When life gives you a second chance | Wattys2019

Chapter 2-The end of him

'Why has she come here again? What else does she want?' yelled my mother-in-law as I stepped in. She was very upset with my move. 'First, she brought my son to the deathbed and then got the pension papers signed for her daughter. I have never seen such a selfish woman in my life. Now get lost from here. We have nothing left to give you,' said she and squeezed my hand. I howled and pushed her away. Unable to bear the force, she landed on the floor and stared back.

'I am sorry. I didn't do it on purpose' said I as Rakesh helped her stand on her feet.

'How dare you push my mom? You know what, she's right, you are so selfish Netra' said my brother-in-law while I couldn't control my tears anymore. I ran out of the ICU and broke down crying. There was no one in that room who could understand my pain and concern. They were so lost in their son's degrading health that they forgot about his daughter and wife. None of them gave a thought about us. What would we do after his death? Who was there for us? They didn't think about it and just kept blaming me. I didn't get that pension for myself, in fact, it was for Aarohi. Wasn't Aarohi a part of their family? I wondered.

'I am not selfish......' I said, 'I am not selfish....' I repeated and punched my fist on the wall. Blood started pouring out of my hand but I wasn't aware of it. The pain was not as intense as my mental suffering.

'Ma'am, there are other patients here. They will get disturbed, so please maintain silence,' said a nurse who came running listening to my scream. She noticed the blood pouring out of my hand and stood stunned. 'You are bleeding ma'am.' She helped me stand up and had a closer view of my hand. I had punched on the edge of the wall which led to a big scratch. Hence blood kept flowing out. She immediately took me for dressing.

'You should have been careful Ma'am' said she as I remained lost. My mind resisted listening to her, as it kept thinking about my in-law's rude words. The word Manhoos chimed continuously in my ears. 'Are you listening?' she gently placed her hand on my shoulder. I quickly came back to my senses.

'I am sorry' said I and walked out to the verandah. She hadn't completed the dressing yet and kept calling out for me but I refused to turn back.

'Sister......, sister....... Please come quickly. Something has happened to my son, My mother-in-law came running unexpectedly. The nurse, terrified by her cry ran towards the ICU and I followed her. As soon as we reached there, I stood traumatized.

Saurabh's mouth was covered with blood and he kept vomiting the same on his shirt. His pulse and heartbeat kept dropping. I was petrified after seeing him in that state. My mind had stopped thinking and my heart had stopped pumping for a few seconds as I saw him lay unconscious.

'I have to call the doctor right away,' mumbled the nurse and hurried out of the ICU.

'Saurabh.....' I walked towards him when suddenly my Brother-in-law blocked my way. He had made up his mind to keep me away from him. Hence I stepped back without creating a fuss.

'Don't you dare near my brother,' he ordered.

'Everyone, please step aside. I need to check him' said the doctor, who entered hastily. We all moved away from Saurabh. He checked his pulse, breath, and mouth.

'His pulse is dropping steadily, and he is not breathing.' said he and instantly started pressing his chest. 'Sister, get me the defibrillator, quick' ordered he. There was so much hustle and panic in the ICU in the last ten minutes that I started feeling suffocated. I kept breathing heavily. The doctor tried to get his heartbeat back by using the defibrillator but it failed in the first attempt. He tried again but his body wasn't responding and finally, he gave it a last try but ALAS!

Saurabh was dead,

His heartbeat had stopped. I could see a straight line in the Electrocardiogram. The machine showed his heartbeat and pulse rate as zero