that kept them going was and is the unconditional love they have for each other. AK uncle still looks at Shivu aunty as though she is the most beautiful woman on earth and Shivu aunty, uncle a vitte kudukka maatanga. She is a feisty lady who will fight the world for him." He took a sip of his coffee and continued, "Unakku onnu theriyuma? When all my friends were talking about SRK-Kajol chemistry or Surya-Jo chemistry, I would tell them that they need to meet my AK uncle and Shivu aunty to understand what chemistry actually means. Sadly, God keeps testing good people and, I feel, He is merciless when it comes to them. If I could love my partner half as much as AK uncle does, I would consider myself the wealthiest man in the world."

Rachna became curious, "you are lucky to have grown up seeing them la? You must know everything about them. Velilerndhu paaka they look very happy. What do you mean when you say God is merciless?" Rakesh looked up at her and said, "Ok I will give you a glimpse of their life but before that how well do you know Ananya?" Rachna, wondering where this was going, answered, "Not at all actually. I have barely spoken to her a couple of time. We have exchanged hellos and goodbyes but we really have not spoken much. I also get the feeling that she isn't very interested in talking to me because once I ask her something, she takes a few moments before responding, almost as though she doesn't want to answer but she seems really sweet." Rakesh smiled sadly, "That's not because she doesn't want. It is because she has a cochlear implant and she can hear you only after her machine processes it." Rachna was shocked, "Enna? What? What do you mean? Oh my goodness! I feel like such a moron. Enna achu but I have never seen her implant." Rakesh continued, "Both AK uncle and Shivu aunty are very fond of kids. Amma told me that, apparently, right after uncle and aunty got married they were eager to start a family and did not wait. Uncle always wanted a daughter and aunty, a son. Within three months of their marriage, aunty became pregnant. Everyone was thrilled but, in 6 weeks she had a miscarriage, which shattered her but all they could think of was to start a family. After 3 miscarriages, Shivu wasn't able to conceive. They consulted several doctors and endured several painful test, only to find out that everything was normal. Five years of trying and nothing was happening. Even though people around her was nice to her, she felt that she had failed Uncle, as a wife. It would break her heart to see him playing with me and my sister, Pugazh Anna's boys etc. Finally, she suggested IVF. It was an expensive procedure with 50/50 chance. It was also very painful both physically and mentally. Uncle tried to convince her to not go through this but aunty was adamant. They were aware that with IVF, if everything went well, they could very well have twins or even triplets. Shivu aunty would make the mood lighter saying AK namakku oru kallu la rendu manga possible and he would laugh with her.

The IVF was a success. AK uncle and Shivu aunty were thrilled to find out that they were pregnant with twins. They were ecstatic. They went to every possible temple, praying for the well being of the children. The three month threshold passed and Shivu and the babies were doing fine. One night right after her second trimester, Shivu was rushed to the hospital. She was bleeding profusely and the babies were in severe distress." Just then the alarm in the hospital went off and a blue code beeped on Rakesh's pager. A patient was in cardiac distress and he had to rush immediately.

Brinda Subramanian