Small act of Love

Orange rays of setting Sun travelling through the branches of the trees touched me through the window, but could lighten nothing inside me. That place beside the window is where I sit for hours, in company of a mild but persistent headache and never passing body pain.

It is vividly visible that nature follows a routine, a cycle, a pattern that transforms the world around and that’s how life keeps going. But what happened seven months ago has frozen the nature inside me, and left me only with the pain in my heart and body both.

I always grieve over a question, that why nature behaved so cruel to me, despite I have always been so considerate with it and people.

I still remember that rainy evening when it was pouring cats and dogs and electricity supply to many areas was cut due to faults.

“Why don’t you wait till the rains are over, Nina?”, asked the owner of the jewelry shop where I worked. He was really a good man and he advised me just out of concern.

“Actually I want to go home before the roads were flooded with storm water Uncle ji.” I looked at his concerned face, and said, “I will be alright! Don’t worry!”

I was going to regret this decision for life!

So, I put on my rain coat, kick started my scooter and headed on my way home. It was already difficult due to rain and shaky wind was making it even more difficult to drive. Besides there were some areas where water was overflowing the roads and it was impossible to know if there was any pothole.

Suddenly.. “Thudd..!” I bumped into a pothole and lost control over the scooter. I was thrown away from the scooter on that flooded road. It happened so fast that I couldn’t even see the car approaching behind... Last I remember is the screeching sound of the brakes and the car running over me.

“Nanu!” My mom’s voice interrupted my thoughts, so I turned my head towards her. “Dear, would you like to accompany me to the temple? It’s an auspicious full moon tonight!”

I wanted to say with a vile “NO...!” But I simply nodded in refusal with all expressions of discomfort. “So are you going to watch TV till I come back? Your favorite nature show is going.” I felt so irritated that I wanted to say, “I don’t care...!” But I simply turned my head towards the window, without replying to her.

“OK! I am putting the remote here, in case your change your mind!”, she said while putting the remote on the sofa. I kept looking outside the window. I heard her footsteps moving out of the room. The front door opened and closed as she got out. Then I heard her walking down the stairs. I saw her going on the street and taking the left for the temple.

After few moments my head turned inside and my eyes moved around the room. I live with my mom in this one room and kitchen apartment. It’s a small room with chair beside the window, a single bed at the opposite wall. There is a cupboard at the wall with the front door and a sofa at the opposite wall. There is a Buddha statue in the upper left corner of the wall with front door.

My father passed away when I was fourteen. My mom has been everything for me after that. But this incident has stretched my relationship with everything and everyone including my mom. I have become irritable and more my mom tries to take care of me, more it frustrates me.

There is a lot of activity going on outside. Some children are playing on the streets. Two wheeler and three wheeler are moving on the same street. Some workers were walking down the street, returning from their jobs. They looked exhausted and over sweated.

A worker was on his scooter with the side indicator on, which was making intermittent short noise in a regular fashion. He also had a lunch bag hanging in the right handle of the scooter. All this reminded me the scene when I woke up in the hospital after the accident.

The first thing I noticed was a strong smell of medicines which can be felt in every hospital. Then I noticed a sharp and intermittent sound that a machine beside me created. I also noticed the IV bottle hanging at the stand to my left, of which tubes were attached to my left arm. There was no one in that cabin. I gradually felt pain all over my body. Soon the nurse came inside and informed the doctor that I gained consciousness.

Soon the doctor came, “Hi dear how you are feeling? You are at the J. H. Thompson Hospital in ICU ward. Can you tell me what your name is?”

The only word I could speak was, “Mom…!”

“Where is my mom?” I asked the question. “Please call my mom…”

“OK… OK! Alright! Relax! Your mom is here only!”

“Nurse, please call her mom.”

Soon my mom appeared with a worried and extremely tired face. Tears fell off her eyes as she looked at me. “Nanu…!”

She stood at the right side of the bed. “How are you my dear?” she held my right hand.

“Mom..??” I exclaimed.

“Mom what is all this? What happened? How did I come here?” I sprung with questions to my mom.

“You are safe! You are alright my dear! Relax! Rest, I am here.”

An hour or so after I gained consciousness, I started to remember things. I remembered the accident. I came to know that I was unconscious when some good people around the accident spot helped me to get to the hospital and informed my mom.

“Thumpp…” “Meow…” A sudden noise probably by a kitten broke the chain of my thoughts again. I looked inside towards the noise.

A small furry kitten, with small ears, small eyes and a little nose was looking directly at me. “Where did you come from?” I spoke. It was still looking at me. It sat calmly on its four legs.

I tried to flee it away, “Shoo…! Shoo…! Go away! Don’t bother me. I have nothing to give to you. Just go. Go…!”

But it stayed there, looking directly at me. Now I was really irritated, I reached my crutches, and with their help got up of the chair. I stood on my left leg and took the crutches below my arms. After I lost my right leg below the thigh in that accident, these crutches have become my new dependency.

I went towards the kitten, it was so brave it didn’t move. I stood there looking at him for a while and asked, “Are you hungry dear?”

“Meow”, it replied in a fine tone as if it understood my question.

I went in the kitchen, found some milk just warmed by my mom, so I took a cup and poured little milk into it. Then I left right crutch at the wall and held the cup in my right hand, and only with the help of left crutch I reached the kitten. I bowed and put the cup in front of him. He rose on his three legs, his right leg looked injured. It reached the cup of milk and started to drink it with its tongue making “clup… clup…” noise.

I felt its pain when it was standing on three legs. I sat down, and started patting on his head. He finished all the milk and looked in my eyes. He licked around his mouth to clean it.

“Are you injured dear?” I asked him. He just came near me and started moving around my left leg, so as to rub his body against mine. That furry touch, that trust, that love… oh my god… I smiled for the first time in seven months.

I took him in my right hand and got up with the help of my crutch. I went to my usual chair and looked outside the window. The sky was filled with orange color. The color never looked so beautiful before. My headache had already diminished. I believe my body pain will also go if I start to move around a little.

The trees are shedding the leaves. It’s spring, a new beginning. Life really never ceases to give opportunities to live, it’s your approach towards the situation, whether you use it or not.

“Ding Dong…”, the doorbell rang. Probably it was mother returned from temple. I put the kitten on sofa, took my crutch to reach the door. As I opened the door, it was mother.

She kept staring at me…

“See mom, who visited us today!”, I spoke with delight, as mom entered through the door.

My mom was surprised to see the kitten, but she was more surprised to see that it made me smile!

“I think we should keep it!”, I asked mother.

“Sure, why not!”, affirmed mother.

“I think we can both take care of it. In fact I think you need it, to come out of your negativeness. You have been living in the coldest spot of your emotions. You should now come out of it. Just like beers come out of hibernation to live again with a new purpose!”