Unsung Legend

I was very hungry, tired and exhausted from my long journey. I had walked for almost 300km on foot. I could see a man-made gate in the main entrance to the village and a few tall men standing there with big sticks in their hands. They were the gatekeepers of the village. I was very curious and wondered was it due to the global pandemic. The deadly virus spreading across the world which had caused havoc. It had created an impact on my life as well. The entire state was under lockdown and no vehicles were allowed to move around. Being daily labor I was away from my village to the city for work. The situation demanded me to take the long walk.

The moment I came close to the gate I was stopped by those familiar faces. The local police had given a compulsory notice to every village stating that whoever came from other states had to be kept away from the village people. They needed to be under self-isolation i.e quarantined for 14 days.

My life was not like any other ordinary person in the village. Deprived of a father from a very early age made things more worse for me. To add to the fuel we belonged to the lower caste. The villagers always looked down upon us. My mother was a very strong woman, she didn't lose hope and raised her three kids. She worked in the fields under extreme weather conditions and also at various homes as a maid to keep our fire burning.

I had two elder sister and I knew I had to get them married. These thoughts always kept me aloof from my studies. I quit them in my 5th standard and worked in the fields to add an extra hand to the family earning.
Once while working in the rice paddy fields I was bit by a venomous snake. I was admitted in a local hospital where my life was saved. The doctors told my mother that I was very lucky to receive the most rarest blood i.e AB negative just in time. I always knew I had the most rarest blood in my veins. I even sold them at regular intervals to earn some extra money. Yet the money crisis never really diminished.
My village was very small and it didn't have a dense population. There was a very big banyan tree at the entrance to the village. That's how the village got it's name Battala. Bengali name for a banyan tree. It was almost 100 years old. The tree was home to many birds and insects. I was about to make one for myself now.
My new home wasn't very comfortable but I didn't have much to complain. My entire life I always managed to survive and I knew these 14 days wouldn't really be any different. My mother got the news that I wasn't allowed to enter the village which really aggravated her. The other villagers weren't stopped since they had some local influence or they were powerful. I was deprived of both. The first night sleeping on the banyan tree branch was really uncomfortable. I spent an entire sleepless night.
Early morning I could see my mother walking towards me with a tiffin box in her hands. I could see the tension brewing inside her head for my well being. God has created so many creatures but nothing can be more beautiful than a mother. She will always put her life in the frontline to protect her kids.
I quickly assured her that I was doing well and told her to get me food just once for the entire day so she wouldn't have much trouble for me. I spent that entire day on making my makeshift bedroom under the banyan tree. It was definitely better than the later.
I had almost spent 8 days under self isolation when I was awaken by a loud screeching noise at midnight. At first, the noise made me almost shit in my pants in fear. Sleeping under the banyan tree wasn't an easy task. On most nights I had horror dreams.
The next morning, I got to know that the local MLA's son from our village tested positive. His condition was deteriorating every hour. Doctors couldn't do much about the situation. The patient was moved to the ICU. The doctors were in need of AB negative blood. Being the rarest of the kind it wasn't available anywhere. The rich and the powerful MLA was helpless. This made me wonder how the other day the rich and the influential villagers managed to enter the village but I was left stranded. My only crime was not being rich or powerful. Money and power also becomes helpless when God desires for the same.
The entire village doors were knocked and asked if someone had AB negative blood. I tried to act nice and asked the MLA about the situation but he got so angry on seeing my face that he started throwing abuses at me. I felt as if I was the cause for his son's condition. I slowly retired to the banyan tree and climbed on the top most branch and sat down. I could hear the noise of the chirping birds which eased off my anger.
A few hours later, I heard the gatekeepers talk about the kid under the the banyan tree. The moment they spoke the word AB negative I slid down the branches and was standing right next to them. I told them about my blood group.
The very next moment I was lying in a hospital bed happily donating my blood but this time I wasn't charging any money for the same. I was promised that I could go back to my home and didn't need any more isolation. I couldn't be any happier to finally be amidst by family.
The next few days were very peaceful. I had a proper bed to sleep. There was a ceiling fan and a radio but it wasn't much of any use since the fan made a terrible noise.
It was a Sunday morning when I saw the MLA and his wife come inside our home. I was scared of his face. But to my surprise he came running towards me and gave me a tight hug. He had tears rolling down his eyes. I was still standing shocked. He broke the silence by saying that his son was totally cured from the virus and he was very grateful for my blood donation.
We happily feasted on the sweets that he had brought for us. Happy moments are very short lived. The government was making announcements everywhere asking people to stay indoor. The virus had grown very strong. The world had lost about 1 crore people to the virus. Scientists were yet to find a cure for the same.
Every dark night is over come by sunlight. I woke up hiding my face from the sun rays peeping through the hole in my room. Before I could brush my teeth a group of doctors completely covered in mask entered our house and escorted me into their ambulance. The entire journey I was wondering if I was positive to the virus. They didn't speak a word to me. On reaching the hospital they ran several test on me. They took various blood samples in different size bottles. The doctors were moving around so quickly yet so organized as if it was a performance at a theater. My eyes went hazy and I passed out.
The cure was found for the virus. Once again humanity won the race.
P.S - You must be wondering what happened to the boy ? How was the cure found? Well, just like before he was a poor, helpless and powerless boy so he didn't have any choice. The cure was in his bone marrow. The doctors didn't even care for any approval nor did it matter much to anybody. He was declared dead.Reason of death Virus 🦠