"Your BP is high Mr Singh," said the doctor. Mr Singh smiled and remained quite. He had no justifications to give to his doctor as to why his blood pressure went high. "Are you following your diet?," asked the doctor. Mr Singh just nodded and replied, "yes doctor."
"Is there anything that's bothering you?," the doctor enquired. "Some things are meant to be confidential doctor. Some personal things...some family matter...some issues..," replied Mr Singh in a low tone. "Mr Singh, it takes me so much courage to let you know that you had requested for a full blood count and results are here. Perhaps you did not feel or sense it that something is not going okay with you. You have blood cancer," said the doctor. Mr Singh stared at his doctor's face. He did not asked him if there is any treatment for it or any form of medication to reduce the effects. "Don't loose hope, Mr Singh. I'm prescribing you some medications and I suggest you to go to India for treatment. The sooner the better," comforted the doctor. "How much time do I have doctor?," Mr Singh asked with a heavy heart. An unusual silence remained in the room. The doctor himself could not speak. Such cases were common to him but after attending Mr Singh, he became sentimental. "Maybe 6-7 months," replied the doctor. Mr Singh stood up from the chair, with the doctor's prescription in hand and marched out. So many questions raced in his mind. "What will I tell at home? How will I tell Ashni that...! And my Aastha..! ," weeped Mr Singh. He sat in cab from Valelevu hospital and headed towards to his home.
Kabir was working on his latest project which was due in a month's time. He would message Aastha everyday, especially in the morning but getting a reply from another side, was not that often. Sometimes he used to laugh to himself and make up his own imaginations. He reached home quite late that day and was surprised to receive a call from Mrs Singh. "Hello Aunty. Is everything alright? You called me at this time of the hour ," asked Kabir with concern. "Arehh no! I was just remembering you so I thought to call," said Mrs Singh. "Ohh ok. How are you? How's uncle?," asked Kabir. "I'm good, Son. And so is your uncle. Did you had a talk to Aastha anytime?," asked Mrs Singh. Kabir did not utter a word for some time. After a long pause he said, "No aunty. It's quite a long time we've talked to each other." "Alright, Kabir. Goodnight son," said Mrs Singh. Kabir nodded and hunged up the call. He sat at the table thinking why Mrs Singh was interrogating so much. He picked up his phone and messaged Aastha. With phone in his left hand, Kabir stayed awake for an hour but there was no reply. "Maybe she's sleeping ," he said to himself.
Mr Singh did not let anyone know about his blood report. He feared how his wife and kids might react. But either today or tomorrow, he had to revel. But how? He typed his resignation letter and emailed it to the principal. Upon asked by his wife, Mr Singh said that he's not willing to work anymore.
The month of October had arrived and 3 months passed by, but Mr Singh did not revealed it to anyone about his sickness. It was a shiny and busy day. Mrs Singh was busy with their annual pooja ceremony with Aastha while Parjeet heading towards his final examination. Mr Singh insisted his son to drop him to a lawyer for some important work. "Important work? What type of work, Pa?," asked his son. "The lawyer needs some consultation from me. It's good to share some knowledge,Son ," replied Mr Singh. "Okay," said his son.
"Now only vegetables are left, aye?," asked Mrs Singh. "Yes, Ma. Don't worry, I'll check. You go and rest now," said Aastha. "I'm going to take a nap. Don't disturb me," said Mrs Singh. Aastha nodded and picked up her phone to check her mails. She noticed there was a message on messenger from Kabir. The message read;
"Sorry to disturb you but your Ma called me mins ago. She was interrogating about whether we had talked to each other anytime soon. I denied and did not tell her anything. Is everything alright, Aasthu (nickname of Aastha)?"
Aastha got confused and shocked at the same time. Why would her mother call Kabir, 11 at the night. For a moment, she thought Kabir is lying but her heart denied. She had known kabir for quite a long time and lying was never his principles. He is a guy full of truth, Aastha thought. She replied;
"Apologies for the late response. I'm good and so is everyone at abode. I'm shocked myself to hear all this, Kabir. Thanks for not letting Ma know anything. I trust you KK (nickname of Kabir)."
At the table during dinner, Mr Singh asked, "Parjeet, what are your future plans?" "Pa, I'm not really decided but for now, I'll apply for jobs soon after graduation and look after you & Ma," replied Parjeet. "Ok, I see. What do you want from me? How much share do you want from my property?," asked the father. Aastha and Parjeet got stunned and exchanged a horrible look. "Pa, everything is yours. Why are you asking all this? ," replied Parjeet. Aastha sensed something fishy but puzzled. "No, I've fully retired now and it's best I give you all my belongings so that none of you fight amongst yourselves after my death someday," said Mr Singh. "You're fit and fine, Pa. Relax," said Aastha.
Mr Singh had made his final will and told his lawyer to revel the shares upon his death. He took his medications on time but his inner feelings was telling him that he's about to leave. Just thinking about death gave Mr Singh shivers and thrill run to his spine. He wept everyday behind closed doors secretly. He opened his wardrobe and searched for his file. The file had some blank papers with a black pen. The lamp was on and Mr Singh began putting ink to paper.
Aastha sat on her bed crossed legged, doing diary entry. Diary writing was her hobby and she used to decorate it with so many creative work. "Aastha, are you free? ," asked her mother. "Yes, sure. Come in, Ma," Aastha insisted. Mrs Singh sat on the bed and said, "I'm your mother and will always want your best. I'm speaking to you with a cool mind and make sure you give a second thought to it. Your father and I are getting old, and if someday either one of us go suddenly, than you'll be the one to regret. I hope you get married soon and get a burden off our shoulders." "I understand you, Ma. Don't mind me saying this but I never knew that I am a burden on you people. Don't call me your daughter if you think I'm a burden on you. Am I your real daughter?," asked Aastha. Mrs Singh stood up in anger and slapped really hard on Aastha's face. "Ma, are you out of your mind? ," shouted Parjeet. He dashed in front of his mother to protect his sister. "Don't slap her again," said Parjeet. "Just shut up and don't dictate me. Just look at this girl! Ankita never had courage to talk to me like this. You are not my own flesh and blood, no wonder you show your true colors just in a blink of an eye," shouted Mrs Singh with wide eyes. "Ma, Di was talking to you politely but you end up slapping her always," sobbed Parjeet. Mrs Singh disappeared from the room. Parjeet hugged his sister tightly and consoled her. "Don't take words to heart, Di. She's getting old and old people get crazy with no time, aye!," said Parjeet which made Aastha laugh. "So you mean that Ma has gone mad?," laughed Aastha. "Don't tell her, lol," teased Parjeet.
In the quiet night sky, not even a single star danced with each other. The dogs did not barked like it used to. The moon hid in the admist of clouds. The leaves slept unknowingly. The night remained very peculiar and restless.
