Silent Screams (Part 8)

Anandita’s father ran outside to inform to his family, Sameer and Tanya that Anandita was out of danger. Though what he said next broke everyone, especially, Sameer. He said, “She is completely out of danger but…” He took a long pause which was scaring everyone. “But what?” her mother asked exasperated. “But,” her father continued, “The bones of her right hand and left ankle will take time to heal.”  “Thank God,” Sameer whispered. Her father turned to him and said, “I am sorry for having behaved that way. I was just worried for my daughter.” “We completely understand, uncle,” Tanya piped in with a slight smile, “You know me, uncle and aunty. And he’s my brother. Please trust that he won’t do any such thing as hurting her to this level.”

Throughout the meeting with Dr. Arun, there was only one thing going on in Dr. Awasthi’s mind- ‘Who was the girl?’ And ‘why did she feel such a connect towards her?’  She was internally very happy now that she will be able to see whatever was there on the paper. IN her heart somehow, she knew that what she was doing was wrong. She shouldn’t be seeing something that was found in someone else’s pocket. But, she was curious. She wanted to know. So, she decided to stay mum about the piece of paper.

When she entered the cabin, she saw two people sitting at her table- a girl and a boy. She wondered who they were as she silently walked towards them.  “Yes?” She asked, “Did you need anything?” “Yes, we needed to talk about Anandita,” said the boy, “Hi. I am Sameer.” “And I am Tanya, his sister” the girl said. “How are you related to Anandita? And before you ask for anything personal or classified information, let me tell you that I cannot disclose any information to you about any of my patients.” “We just wanted to ask,” Sameer said, “is she going to be okay?” “Yes,” Dr. Awasthi said, “She’s going to be fine. May I know how are both of you related to her?” “I am sorry,” Tanya said, “we didn’t introduce ourselves properly. I am her best friend and senior. I passed out of school few years ago. This is my brother. He is Anandita’s classmate. He was the one who found her in this condition.” “Oh,” Dr. Awasthi said thoughtfully, “did you find anything?” “I am sorry,” Sameer asked, confused. Dr. Awasthi cleared her throat and asked, “Did you find anything around her or with her when you spotted her first or when you were bringing her to the hospital?” “I don’t think I should be sharing any of that with you,” Sameer said a little miffed. “So,” Tanya turned to her brother and stated, “you did find something.” Sameer remained silent. “See,” Dr. Awasthi tried to explain, “I am the doctor who operated on and will further be treating Anandita. This, definitely, is a case of physical abuse. The police is going to be involved. And I will need to know if there is anything that she had on her or with her that isn’t there with her now.”

Her explanation made sense to him. His sister was still staring at him as though she could see through his soul. Sighing heavily, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the tattered piece of paper that he had found and read. He, then, placed it on the table and sid it towards Dr. Awasthi. Without a word, she carefully picked the piece of paper and kept it in her hand bag, just where the other piece of paper was. She knew how to differentiate between the two; because the piece of paper that she had found has blood stains on it as it was found a little later, as compared to the one that was found by Sameer.

“Both of you look tired,” Dr. Awasthi said, “you should go home and rest. Anandita will be fine. She needs rest.” Nodding their heads, they left her cabin. After informing Anandita’s father that they would visit the next day, they left to go home. Their parents were awaiting a long explanation.

Silent Screams (Part 7)

The ticking of the clock was the only sound that echoed through the corridors. Every minute seemed to be very long. Anandita’s parents and her sister were sitting outside the operation theatre on one side while Tanya and Sameer sat on the other. Everyone was worried. There was an eerie silence only their heavy breathing was heard other than the ticking of the clock. They feared for Anandita’s life.

The colour of the bulb outside the operation theatre changed from red to green and a doctor emerged out of the theatre. Anandita’s dad ran to the doctor to know how his daughter was doing.

The doctor quietly asked him to follow her to her cabin. She then handed him a glass of water that was lying on her table. After Anandita’s father calmed down a little, the doctor spoke in a firm and calm voice, “You have nothing to worry about. Though the bones of her right hand and left ankle will take time to heal, Your daughter is out of danger. She needs complete rest.” “Thank you doctor…..,” Anandita’s  father said with tears in his eyes. “Dr. Shibani Awasthi,” she completed.

While Anandita’s father ran outside to give the good news to his family members and consequently to Sameer and Tanya, Dr. Awasthi sat at her table and pondered on what had just happened. As she pushed back her glasses, she thought about how the girl that she operated on was somehow special to her. She had never felt any kind of emotional connection towards any of her patients in thirty years of her service as a doctor. But this time it was different. She didn’t know how but there was a certain pull that she had towards the girl was lying there unconscious. For the first time, in so many years, her hands shivered as she picked the surgeon’s knife to operate on the girl. She was still swearing at the thought of it and was glad that it was over.  

After a few minutes passed by, she opened the drawer on her right, picked the photo which was kept facing downwards, looked at it and smiled. For her, it seemed like it happened only yesterday. She was brought back out of her reverie as she heard footsteps outside her cabin. She quickly placed the photo back into the drawer and closed it with a loud thud. She then went on to straighten her navy-blue coloured cotton saree and her doctor’s coat. She put her hands into both her pockets and felt something in her right pocket. Pulling out a tattered piece of paper, she remembered how the nurse said that she had found the paper in Anandita’s clothes while changing  her into the green coloured hospital gown.

Just as she was about to start reading it, the ward boy, Raju, knocked at her door and said that she was being summoned by Dr. Arun Vaidhyanathan for her opinion on a case relating to another patient. She went to her table and carefully placed the tattered paper in the side pocket of her hand bag so as not to lose it. She, then followed Raju, out to meet Dr. Arun.