Friday
6:42 p.m.
6:42 p.m.
If you think this world is the most ideal place to live in, then I might have something different to tell. This guy Krish, who is lying down there, is a victim of this society bathed in heinous crime and vicious people. Selfish people who loves to complain the government about bad roads and at the same time never cares about littering their neighborhood. He never believed me when I warned him about the darker side of this world. He used to mock me saying, "Stop it Phantom !! don't be so pessimistic !!"
For them, we are a group of maniacs living on our own agenda. They categorize people with logical values, as eccentric guys. They brand them as 'depressed souls' and they fail to understand that, one way or another, they had been responsible for our unprecedented melancholy. Krish was never like this, until he saw the true color of his fellow men.
"it was a Monday morning and you can pretty much understand how we would have felt. We were too reluctant to start our day, but still we pushed ourselves to move on. Our mornings are usually spent in Aachi mess with the aroma of idlies making our mouths to water. Soon we realized that aroma and taste were two different entities that never goes hand in hand. Idlies were so awful that we had to swallow in chunks, with a sugary sambar to dip in.
it wasn't the idlies or the samber that kept us so loyal to the mess, but it was her. Mrs. Geetha, the mess owner, who was so kind enough to give us credit that ran deep. She was a plump woman in her early fifties and often carried her best smile, with giant kumkum on her forehead. Every morning she never forgets to advice us, "nalla padikanum kannu" (study well!!) On that day, I was itching to comment on her idlies, but Krish pinched me to shut my mouth.
The sky was cloudy with humidity levels soaring up and sweat trickling down Krish's face. An elderly lady with a straw bucket full of jasmine garlands was at our mess doorstep.She was all geared up for her day's business. with a small box filled with bundles of green twine and a rusty blade. Every morning she used to offer a garland at the small Ganesha statue that sits under the banyan tree across the road.
Today was no exception, with the jasmine garland in her hand, she was halfway across the road, before which the hands dropped the flowers and went on to grab her head. Only then we realized that she was about to pass out. Before our reflexes could sense the gravity of the situation, a speeding van stuck her. The impact was loud that she was thrown away a good 20 feet. There was a deafening silence which seemed to engulf everyone on the road.
We ran towards the slowly mushrooming crowd and we had to wriggle to move past them. The old lady lay motionless with her arms twisted at an awkward angle. Slowly, a pool of blood was masking the tar road. Krish went near the lady and turned her head. Her temples were wet with blood and she gave a deep sigh with her eyes rolling upwards. That's when someone from the crowd,
" Thambi !! Don't touch her !! It's an accident and we've to wait for the police to come by" (1st guy)
"We don't 've time for that, the longer we wait, we're likely to lose her" said Krish.
"Can anyone call the ambulance?? " (2nd guy)
"It's 108!!" (mumbled the 3rd guy)
No one seemed to be responding, except being spectators. I could see that Krish was losing his head now and the sight of blood gave me a dizzy feeling. With the old lady resting in his lap, he flicked his mobile phone, but to his horror, the phone had no charge in it.
"aayyyy !!! you are getting into unnecessary trouble. If she dies, you will spend the rest of your life shuttling between the courts and the police station!!" (4 th guy)
"She isn't dead !! we can't leave her like this!! Can someone call the ambulance or at least help me to carry her to my college hospital ??" pleaded Krish.
No one gave a damn to Krish. There was a steady murmur in the crowd and the old lady was losing her blood rapidly. I could see that in Krish's blue shirt, it was turning dark now. Krish could feel her blood close to his heart, begging him to do something, that's when an autorickshaw came near to us. The driver helped us to carry her to his auto,
"Anna, please go fast, her pulse is feeble. VSB medical college, anna !! Take the first left from the bridge and then on to your second left.... " trembled Krish.
The auto driver signaled to tell us, that he knows the place. The auto shrieked, jolting us with the vibrations and it began its ride with the three of us into the busy traffic.
"Just when we thought we had hope, things took a dramatic turn in our college hospital. We had the lady in the stretcher and rushed her in the corridor. A male nurse came from no where to stop us. He had a hand on the stretcher to prevent us from going further.
"Accident?? is the police here??" asked the male nurse.
"We're losing her. can you alert the nus station about the trauma case??" shouted Krish.
"Nothing doing. We can't take her in.. you are a student! don't you know that we can't handle such cases without the proper consent from the police?? take her away" said the guy, still holding the stretcher.
"Fuck your shitty procedures, Don't you see she is dying here?? I'll be fucking responsible if something happens" yelled Krish.
The whole hospital was watching the acrimonious duel between Krish and the staff. The lady at the reception rapidly punched the nos. at her phone. Every now and then, Krish was feeling for the pulse in her, and he was losing hope. Soon, a middle aged doctor with a pot belly came towards this commotion.
"What the hell is happening here? Don't you people understand this is a hospital?? we've patients here !! " said the doctor.
"Professor, this lady met with a accident and she has a head injury. We need to treat her but no one seemed to understand the gravity of this. Please professor admit her, please !!" pleaded Krish.
Meanwhile, the male nurse whispered to the doctor and the doctor nodded his head in approval of that.
"I see your concern but we can't treat her here. She needs to be taken to a government hospital. Your a second year student and you have to get through a lot. So I'm advising you to stay away from this." said the doctor.
"what?? why do you need a government hospital?? what are we then?? " shrieked Krish.
"Are you nuts?? are you going to ruin your career for a stranger, who is going to die?? shouted the doctor.
I could sense that the situation was way beyond my control and Krish was going crazy. He chuckled,
"Screw your fucking degree" yelled Krish and we moved out of the hospital towards our auto driver.
The auto driver promised that he would take us to the nearby government hospital. Krish sensed something wasn't right and I could see that in the old lady's face. She was turning pale and there was no warmth in her body. Her eyes opened wide enough to look at us. We felt something for the first time in our lives, a soul leaving the body. She was calm with her eyes half open and dried blood near her temples.
The auto came to a halt by Krish's shrill cry. He was sobbing and tears were rolling down. We have lost a soul in our hands, something which could have been avoided. We killed her by our fellow men's fucking attitude. The whole auto seemed to be filled with Krish's cry and the fragrance of jasmine. The driver turned towards us and said,
"This is an ugly world and its definitely not for her "
7:22 p.m.
Krish was never the same after that accident. Even though she was a total stranger, the sorrow left him with a void. Before he could recover from it, he had to pick up a brawl with Mahesh in the cafeteria. When I had things under control for him, his dad had other plans. I know how it feels, when someone like your dad, whom we have been idolizing all our years does something shit like this. This is world is sick. Hang on.. I guess, Krish is waking up,
"Krish!! Krish!! are you alright bro??"
His eyes looked bloodshot and the eyelids were half closed, he was trying to look at me. He was constantly swallowing and his Adam's apple moved rhythmically.
"I'm all good man, but my mind is fucked up" said Krish.
"I can see that bro. The driver was fucking true, this world isn't for us!!" and I hugged him.
"Let's go somewhere where we can meet some real people. What do you reckon?? Shall we ?? asked Krish.
I nodded my head and we both moved towards our balcony. The city looked electrifying with million lights and a buzz of traffic. We stood there watching the horizon in front of us. A world where people were doomed by hatred and spreading the sickness. They consider us as psychic and if we don't leave this place, in few years time we would be filled hatred. Krish smiled at me and I stepped on to the steel grill of our balcony. The cool air blew across our faces to welcome our new journey and we jumped into the new world that was waiting for us.
Epilogue:
The auditorium was quiet except for the group of press reporters occupying the first row of the hall. In few minutes time, there was a buzz in the hall. The Principal of VSB college and the Inspector of Police entered the hall and without the slightest hesitation, they jumped onto the diaz. The Principal was not happy to see his college to be flooded with media and press. That was the last thing he needed at this stage with his retirement in few months time. With a stern face, he gave the sheet of paper to the inspector. The inspector then began his address,
"It's a moment of grief and agony for all of us. Last night, one of the med students from VSB Medical College, Mr.Krish committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of men's hostel in the campus. The hostel guard had seen him standing on the balcony grill a few minutes before he made his jump. It is said that Krish had shown signs of mental disorderliness in the last couple of days.
He had been found talking to himself on most occasions and his friends have ascertained this. As per the Dean's statement, it is highly likely that he could have created an imaginary friend to fight his solitude and anguish. There has been no suicide note left in his room, but the walls of his room had been scribbled with a name called 'Phantom'. We are assuming that he named his altar ego or his so called friend to be 'Phantom'.
The body has been sent for postmortem and we've informed his dad about his suicide. Once the report comes, we will have a clear evidence on his death." said the Inspector and he began to move outside with the reporters stalking him like a fox for some more blood and gore. In the mean time, the sky outside grew dark for a shooting star to began its journey into a horizon.
----------------------------------------------------
We ran towards the slowly mushrooming crowd and we had to wriggle to move past them. The old lady lay motionless with her arms twisted at an awkward angle. Slowly, a pool of blood was masking the tar road. Krish went near the lady and turned her head. Her temples were wet with blood and she gave a deep sigh with her eyes rolling upwards. That's when someone from the crowd,
" Thambi !! Don't touch her !! It's an accident and we've to wait for the police to come by" (1st guy)
"We don't 've time for that, the longer we wait, we're likely to lose her" said Krish.
"Can anyone call the ambulance?? " (2nd guy)
"It's 108!!" (mumbled the 3rd guy)
No one seemed to be responding, except being spectators. I could see that Krish was losing his head now and the sight of blood gave me a dizzy feeling. With the old lady resting in his lap, he flicked his mobile phone, but to his horror, the phone had no charge in it.
"aayyyy !!! you are getting into unnecessary trouble. If she dies, you will spend the rest of your life shuttling between the courts and the police station!!" (4 th guy)
"She isn't dead !! we can't leave her like this!! Can someone call the ambulance or at least help me to carry her to my college hospital ??" pleaded Krish.
No one gave a damn to Krish. There was a steady murmur in the crowd and the old lady was losing her blood rapidly. I could see that in Krish's blue shirt, it was turning dark now. Krish could feel her blood close to his heart, begging him to do something, that's when an autorickshaw came near to us. The driver helped us to carry her to his auto,
"Anna, please go fast, her pulse is feeble. VSB medical college, anna !! Take the first left from the bridge and then on to your second left.... " trembled Krish.
The auto driver signaled to tell us, that he knows the place. The auto shrieked, jolting us with the vibrations and it began its ride with the three of us into the busy traffic.
"Just when we thought we had hope, things took a dramatic turn in our college hospital. We had the lady in the stretcher and rushed her in the corridor. A male nurse came from no where to stop us. He had a hand on the stretcher to prevent us from going further.
"Accident?? is the police here??" asked the male nurse.
"We're losing her. can you alert the nus station about the trauma case??" shouted Krish.
"Nothing doing. We can't take her in.. you are a student! don't you know that we can't handle such cases without the proper consent from the police?? take her away" said the guy, still holding the stretcher.
"Fuck your shitty procedures, Don't you see she is dying here?? I'll be fucking responsible if something happens" yelled Krish.
The whole hospital was watching the acrimonious duel between Krish and the staff. The lady at the reception rapidly punched the nos. at her phone. Every now and then, Krish was feeling for the pulse in her, and he was losing hope. Soon, a middle aged doctor with a pot belly came towards this commotion.
"What the hell is happening here? Don't you people understand this is a hospital?? we've patients here !! " said the doctor.
"Professor, this lady met with a accident and she has a head injury. We need to treat her but no one seemed to understand the gravity of this. Please professor admit her, please !!" pleaded Krish.
Meanwhile, the male nurse whispered to the doctor and the doctor nodded his head in approval of that.
"I see your concern but we can't treat her here. She needs to be taken to a government hospital. Your a second year student and you have to get through a lot. So I'm advising you to stay away from this." said the doctor.
"what?? why do you need a government hospital?? what are we then?? " shrieked Krish.
"Are you nuts?? are you going to ruin your career for a stranger, who is going to die?? shouted the doctor.
I could sense that the situation was way beyond my control and Krish was going crazy. He chuckled,
"Screw your fucking degree" yelled Krish and we moved out of the hospital towards our auto driver.
The auto driver promised that he would take us to the nearby government hospital. Krish sensed something wasn't right and I could see that in the old lady's face. She was turning pale and there was no warmth in her body. Her eyes opened wide enough to look at us. We felt something for the first time in our lives, a soul leaving the body. She was calm with her eyes half open and dried blood near her temples.
The auto came to a halt by Krish's shrill cry. He was sobbing and tears were rolling down. We have lost a soul in our hands, something which could have been avoided. We killed her by our fellow men's fucking attitude. The whole auto seemed to be filled with Krish's cry and the fragrance of jasmine. The driver turned towards us and said,
"This is an ugly world and its definitely not for her "
7:22 p.m.
Krish was never the same after that accident. Even though she was a total stranger, the sorrow left him with a void. Before he could recover from it, he had to pick up a brawl with Mahesh in the cafeteria. When I had things under control for him, his dad had other plans. I know how it feels, when someone like your dad, whom we have been idolizing all our years does something shit like this. This is world is sick. Hang on.. I guess, Krish is waking up,
"Krish!! Krish!! are you alright bro??"
His eyes looked bloodshot and the eyelids were half closed, he was trying to look at me. He was constantly swallowing and his Adam's apple moved rhythmically.
"I'm all good man, but my mind is fucked up" said Krish.
"I can see that bro. The driver was fucking true, this world isn't for us!!" and I hugged him.
"Let's go somewhere where we can meet some real people. What do you reckon?? Shall we ?? asked Krish.
I nodded my head and we both moved towards our balcony. The city looked electrifying with million lights and a buzz of traffic. We stood there watching the horizon in front of us. A world where people were doomed by hatred and spreading the sickness. They consider us as psychic and if we don't leave this place, in few years time we would be filled hatred. Krish smiled at me and I stepped on to the steel grill of our balcony. The cool air blew across our faces to welcome our new journey and we jumped into the new world that was waiting for us.
Epilogue:
The auditorium was quiet except for the group of press reporters occupying the first row of the hall. In few minutes time, there was a buzz in the hall. The Principal of VSB college and the Inspector of Police entered the hall and without the slightest hesitation, they jumped onto the diaz. The Principal was not happy to see his college to be flooded with media and press. That was the last thing he needed at this stage with his retirement in few months time. With a stern face, he gave the sheet of paper to the inspector. The inspector then began his address,
"It's a moment of grief and agony for all of us. Last night, one of the med students from VSB Medical College, Mr.Krish committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of men's hostel in the campus. The hostel guard had seen him standing on the balcony grill a few minutes before he made his jump. It is said that Krish had shown signs of mental disorderliness in the last couple of days.
He had been found talking to himself on most occasions and his friends have ascertained this. As per the Dean's statement, it is highly likely that he could have created an imaginary friend to fight his solitude and anguish. There has been no suicide note left in his room, but the walls of his room had been scribbled with a name called 'Phantom'. We are assuming that he named his altar ego or his so called friend to be 'Phantom'.
The body has been sent for postmortem and we've informed his dad about his suicide. Once the report comes, we will have a clear evidence on his death." said the Inspector and he began to move outside with the reporters stalking him like a fox for some more blood and gore. In the mean time, the sky outside grew dark for a shooting star to began its journey into a horizon.
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