Once Upon A Time - Short Story Collection

The Black Sesame Seeds

1

The continuous beeps and then the whirr of the ECG machine brought out a paper roll with the latest recordings of Rajamma's heart rhythm. She was on life support and hardly sensible of her surroundings.

Sandhya stood near Rajamma's bed undeterred by the paraphernalia. However, she could stay only for a few minutes at the Intensive Care Unit. She sighed, looked at her mother-in-law once more and made a beeline for the exit.

"They want to brief us," Madan, her husband said in a tone devoid of emotion. She nodded and followed him to a small room. It held a narrow desk with an old-fashioned desktop computer, a file stack, and chairs on either side of the desk.

The duty doctor and a nurse greeted them. The nurse quickly pulled out Rajamma's file to take down notes.

"So are you related to patient Rajalakshmi?"

"Yes, I'm her son and this is my wife."

"Coming straight to the point. She has been on ventilator support for the past 24 hours, has renal and liver failure. Her BP was normal last night, so we did dialysis. After that, her BP dropped," she peeked into the file and continued, "It is 70/30 now, that's a concern, and we can't attempt dialysis again. Her blood toxicity is high. She is on very high antibiotics and other drugs. We are doing our best, but her diabetes and thalassemia condition are not helping us."

"What about blood transfusion?"

"We've already transmitted two units of blood, and there is no improvement. We have an experienced team and giving her the correct medical attention."

"What is the road ahead?"

"Well! Let's hope for the best. Improving her BP is our priority, and then attempt dialysis again to reduce the toxicity. If you've no more questions, then... We'll... We'll keep you posted if something happens else we'll counsel you every hour," she finished and looked at them as if they were dismissed.

Madan and Sandhya had no other choice than to move out. Both of them signed the counselling acknowledgement form and left the room. They retreated to the waiting area to find it full to the brim and humid beyond measure. It had a drinking water stand in a corner, and a couple of ceiling fans chugging at moderate speed.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sandhya requested a mother and her teenage son to adjust on a three-seater stainless steel chair to accommodate them.

She mused if these chairs were designed to make one uncomfortable, so they would stand and stretch their legs occasionally, some odd way to inculcate a healthy habit.

She abstained from thinking of Rajamma, the future was uncertain, and wondered if Madan was in sync with her thoughts since he did not talk about it. He, however, pulled his cell phone out to keep his father, Chandram, abreast of the current situation. He, additionally, spoke to his elder brother, Charan, from California.

After an hour, they were counselled again and her condition had no improvement.

2

On a rainy September morning, Rajamma complained of chest congestion. By then the humdrum was quite familiar. As Sandhya made breakfast and lunch and prepared her children for school, Madan set up the Nebulizer and assisted Rajamma. In the meantime, Chandram sorted through the hospital files for the latest reports and prescriptions to take along with them if her state aggravated.

It was a calm morning, each of them knew their roles. They were far from the days of panic, confusion, and uncertainty. Even the children knew the routine and caused no trouble. They wished Rajamma a good day and sought her blessings before they left for school. When nebulization provided only a little relief, she was shifted to the railway hospital in an ambulance.