When it happened

When it happened
A Short Story by G.S.Vasukumar

Pawan was seated on a bench outside the ward, with his face resting between the palms of his hands. His face was filled with sadness and pain. The tube light above him flickered like in some horror movie.

‘Why are you so sad?’ asked a feminine voice.

He lifted his face up and saw a young girl standing before him. She was about his age.

‘What happened to the boy inside the ward?’ She asked.

‘He is suffering from brain hemorrhage,’ He replied.

‘Would he be alright?’ She asked.

‘No, he has gone into coma,’ He said, ‘he may live few hours more...’

‘Oh, so sad!’ She said, ‘How are you related to him?’

‘He is my best friend!’

‘Would you like to go for a walk with me outside? I think you need a break!’

‘Alright,’ He said, standing up and joining her. They walked out of the hospital, entered the park, and sat on a bench under the gulmohar tree. Two ducks were swimming in the lake before them. The evening breeze blew gently towards them.

‘Do you have someone admitted in the hospital too?’ He asked, turning and looking at her. She was beautiful. Usually, Pawan was quite shy and reserved towards girls. However, he was quite normal with this girl and it really surprised him.

‘Well, my dad is a doctor in this hospital and I have come to pay him a visit.’

‘Oh, ok.’ He said, ‘I don’t have any friends who are girls.’

‘You mean girl friends,’ she said, giggling, ‘Neither do I have any friends who are boys…err…boy friends.’

‘Is it?’ He asked.

‘If you don’t mind, may I know, why?’ She asked.

‘Well, I am somewhat reserved and shy with girls.’ He replied.

‘Oh, I see!’ She said, I’m not shy and reserved with boys though,’ 

‘By the way, I’m Pawan!’ He said, extending his hand to her, ‘Friends?’

‘I’m Ankitha!’ She said, shaking his hand, ‘Sure.’

They spoke to each other as if they knew each other for many years. They shared so many memories since their childhood days. The sun started to set in the distant sky.

'I think we should go back now.’ She said standing up from the bench.

‘Oh, yeah, I never knew how the time flew,’ He said standing up. Finally, he smiled at her.

‘You know something?’ She asked smiling at him.

‘What?’

‘That smile on your face looks really nice….’ She said smiling, ‘Try to keep it there…it suits your face more.’

‘But there is so much sadness and pain around me..’ He said.

‘That is when you need to smile more, you know,’ She said, ‘So that sadness and pain goes away defeated!’

He smiled at her, ‘Would I see you around?’

‘Oh, yeah. I have vacation. I would come back to hospital tomorrow. Bye till then.’ She said, shaking his hand, before leaving.

Pawan felt really nice. He walked back towards the hospital, smelling his hand. It had her fragrance…the smell of jasmine…he knew that he was in love with her. It was love at first sight. 

As he walked towards the ward, he thought, If she loves me too then the tube light would flicker…and the tube light did flicker one more time…which brought a smile on his face. Love was a strange thing…strange because he saw people in love do strange little things. Just now, even he had done one strange thing…which would have seemed silly to him before he fell in love. 

He peeped through the glass door; his best friend was sleeping peacefully inside unaware of what was happening outside the ward? His friend’s mother was sleeping beside him on a chair. It is so painful to see someone close to you dying, and for a mother who has brought up the son should be really devastating! 

He had been with him so far in his life…life is uncertain and so short too. No one can say with confidence that they would see tomorrow. Any moment could be the last moment for someone…somewhere...he sat down on the bench, thinking about her.

He couldn’t forget her wonderful smile....I can’t wait till tomorrow…I can’t….his heart told him. Meanwhile, Ankita too realized that she had deeply fallen in love with Pawan. She was waiting for love to happen for so long. Finally, it had happened. Nothing else mattered to her anymore….she couldn’t wait till tomorrow. So she went back to the hospital to meet him.

She saw him sleeping the bench outside…he had a smile on his face and she knew that she was the reason for that wonderful smile. She sat beside him, took his hand gently into hers. She kept her head on his shoulders and went to sleep.

Suddenly, he woke up with a jerk…saw her sleeping beside him...he had heard beeping sound of the machine inside the ward. He went inside and touched his best friend’s hand as he breathed his last breath…his life line flattened out on the machine screen beside him. His eyes welled with tears. The mother woke up with a jerk and cried her heart out seeing her dear son no more! 

A hand touched his shoulders; he turned and saw Ankita standing behind him. She wiped his tears with her fingers and hugged him.

They walked together hand in hand outside the ward. A stranger was waiting for him outside the ward.

‘It’s time for us to leave!’ He told him.

Pawan had treated himself as his best friend. The boy inside the ward who had breathed his last breath was none other than Pawan Himself. His soul started wandering out of his body when he went into coma sometime back. 

‘Cant I stay back for some more time please?’ He asked the stranger, who was none other than the death himself.

‘Please let him stay back!’ Ankita pleaded with the death, ‘You’ve already killed him. Please leave his soul for me. I have fallen in love with him. I was waiting for love to happen in my life…but it didn’t! It happened to me after my death….I have waited for it so long…please!’

The death looked at her cute face. He remembered how the cruel fate had ended her life sometime back…he couldn’t do anything as it was her destiny. He had let go her soul then on her request,

‘You could take us both, if you have to take him!’ She said, with tears in her eyes.

‘Don’t cry! It doesn't suit you!’ The death said smiling at her, ‘I would come back sometime later to take you both along with me...till then have a nice time.’

The tube light above flickered one more time and the death vanished into the darkness.