Abrupt

Abrupt

Tip toeing through the dark, making his way into the kitchen, to make himself a cup of coffee while accidently knocking something over or tumbling down himself, splitting the silence and making a din in the process, was not quiet the routine Indrajeet Mehta was looking to set, when he came home, to stay with his parents.

The Mehta’s were convinced that making coffee was merely an excuse for their son to wake them up several minutes before the sun got onto its business! So, his clatter became a part of the ‘routine’ Mehta family could most certainly count on but would never look forward to, each morning. His noisy journey from his room to the kitchen had turned into an unpleasant alarm for his entire family. And one year was a significant amount of time to get used to any routine, no matter how unpleasant it was. Yet, Sudha, the elder one, had been waking up with a scowl on her face ever since the pandemic began. Each morning, she was ready to give her younger brother, Indrajeet, a telling, hoping he will learn to keep it down in the morning.

The global pandemic brought many bachelors back to their parent’s home in India. The Mehta family also reunited under the same roof after 3 years. A family of five, the Mehta’s made a happy lot, with the kids (Sudha and Indrajeet) the parents and their grand-father. Just like every family in the world, this family too retreated from its social circle and did everything to avoid the virus.

Back when Indrajeet was a kid, he was too sensitive to cold, so his mother never allowed him to leave the house whenever it rained. And so, as a kid he associated ‘rain’ with a ‘pause button’ to life. It was only once the rain stopped, did his mother allow him to step out. So, his 27-year-old self, cheered himself up by thinking of COVID as a very, very long rainy day. He would get to step out when the sun was out and the rain was gone. Until then, his quiet life with family was very comfortable.

One year had passed in the blink of an eye and now all those who survived the infection were convinced about their victory against the virus. Their lives slowly began to un-pause. Everyone was ready to celebrate the end of this unforeseen pandemic, people began to get back on their plans which were interrupted by spread of the virus. Some rushed to get married after their new found realization about life and how short it is, some others planned the trip that they absolutely had to take before they died, but Indrajeet Mehta did no such thing. He was an engineer and he planned his MS in neuroscience and made several applications to universities abroad. It was not that he had no desire for all such things, yet he chose to keep himself safe to pursue his dreams. Once all this was over, he shall live peacefully, he thought. So, he studied hard, got good grades, applied to big universities and waited for his chance to make his life large.

It happened on a dull Saturday morning. He was taking his usual route to the nearby grocery store, a weekly chore he agreed to do because Sudha had cunningly chickened out, but he was happy that she did, because this weekly trip to the mart was his one chance to use his bike these days, to get some fresh air.

He looked at the dark grey sky and wondered how much more? How long will this long-rainy-day turn out to be? He told himself that vaccines are here and everything is returning to normal. So hopefully, not very long! A shy voice inside his head admitted that he could get used to the less crowded roads and grocery stores, and then he took a long deep breath. He looked down the empty street and accelerated. He had his moment and then came back to his senses. He slowed down immediately. Right now, he couldn’t tell if it was the yearning for these long peaceful bike rides or the constant indoor activities, that green looked greener and that the dull grey sky wasn’t gloomy, it was beautiful. He smiled at the thought of missing all this when he will be gone!

Oh! just a few years. I am definitely coming back! I am not leaving this place, no way! He told himself. It was a lovely place. Quiet and peaceful. Now that he was going to leave for MS very soon, he had started noticing every detail of this locality. The wide roads neatly lined with trees, the community park where he skinned his knee several times playing cricket with his friends and the friendly neighborhood.

He lost himself in nostalgic childhood memories and noticed just in time that a child riding his tricycle came onto the road suddenly and Indrajeet had to act quick. It was a small incident and would have been far from being fatal, had this heavy vehicle not been tailing his bike trying to over-take him. The kid was saved, Indrajeet was on the ground from the sudden impact of the brake on a gravel-filled road and the truck driver not expecting to find Indrajeet on the road out of the blue, panicked. It was too late before the truck driver came to his senses.

In the next ten minutes Indrajeet saw himself in a pool of blood, saw many people rushing him to the hospital, he was going in and out of consciousness due to blood loss and barely became aware of his surroundings when he saw the hospital staff refusing him admission because they had exhausted their limited supply of oxygen. He knew now that he was counting his last moments. If there was any chance for him to live, it was only if he got a ventilator. His count-down had begun and just then as they tried to rush him to another hospital, he ran out of time. This time, he did not regain his consciousness. He just lay there motionless, his eyes wide open. Open…! probably because that was the path his soul chose, to leave his body forever.

15 minutes ago, everything was fine. The heavy vehicle was in fact the truck that came to deliver a refrigerator at the Mehta residence. It was his birthday gift to his mother. She was delighted and was waiting for him to come home, but little did she know that this was her one wish he could now no longer fulfil!

Even though death is the most certain, most inevitable end for every living being, it is its aftermath that one can never fully be prepared for.

Mr. Mehta’s Facebook page turned into an obituary overnight and his home fell into ruins. Following morning, it seemed as though a spell was cast over the Mehta household. Silence so powerful, it was heart-rending. Whether it was the shock, the abruptness, the trauma of the untimely departure of a young vibrant person from amidst them or the habit of having him wake them up with his unceremonious clatter each morning, who knows? But the next morning all four of them forgot about his demise and waited in bed thinking Indu will topple something and it will be 5 AM then. And when sunrays filled their rooms and the silence was still intact, all at once everyone came to the tormenting realization. A realization that this silence was here to stay …… and him……he was GONE!!