THE GIRL WITH THE MEMORIAL TATTOOS

Chapter 7 THE CANCER GIRL

T 

he next day when he woke, she was not her side. Surya assumed she might have gone. He checked his phone leisurely for any notifications. Yawned. Got out from his bed and bent over the balcony. He could see Bharat still sleeping on the table. Surya recalled the incidents happened the before day. He swore Bharat for all the embarrassment he created the day before. Every morning he had a habit of jogging. Now his body craves for some workout. He went on to the streets of Old Manali and jogged against the steep. It was a good workout. He passed over the leather outfit shop. He was reminded of the deal he made with Bharat. However, with the interesting twist of the event with the Russian girl, he just gave upon the idea to hang out with Bharat! He recalled the body scent of Andria. The mere thought of her passed chills in his body. He felt so blessed to have f****d her the night before. ‘How to contact her? What if she was Kashmiri terrorist and seducing me to become a Human bomb? Or an assassin sent by my seniors to kill me?’ He convinced himself not to overthink. Observing small kids passing on the footpath of the road made his control over his thoughts much easier. Their pleasant smile made him feel good. He returned to the hostel being tired and drenched with sweat. He did some pushups and routine workouts in balcony near his room.  

Chakradhar spotted him. ‘Good morning Surya! Good day! You are making me feel jealous with your determination to workout’.  

‘Thank you’. Surya said absentmindedly preoccupied with his pushups. 

Bharat came out from his room. It’s 9 am. He pointed at his watch indicating it’s getting late. Surya nodded and went inside to freshen up. They were planning for River Rafting. Someone shouted ‘courier’. It’s a courier guy who came to deliver a package to Surya. He was surprised. 

Who would send him a courier? Only a few knew his location. He went down to receive the delivery and looked inside. It’s a CD. Luckily the hotel provides a TV and a DVD player with each room. So, he went inside and played it being surprised what it was. The TV didn’t turn on.  What could be the CD about? He was curious about it. Neha was passing by to check what’s going on. Surya was shaking the TV vigorously in a desperate attempt to turn it on. ‘Hello! Why are you so bothered about the TV now?’, Neha asked, while drying her hair with a towel. Surya acknowledged her presence. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. 

‘Yeah it’s nothing! I just got a parcel with CD in it. I am checking what it is’, replied Surya. ‘Maybe you will have to wait for the power to come back. Otherwise why do you think I took shower with cold water?’ She shrugged.  

‘Oh s**t! Then I have to wait for the Power’ Surya told out of exasperation. 

Bharat interfered. ‘Come on Surya! It’s getting late. Get ready! Fast! We have to take the Bus’. 

Surya gave rest to the matters on the table and started to get ready for the trip. They had planned the itinerary well. The plan was to go to the nearby Beas River for River Rafting. His phone beeped. 

It’s a message from Andria that she would come to his room. He riveted his eyes thinking about what to do. He feigned some discomfort in his stomach by holding hands over his tummy and asked them to carry on with the plan and excuse him. 

‘Is everything okay? Surya!’ Bharat asked. 

‘Yeah! May be a little sick. It’s okay. You guys carry on. I have no mood for River rafting’ Surya told feigning discomfort in his face. 

 ‘It’s okay then, we see you later. Take care’ Bharat said being concerned. 

Neha, Kiran, Bharat and Chakradhar went away. 

Surya went to take a nap when he heard the banging on the door. Surya shouted ‘Who was it?’  

‘Mr. Surya! We are from CBI. I have come to know you have stolen something so precious. We have come here to arrest you’ a harsh lady voice ended with a grumble. 

‘Surya wake up!’  

Surya was so frightened. ‘What! Mam, what are you talking about? I don’t understand what you are saying’. 

‘Come on Surya! Don’t try to act smart! We have information that you are stealing things from innocent girls. If you don’t open it we have to break it open!’ 

‘Innocent girls? When I was in the 2nd standard, I stole a pencil from my classmate but she was not innocent’, Surya winked. 

‘Stop the Bullshit and open the door, or else I have to break it’. 

‘Then break it … or do I have to smuggle any hammer for that?’ Surya chuckled at his lame joke. 

The girl lowered her voice accepting her defeat, beseeched him in a pleading familiar tone ‘Come on Surya! Just open it! I forgot something important’. Surya puzzled and looked around in the room. There was a linger underwear over the bed. He chuckled. 

‘Requesting? That’s good. It’s improvement’. He opened the door. Andria was standing there waving her hand with a pretended anger. She just pushed him away and took a seat on his bed. ‘Why did you come? For me or for that?’ He showed her underwear and chuckled. 

She pounced over him playfully punching over his chest, she nudged his shoulder pretending an argument. ‘You stole an innocent girl’s heart and now acting so innocent?’ ‘Innocent? You keep condoms in your purse and saying innocent?’ He bantered on her while she made her eyes into bulb and punched him whimsically.  

He came closely clamped his hands around her. She looked steadily into his face. ‘Something is cooking up in your head’. 

He was about to kiss her when she turned her head aside closing his lips. ‘Does your battery ever dies?’ She slowly let lose herself from his grip. ‘Just get ready, we need to go out! I have to show you something’, she said and gently pushed him into the washroom. He was saying something but she didn’t listen. After some time, he came out after having a shower. She was waiting impatiently and was glad to see Surya finish his shower. ‘Great! Let’s go’. She grabbed his hands and took him out. ‘Wait! Andria’, Surya yelled…. Neha who was passing by looked at him and chuckled. Andria was surprised why she was laughing. She gave a glimpse over him and closed her mouth with her hands out of shock. He was on his underwear! Out of sheer embarrassment he shut the doors over her face. She looked helplessly being flabbergasted at Neha! Neha shrugged her shoulder and went inside. In a moment Surya came out closing the zip of his Jerkin with a pretended anger. She rose her eyebrows. 

 ‘What’s the matter?’ Surya asked. 

‘Shut up!’ 

‘What?’ 

‘Your pant Zip…’. 

He embarrassedly turned other side and closed his zip. She guided him to some place. It was written ‘Sarojini Hospital’ over the hospital. ‘Now what? Why have you brought me here?’ Surya asked her impatiently wearing off his helmet. 

 ‘Urgently! You need to donate blood’ and grabbed him hurriedly pulling into the hospital 

‘What? Why do I have to?’ He set free from her hands with an annoyed look. 

‘I will give you explanations later.’ She said impatiently and grasped his hands and dragged him inside. 

‘But Andria! I never gave blood! I am frightened with needles almost cried like a kid pulling himself out of her grip. 

She gyrated toward him and asked whimsically ‘Are you really a doctor? What are you saying?’ 

‘Well, I was an expert in pricking needles but not in getting pricked’, said hesitantly hiding his face. 

Andria dragged him up to the blood bank. She put a stern look on her face and asked blatantly folding her hands, ‘Will you do it or not?’ 

‘No!’ He turned away his face, folding his hands as if a child prevented his mother to feed.  

‘I know you would say something… like that’, he became suspicious. She removed a knife from her purse and pointed toward Surya. ‘You told you were frightened about needles, right? Let’s see what you are more frightened about.’.  

‘Andria! Come on! No time for jokes’ Surya chuckled whimsically. 

‘Proceed Surya! Or else I will stab you’. Surya just relaxed, stood steadily and looked into her eyes and stepped closer to her. She was stunned with sudden events. He slowly came near to her and took the knife from her, kissed on her cheek. She left her mouth ajar with eyes made into bulb. The hospital staff and blood donors were looking at them fascinatedly, especially one donor who stopped pressing his smiley ball out of curiosity. 

‘You don’t need to stab! You have already stabbed in my heart’ and he took an inclined seat. Andria riveted her eyes aside with a cunning smile. The technician poked his needle into his skin, but Surya stayed motionless gazing deeply into her eyes. The technician was observing them and later joined his colleagues who were giggling. 

Surya came out of the room, asked intently, ‘Why do you want blood for?’ She took her to a room silently and showed a patient. There was a man, pale and lean with sunken eyes lying on his bed, with a mass on his left cheek. 

‘Okay! Is that Mukesh? And you are about to take lecture on Smoking? If it’s the case, tell me I will run from here’, Surya said closing his ears turning away. She knocked into his stomach with her elbow,  

‘See the child’ a 10-year-old female kid, with a pale face, shaved head, sunken eyes with an oxygen mask, was laid on the beside bed. Her mother sat beside her while caressing her. Andria knocked the door. The child cast her eyes over her instantaneously and flickered a smile on her withered face. A yellow colored fluid was connected to her through IV lines. Andria took him beside the kid. She stooped over her on her right side and caressed on her head gently and stood erect to face Surya and told, ‘See Surya! You have been bled to donate blood for this kid. Her name is Mary. She is having leukemia and was on her Chemotherapy!’  

Surya observed the Child. She was having three tattoos of love symbol on her right forearm. He looked pitifully over her. ‘What were they?’ Surya asked showing her tattoos. She looked at her tattoos. 

‘They were her victory tattoos’ and looked into his eyes ‘Mary went on chemo thrice and successfully cured. So, she got 3 tattoos’. Surya looked contemplatively. 

‘Never think low about your profession. If you can be a good surgeon, you can treat people like Mary and help them. You got a gift, use it. There is a lot of professional satisfaction in it. I want you to know how beautiful it is to selflessly help others and add value to their life. This world is a beautiful place Surya and we were so gifted to live here. Stop complaining and appreciate the beauty of it’. Surya looked at her innocent face which was smiling without any worry about the next day. ‘See, for her life is a gift. And she wants to live the last days happily’ and she turned to Surya. ‘For you it had been a burden. Just develop the perspective of her. See with Mary’s eyes. Live your life to the fullest every moment’. Surya felt his epiphany touched again. Andria was so caring about him and he didn’t find such a person before. He smiled gently and nodded in approval.