A sad story

I always wanted to try to write a tragedy ala Chekov. This is my attempt at it. I have to complete it yet, so read at it your risk.
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“Shall we talk to him?” Seenu asked Aarthi who was refilling the oil in the ‘Diya’. Suddenly there was a whiff of air and the flame of ‘Diya’ flickered. Aarthi’s heart missed a beat and she quickly covered the flame with both of her hands. She sobbed out aloud. Tears rolled out of Seenu’s eyes. Seenu held her close. He could see her bloodshot eyes in the faint light of the ‘Diya’. They cried resting on each other’s shoulders. ‘Diya’ burned brightly as if to comfort them in a warm hug of its glow.

Rahul was lost in the land of dreams in the room next door. He was busy chasing butterflies on the Chocolate Mountain. Aarthi always told him about those Chocolate Mountains. “The Evil Dragon and the Chocolate Mountain” is his favourite bedtime story. Seenu and Aarthi made up this story for their bundle of joy.

“When will I go and kill that evil dragon?” Rahul used to sleepily ask before slipping into his dream world. “Soon” Aarthi would kiss him goodnight. She couldn’t stop cursing herself for saying so as Rahul is soon going away to the chocolate mountains forever.

Seenu and Aarthi are married for last eight years. Their joys had no bounds when Rahul arrived into their world. Everything was normal then. When Rahul took his first step their joy leaped. They screamed out of happiness when he uttered his first word. They felt as if they have conquered the whole world when he called them ‘Amma and Nanna’. Everything was so normal. Rahul was 5 years old when something out of normal happened. Rahul fell sick. He lost weight rapidly. He ran fever constantly. None of the doctors had any clue. All the treatments were exhausted in vain.

Dr. Reddy a well-known paediatrician took up the case. He treated Rahul for 2 months. In spite of Dr. Reddy’s assiduous treatment there was no marked improvement in Rahul’s condition. Seenu and Aarthi started praying to all Gods they could come across. “Give our health to our son and his health to us” they would pray.

A week ago Dr. Reddy called both of them to his office. “I am very sorry,” he said mopping of the white hair from his forehead with a grave expression on his face.

“I read and reread the reports and ‘its’ in the final stage,” he said with lot of grief in his voice and a drooping head. Seenu couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He felt numbness creeping all over his body. Aarthi simply gazed through the window behind Dr. Reddy with her lifeless eyes. It’s strange how each one of us reacts in a different way when confronted by our deepest fears.

“I am afraid that medical science is not that advanced to cure. …Rahul” Dr. Reddy said turning towards the window and wiping his tears off.

Dr. Reddy in 30 years of his career has handled many terminally ill patients, but this case became a little too personal for him. He got attached the sweet smile on Rahul’s face. Rahul calls him ‘taattiah’ (grandfather) affectionately. The little one reminds him of his six-year-old grandson whom he has never seen except for the photographs emailed by his son from the far shores of America.

Nothing moved in that office for a long time. Not even air.

“Is there any hope if we take him to the foreign specialists?” Seenu asked praying silently for a ray of hope. Tears rolled down from Aarti’s dim eyes. She didn’t even make and effort to wipe them. Seenu held her hand tight.

Dr. Reddy without turning towards them said, “I have been corresponding with doctors in US working in this area, they also have the same opinion…” His voice trailed off. He took a tissue to wipe his tears off.

Aarathi was as old as Rahul when her grandfather fell ill. Her granny lit a ‘Diya’ and would always stay near it day and night. “Why are you doing this granny?” asked little Aarathi. “This is not a normal Diya sweetie” granny kissed Aarthi on her forehead “this is the light of life, as long as this is lit your grandfather will be with us” Granny said with a moistened eyes. Aarathi never forgot those words.

“If science can’t cure my Rahul, my faith and my love will cure him,” Aarthi said to herself by lighting a small Diya in a corner of her small kitchen, where she worships a couple of framed paintings of Gods whom her Granny gave her before she died.

It has been two days since they came back from Dr. Reddy’s office with the grim news. Since then Aarthi never left the side of her Diya, all she would do is sit and look at the soot coated pictures of Gods as if questioning them “why us?”

Aarthi has always been fighter and never took anything lying down. She wants to fight and save her Rahul but doesn’t know how to or with whom. The sheer helplessness of this situation is making her more insolent and angry. Diya is her statement of defiance against ‘The Fate’.

Seenu is very practical and pragmatic. He took Rahul out everyday to the playground which is a short walk from their home. “Why I am not able to run?” Rahul asked one day with tears in his seeing his friends playing soccer. Seenu had no answer.


to be cont...