The Magic Gel
Aleksandra blew a fuse when she saw her son Misha still playing in the garden. “Misha” she shouted. Look at Arina she is ready for the school. You must get ready when I come out of lab. She went into the lab adjacent to the out house in the garden. Her husband Ivan was sleeping in the lab with his head resting on a table. He could sleep comfortably in bed but he chose the proximity of Aleksandra although he had nothing to do in the lab. Aleksandra is a scientist at Philadelphia Pharmacy community engaged in drug discovery. She is a Ph.D at Ohio State University, post-Doc at Massachusetts Medical Research Centre. She has a bio-analytical laboratory built in the compound of her house. Most of the time she is absorbed in her research work. She disengages herself an hour before sending her children to school, assists them with their work and sends them to school. Her husband Ivan is a doctor in the local Beslon hospital which is neither big nor sophisticated. Ivan belongs to a large peasant family. Although he had better opportunity at Moscow he accepted his calling to serve his native town Beslon. Aleksandra quit her job in America as she found her moorings in developing a new gel that joins skin without surgical sutures. Presently she is enjoying her unemployment. She is elated with joy of achievement as her research has come to an end. “Mommy I am going to school” Misha shouted. Alexandra hurriedly came out of lab to walk him up to the gate. “Dosvi daniya”(bye) she said in Russian waving her hand to him. When Misha left for school she got into the lab again. Ivan woke up 'dobroye ‘ootro (good morning) he greeted her with a smile. She smiled back and said “your breakfast is ready on the table” I will join you at the breakfast table. She said. When Ivan left she applied the gel on her skin where there was a cut. A few minutes later she locked the lab and came out. Then she looked at her cut. There is no cut. There is no trace of any scar. She jumped to the breakfast table to share her joy with Ivan. Ivan congratulated her on her success. “Okay I will arrange for the clinical trials” he said. She was excited. In the evening the children came back form the school. She spent her evening with her children playing. She worked diligently and cooked mouthwatering dishes for dinner. That night she was on cloud nine. “No lab work Mommy? “Said Arina. No lab work today, tomorrow and tomorrow. Misha looked dazed. She hugged her children and kissed them. They were kept away from mom for a long time. The family sat together for dinner after a long time. After dinner she spent some more time with children. She was talking about the places in America. Arina was listening with great interest but Misha is more interested in her medical research and drug discovery. She told Misha about drugs and the different stages of drug discovery until they were sleepy. The children said good night and moved to their bed room. Ivan was applying gel on his arms where he had scars. He was applying the gel all over the arms. Alexandra laughed at his attempt to look more glamorous. She was about to switch off the light she heard a scream from Ivan. “My hands, my hands” shouted Ivan. Ivan’s hands are missing. The children rushed back to father. They could not find Ivan’s hands. Alexandra was at sea. She went near her husband and placed her hands on his hands. She was astonished. She couldn’t see but feel the hands. Her fingers became greasy. When she removed her hands, the part of Ivan’ hands touched by Alexandra were visible. Her fears are alleviated. Ivan hasn’t lost his hands. They are vanished. She understood that the gel has another effect. She quickly wiped his hands with a towel. They are visible again. “God” She shouted. The children jumped with glee to see the magical effect of the gel. She decided to work on the gel the next day. But Misha determined to work on in that night. When Mom, dad and sister were sleeping Misha began to feel restless. Curiosity had got better off him. He tiptoed into his parent’s bedroom. He groped in the dark for the gel. He easily found it on the bedside table of his father. He wanted to try the gel on himself. He stood at the dining table in the hall. The gel was too transparent to see. He first applied the gel to a pen. It is visible. He was confused. He applied it to a glass on the dining table. He was disappointed to see that the glass. He stood before the mirror in the hall and started applying it on his body. Gradually his image disappeared in the mirror. He could see the wall in the behind him in the mirror. He stood like a statue. He didn’t know how long he stood. He walked in the hall and touched everything there. He was happy about every thing except about the pen and glass which were still visible on the table. He stood in front of mirror again. Only mirror. When he budged he saw some hair, nose, eyes. His shape was slowly fading in. A minute later he could see himself clearly.
