Two Hearts

Two Hearts: A secret

December 2003

Attending early morning lecture is always a struggle and if it happens to be in December, it takes a lot more effort. Anisha rubbed her hands together in a bid to warm her cold hands. She felt like her fingers had frozen and it was proving difficult to write with them. Finals were in a week's time and the lecture hall was half empty, few turning up as most decided to bunk the remaining classes. Anisha was known to attend classes regularly but today for the first time, she felt like she should have given it a miss.
The overhead projector was making a low whirring sound, a slide was on display on the board. Dr Gupta, head of the Medicine department, was taking a class on the topic of Heart failure for the final year students. Right now the presentation had reached the management section and the professor was finishing the pharmacological treatment, the medicines used for treating heart failure.

There was a ripple of muted murmurs amongst the students as the next slide came. It showed surgical options for treatment of heart failure which included a Heart transplant. Without even guessing, Anisha knew her classmates were whispering amongst themselves about her. Some even risked a furtive glance towards her. Feeling perturbed, she furiously scribbled on the notebook taking pointless notes.

Being a final year student at the graduate medical school, the last few weeks had been like a nightmare. She had gone home for the breaks when the news broke out. Her long kept secret was out in the open for people to analyse and scrutinize about. Things went from bad to worse.
Anisha had a rare medical condition of having two hearts. She only knew of another documented case in Germany, a man born in 1844. But the guy was blissfully unaware of his condition until his death when they found out about his twin hearts. But her case was different. Anisha was alive and both her hearts were healthy and beating. After a routine health checkup in her childhood, she and her family were well aware about it but they chose not to tell anyone because they were afraid such a situation will arise. Now the world knew about her. Many wanted Anisha to donate one of her hearts. They say it was a noble deed but she didn't felt that it was a good reason enough to cut her body part and give it to someone. She was bombarded with people demanding her to cave in to their wishes. Instead of being anxious about the looming finals, she had been occupied with all the hype surrounding the disclosure. Till now, they had been very careful of not letting anyone know about her condition but somehow people had come to know about it and it seem like everyone were now very much interested in her.

Why can't they leave me alone? It's my damn heart they are talking about. Hearts. She corrected herself mentally. Is it a crime to possess two of them? Give one away? Why would she?
Her disturbing thoughts were interrupted by a sound behind her. Instinctively, she turned around only to be reprimanded.
"Don't look back! " instructed the voice from behind and Anisha let out a sigh recognising it. It was as usual Karan trying his best to slip in unnoticed from the back door, late again for the lecture.

As quietly as he could, Karan expertly slip into the bench beside her, dropping his white coat on the desk, all the while his eyes on the professor who had his back towards them, busy on the board. Even before Karan had asked her, Anisha had fished out a pen knowing well he had come without it. She quickly glanced at him and she could easily make out that he had pulled an all nighter. His dark moppy hair looked more disheveled today. He must have been up all night because he certainly looked like he had jumped right out of the bed and landed straight in the lecture hall.
Anisha had her intelligence, whereas Karan was deligent, making it up with hard work. They were arch nemesis and kept each other on their toes. If Anisha topped the class in the first year, it was Karan who aced the second year. The third year belonged to her and she had no intention of losing the finals to him. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer would be exactly like how people described them.
On any other day, the fact that he studied more would have made her anxious but not today. Instead, Anisha was having trouble concentrating on the lecture when all she wanted to shout at everyone to shut up talking about her and mind their own business.

"You look a little green," Karan quipped at her.
"I'm fine," she mumbled back.
"Looks like you missed your breakfast," he interjected her thoughts again.
Suddenly, Anisha noticed Karan bringing something out wrapped in a newspaper. Unwrapping, he pushed it towards her. Inside she could see two vadas that had turned soggy by now. Karan had a ready smile on his face as he offered his morning breakfast he picked up from the hostel mess while rushing for the class.

" Eww...Gross," Anisha blurted out making a face and Karan snickered hearing her reaction. Taking a quick bite and munching thoughtfully he watched her for a while.

"I know what's bothering you," he observed. Great. Anisha thought irritated. Now she'll have to listen to Karan's wise thoughts on her situation.

"You are having your monthly period, right?" He asked her in a hush tone.
"What?!"
Anisha exclaimed aloud bringing the attention of the whole class on them including the professor.

Topping the class was no exception to punishment. Both of them were now standing outside, having thrown out of the class for disrupting an important lecture. The professor also found out that Karan had yet again reached the class late.
Normally Anisha would have thrown a fit for being expelled out of a lecture. It was unlike of her but today she was grateful for the escape. She was feeling suffocated inside the lecture hall with all the stares and talks directed towards her. It seemed two things were on people's minds right then. The impending finals and Anisha's condition. She should have said thank you to Karan but thought the better of it. She shook her head, noticing he wore slippers to the class. He had seriously come directly from the bed.

"Let's go grab a cup of coffee," Karan motioned to her as he started walking for the cafeteria.
"We still have another lecture and a clinical class to attend."
She loudly reminded him.

"You are treating me for bringing you out of the class. I'm hungry."
She stared at Karan speechless. Did he deliberately get both of them thrown out seeing how uncomfortable she was inside? Before she mused about it more, Karan called out to her, briskly walking away."Come on..Don't keep me waiting."

"Wait for me!"
Anisha shouted back a reply, keeping up with his brisk pace.