THE MIRACLE

THE MIRACLE

       After the daily chores to which Tara had to be a mere silent but often complaining spectator ,she sat in the chair overlooking the long road , occasionally glancing at the TV that ran the selected channel and the Goddesses photos neatly arranged in the corner of the room. She was suffering from terminal Motor Neuron Disease and all her muscles were either flaccid or atrophic, so that she could not move any of them. She was wrapped in a body that did not listen to her , the only thing she felt was her mindfully alert mind, her racing heart and her laboured breathing.

       She was nearing 65years, thin and frail, her head lay stooped, unable to straighten as the muscles holding them were weak. Her husband, retired from working in an MNC company, was her constant companion. She was staying with her daughter ,who was married to her own relative and hence tolerated her morbidity. Her grandson, studying in 9th standard was her life and breath and at her beck and call. Her another son was working in USA in a genetic laboratory researching on stem cells and drugs for Neuro-cognitive disorders and gave her immense hope by promising a cure with a new drug.

      She turned to the window to recon the road leading to her house . It was a long one and afforded a panoramic view of the entire half a kilometre stretch. It was brimming with activities far surpassing her active mind. Her whole world revolved around it ;the constantly changing streaming humans and their machines of varied colour ,age and hue lend a sense of the present ,which was new and vibrant from the old and mundane inside her room. The early morning was replete with young children tiptoeing with their bag to the school; the children hailing her with tributes ,sometimes expletives, to provoke her; in spite of which ,she welcomed them all with smiles every day.

     There was a constant stream of vehicles ,old, huge and new straining to find enough space to negotiate , sometimes leading to traffic snarls ,and the resulting conundrum engaging her ,savouring in the frailties of the human nature. Sometimes she would be reminded of her worsening condition by the occasional siren of the ambulances or the slow trudging of the mortuary van carrying the dead. The paper man, milkman ,the vegetable vendor ,the fish monger all arrived at the correct time and none could escape her attention .She would call after them to bring it to the notice of the servant. They all would show their merchandise to her through the window, chit-chat in their own colloquial dialect and she would give the order.

     Occasionally she would concentrate on the TV, which was all make believe and unreal ,the difference producing a salutatory effect on her mind adjusting to the cognitive innuendos that sharply demarcate one another. She would also sometimes make an impassioned plea with the Gods to save her by helping her son to discover the new drug, at times she tersely blamed them for confining her into a vegetable; mostly she would reconcile and accept her state, not to unduly harass them and make them angry. Her perceptions and memory were heightened and sharp which was her only remaining faculties. Sometimes when she felt she was neglected she would shout at everyone in order to get over her disabilities. She knew that her days were numbered ,but she wanted to postpone it as much as possible in order to prove to the world that her son’s invention was effective and a miracle for all those who suffered from this disorder. She was struggling to keep herself alive ,all for the praise that will be heaped on her son, once the wonder drug that he invents worked on her. Her illness appeared to be tailor made for his research.

     Her grandson would engage her for an hour every day after his school and she made him open the internet and chat with all those who had this problem. She would ask them to endure and be ready for the wonder drug . She would request him to help her move her fingers over the key board and type the sentences with difficulty .She considered it a great achievement ,which her grandson allowed her to indulge in ,most of the time. With a camcorder he would shoot all the sceneries and events which he would show to her and regale with his own fertile immature interpretation and humorous interludes. Her husband would then spoil her with his small gifts and engage in conversation on all the positive moments that they spend together in their life’s. Moreover ,the view through the window with ever changing scenario afforded her enough sanctity to her mind, the endless opportunity to maintain her sanity and to forgive and forget , her worsening illness. Thus occupied, she kept a semblance of cherubic happiness in her countenance.

     Her son in law worried about her confinement to the same place, bought a wheel chair to transport her to different places, which they did with all fanfare around the house. She conceded initially not to belie his expectation ,but found to her surprise that all was not well with her. She realized later that she was missing her customary place of perception and lookout of the street ,so she refused to be wheeled anymore.

     Most of the times she would strain to hear the discussion centred around her by her husband and daughter, with her son in law expressing acquiescence to all that was said. What caught her attention was the discussion on vacating to another house, as the present owner wanted to renovate and sell it. She rejected downright the idea of vacating to another apartment house, but the pressure from the owner and the promise of an alternative new, better environment made her accept it with anger and remorse .Finally they shifted her to the apartment house in the third floor which afforded a panoptic view through the window. For a week she absorbed all that it showed . She felt she was perched on a tree house and she could see the houses tops and trees skirting the vast expanse of the sky changing its colour and hue, mostly turquoise blue, at times to aquamarine with birds lazily flying across in structured formation; the caricature sometimes fixed in her mind, hard to erase. There was nothing humane in it. Thereafter she recognized a mundane sameness with minimal activity and her perception decreased with her speech and hearing .All her caregivers felt the change in her too.

     She made an impassionate plea through the face book to her son to make arrangements to purchase the house she was living in before . She felt she could not muster to keep her strength to stay alive ,till the time the wonder drug would prove to be worthy for her. Her son replied that it would take at least three months to buy the house ,but he would pay an advance to the owner. She was immensely relieved , but her state of mind did not seem to improve from the despair. Her grandson gave a respite by showing the video of the street ,which he had taken from his camcorder and it energized her as it ran for nearly an hour. She managed for three months and then moved to her old house and to her customary place. Her state of mind improved and so did her appetite. Her resolve to stay alive strengthened , and chats with her daily face book acquaintances increased and so was her view afforded by the street. She also requested her grandson to video the street occasionally.

     Finally she was told that her son would visit her in another two weeks .She tweeted to all to be ready for the wonder drug as her son would experiment it on her ,as she was the best and his favorite ‘Indian Guinea Pig’. She was waiting for her son’s arrival every day. At last he came with his customary half-shorts ,a tea shirt sporting a gray beard. He was not married as his job at the facility was full time and not congenial for it. She was in a hurry to know about the wonder drug and spurred herself to be ready to be experimented by him. There were lot of stifled discussions in the house about her .

     Finally at about 6 pm probably on an auspicious day and hour ,her son sat near her , intertwined her hand and spoke seriously “Mom, the drug requires another 6 months to a year for production and assessment of its effect on humans .You know I was working frantically to hurry up its manufacture for human usage and many problem occurred due to it .That was the reason for its delay.... forgive me ,mom”. His eyes were red and she could see the distress that he was trying to control. She gathered him in her arms and consoled him and requested him to try harder without the emotional suffering of his mother affecting his pursuit. She allowed him to sob and after he left , her grandson was ushered in to engage and divert her.

     She had to take a decision for all her contacts who was waiting for the drug. She had tweeted early that her son was ready with the drug and he would experiment on her first. She was thinking of what to tweet now. Her grandson left her at her own pace. She finished it with difficulty and send the message. She sat lone and forlorn looking vacantly at the street, none seem to move in it ; all appeared static. She stoically accepted what God had provided her so long; good care givers, the view of the world and a son engaged in the task of discovering a miracle wonder drug. She slept gracefully.

     Next morning they found her dead with a smile on her face.. The grief was too much for all to bear especially her son. . After ,burning her in the ghat ,and the customary religious rites ,everyone left. The house was buried in sorrow.

     Her grandson wanted to twitter to all her acquaintances in the internet and he opened it He saw the last message of his grandmother. Tears flowed as they all read it.

Dear All

     “My son told me about the wonder drug .I think it may take some more years for its acceptance for human use. I have given you all too much hope purposefully ,and in the process gained some myself. It appears that my son is unable to concentrate and work on, unhindered with my daily suffering and illness playing in his mind. I think it would benefit all of you and help my son to speed the process if I bid good by. Further I also want to save his precious time and do not want to burden my son again by making him come back .It was better when he was here. Thank you very much”

     The whole house seem to drown in sorrow over her miracle of leading a happy life when she was literally stifled to an armchair and let herself end her life for the multitude of similar affected persons ,as she believed in her small humble way, that her son would discover the wonder drug; . She continues to be a great martyr for the family. Her son left for USA with a more strengthened resolve to discover the wonder drug for the sake of his mother who gave her life so that he would be able to speed up his discovery without any emotional fetter binding him.