The Chronicles Of Subhadra Hegde √

Chronicle 15

Naseema Khan sat beside the bed. The white bed. Numbered - 65.

Who knew, white beds would cover such huge extents of her life altogether?

Naseema found not a tinge bit of improvement in her brother, in all these years. And everytime she realised that, a string of her heart, broke.

He lay on bed, or sat with his back on pillows. Or at most tried to limp upto the window.

Recognised nothing. No one. Blabbered incoherent things.

These days, he didn't even blabber.

Naseema cried, everyday she visited him.

Wasim Khan. Her bhai.

Having been a CBI inspector, even if for a month, the central bureau bore half of his treatment expenses. And the hospital being government affiliated, its charges were minimal. Yet, Naseema felt awkward, submitting bills and receiving a cheque from the headquarters every month. They stared weirdly.

The primary school she now taught in, didn't pay her enough to bear all the expenses herself. She would have done that otherwise.

She repeatedly asked the doctors, why wasn't her brother showing improvements, despite a five year long treatment?

They nodded and said, dementia hardly cured. They were doing what medicine could, keep trying.
They told to take him home, if she felt.

Yet, her heart didn't wish for that ever. What if the daily therapies cured her bhai someday? What if the weekly injections cured him someday?

Naseema hated hospitals. She had herself spent five long years of her life lying in one, unconscious.

And now, her brother did that, almost.

Naseema owned nothing, except for a brother, since sixteen. He was thirteen then.

She had pleaded before him when he decided to join CBI after graduations. " If something happens to you, how will I live bhai? "

" And if I don't, you will die everyday appi.... " , he had firmly said, staring into her eyes.

Local doctors had said, his blood showed something called prions. Like viruses, even more dangerous. They were destroying the cells of his brain. The initial effects were drastic. He lost every present memory at a go..
The disease had then progressively increased.

Naseema knew the treatment procedure in this hospital. Everyday they practised some cognitive therapy to which he mostly didn't respond.
Every Wednesday they injected some medicine.
Every Saturday, they did tests.

When this disease first struck, eight years back, Wasim was twenty five.

Only a month in CBI, just a trainee, wasn't involved in any critical case,
Hence, CBI completely dismissed the idea of his job concerning his sudden disease.

Though the presence of such virus like substance in his body, worried the doctors.

Yet, CBI withdrew, but agreed to take up half of the expenses. Just because he was their trainee.

After three years of race in different directions, Naseema finally settled him in this hospital, the best in Hyderabad.

Since then, her daily routine had been....school in the morning and the rest, beside a white bed.

-----

Subhadra was nearing her twelfth finals, and Maanav, in his second year of MBBS.

" So, you turn eighteen tomorrow. " , Maanav Hegde smiled.