She sat on the bench and listened to the leaves
rustle against the fierce
wind.
The horizon had
darken now causing the street lamps to light one by one
bringing to sight her flushed face to passerbys. The wind caused the tears on
her face to leave streaks on her once rosy cheeks. But the appearance of her
face and internal bodily conditions was the last thing on her mind. The only
word to describe her state at the present moment was empty. Everything she had
worked for had now come to an end'
Flashback
The patient's heart rate is dropping. Get a crash
cart screamed a nurse. The sixty two year old billionaire had suffered from two
heart attacks already and had been hospitalized a few days prior for cardiac
pain. The fact that he had an appetite for greasy foods and his arrogant angry
attitude did little to help his health. To treat this patient was beyond
impossible. The demands just got more outrageous day by day, from wanting only
specific organic foods to expecting the nurses to be his personal massager. But
nothing could be done about it since he was the hospital's trustee and his
money was very important. However, one person that could care less about the
status of this patient was his doctor. She was a simple woman with only one
sight in mind doing her job to the fullest. And this was one of the attributes
that landed her the title of the hospital's top doctor. She had graduated summa
cum laude from Harvard Medical School only three years ago and having such high
recognition at a young age would make anyone boast but not her. She had solid
focus that not even a bunch of dancing gorillas could break. Life could be
credited for allowing such focus. It had treated her harshly but she learned
sitting around moping would change nothing. Standing up on her own two feet
would be the only way to survive and that's exactly what she did. She had never
thought that it could all come crashing down in an instant but it had.
She was walking past the emergency room that day and
a fifteen year old basketball player had been brought in after collapsing
during a game. The medics brought him from the ambulance on a stretcher while
the nurses rushed to the nearest room to set up all the equipment. After
checking his pulse, Geet realized he was dropping and quickly began to
administer the proper treatments in order to get him stable.
Meanwhile Mr. Walters, the billionaire trustee
started to have chest pains. The nurses began to panic and rush here and there
trying to get everything in order to get him stable again. Dr. Handa was paged
and even an announcement was made over the intercom. At first Geet was too
focused on the collapsed boy to notice her incessant pager but one of the
nurses got her attention. Although she knew Mr. Walters was an important
patient so was this young boy, his life was just as important. So only after
she finally got him stable did she rush upstairs, dodging nurses and flower
delivery boys until she made it to the sliding glass door of Mr. Walters
hospital room. The sight that greeted her caused the veins on her temples to
pound and her heart to race. The EKG machine had steady yet deadly beep and Mr.
Walters body was covered with a white sheet.
The next few hours were like living nightmare and
her life turned upside down. Dr. Handa was immediately called in for a meeting
by the hospital administrator and other board members. She had expected to be
suspended for a week at the most but what came hit her like a ton of bricks.
They questioned her reasoning behind saving a young boy's life verses that of a
billionaire trustee of the hospital. She replied a life is a life; money has
nothing to do with it. The Hippocratic oath she took mentioned nothing about one
life being worth more than another. However, the hospital was under pressure
from the Walters family and didn't want to hear any of it. As a result she lost
her job, but that was not the worst. She was also hit with a malpractice suit.
This left her crippled. She knew no hospital would hire her until it was
cleared hence Geet could no longer work. The decision to save the life at hand,
doing her professional and civilian duty had now cost her not only her job, but
everything.
Back to Present
So she sat there in central park completely
oblivious to the things going on around her. Her phone had now about a dozen
missed calls and three times as many messages from Meera. Despite everything
and everyone that had changed or disappeared in her life, Meera was a constant.
She was her anchor that supported her but at this point it seemed beyond
impossible to make this situation better. Finally after realizing it wasn't
safe to be out this late she decided to make her way home. All she wanted to do
was curl up in a ball and hide under the covers but she knew with Meera around
that wasn't going to happen.
She quietly opened the door to her loft hoping that
Meera wouldn't notice her come in but who was she kidding? Meera had been glued
to the sofa facing the door and the moment she saw some movement on the handle
she jumped up and rushed towards it. Once Geet managed to slowly make her way
in at a snail's pace, Meera just gave her one of those hugs. The icy feel of
Geet's face against her alarmed Meera asked her where on earth she had been all
this time.
Geet couldn't say anything she had lost her energy
to speak from all the crying. She was lost, empty, and felt utterly useless.
There were a million questions running through her mind. What was she going to
do now? The one and only thing she desired most in life ever was to be a doctor
but now it was over. She didn't want to think about it anymore let alone talk
about so she managed in a creaky voice and told Meera so and went off to bed.
Meera realized this was worse than she thought it
was going to be. Yes, Geet was strong, there was no doubt about it. After
everything that happened with her family and in her past she emerged as an
independent and smart woman. But now this was a blow to her confidence and
everything she had dreamed for. Meera couldn't see her like this, so she had a
plan that would do just the trick to help Geet.
Elsewhere there was also someone using all the charms
and tricks they had in order to get her stubborn grandson to submit to her
wishes. But alas it was of no use as usual.
"Maan
please just think about it," pleaded the elderly wise lady who was at her wits end
trying to convince her stubborn grandson into a being more social being.
"No Dadi, I've told you before and will say it again I'm not interested in any
of this." Maan was used to his Dadi's daily shenanigans with this topic but
today she seemed more adamant and emotional than before.
"What
about Piyu at least think about her. She needs a mother's love." Dadi
hoped maybe this angle would change his mind.
"Dadi she has both of us and is perfectly happy. Plus I don't want anyone
around her that won't love her as much as she deserves to be."
"Beta I know what you mean but not everyone is like her. I can't and won't let this go on any longer, I can't see you like this
anymore. For how long will you continue this torture? Please just think about
it'"
Maan
felt defeated he had a soft corner for Dadi especially when she was all
emotional like this. So he agreed that he would think about and immediately
left for his meeting. Tell Piyu I'm
sorry I couldn't see her before I left. I'll see both later tonight, saying
that Maan Singh Khurana grabbed his briefcase and walked out of his Hamptons
vacation home.
Life
has not been a walk in the park for Maan. Yes, he is one of India's greatest
businessmen and due to his hard work he is now making waves in the
international market. But this success in this professional ladder couldn't be
reflected in his personal life which was a completely different story. One
after another individuals came in his life and left either by will or chance.
But whichever one it was did not matter since they all had given him the same
emotion, pain. Life would give him a taste of happiness then snatch it away
even before he was able to fully enjoy the sweet moments. These experiences
caused him to not expect much from people and life. That's why Maan Singh
Khurana's life consisted only of work and the two ladies that were always there
for him, Dadi and Piyu. Women were something he'd lost faith in, he didn't hate
them just felt an indifference towards them. Maan always guarded himself by
keeping busy with work. To the world his business was where his happiness lay but
he couldn't deny the emptiness he felt inside. Indeed he could deny his true
feelings to the world but within he was a broken man.
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