Storeys

Chapter 2

“This helper comes at any time… at Mrs. Iyer’s place she comes on time…” …a loud angry voice came through

Mr. Sharma…making sure he doesn’t look up and casually says …” It’s ok!!!…. all maids are like that only…poor thing”

Mrs. Sharma angrily…” Everyone is a poor thing for you… you will never feel like that for me…”

Mr. Sharma with a smile looks up at his daughter Mounika and whispers…” What did I do now?” he shrugged.

Mrs. Sharma had always done house chores; running errands and being helpful to her family members so they can build their future… She had completely surrendered her life to her husband and kid… as most Indian women do after their marriage…She was very talented and loved creating crochets; bouquets and gift hampers while at home…

Mr. Sharma brought her some inventory to start with as he saw her interest grow… He then invested in a sewing machine, which his wife used almost every other day… They were a very down to earth couple; living their everyday lives as it came to them… Not very ambitious and very satisfied in all that they had. Mounika was their only daughter who was studying in junior college.

10th March

One such afternoon, “Lock the door from inside… we should be back in a few hours… we are not expecting anyone except for Vimal uncle… But we have asked him to come late as we are not at home… There is a bundle of cash that needs to be given to him… so if anyone rings the doorbell look into the peephole before opening the door ….” Mrs. Sharma tells her 18-year-old daughter. Mounika, busy typing into her cell phone, nods her head as her parents leave to get some work done.

It was around 1pm when Mr. and Mrs. Sharma stepped out of their home… Around 1.45 pm the doorbell rang … Mounika looked into the peephole and saw Vimal uncle standing there…

She opened one of the doors to speak to him. “Uncle? mom and dad have gone outside; they had told you right? Can you come home once they are back? “

Vimal spoke; “Mounika beta… I was in the neighborhood, and it is very hot outside; so I thought I would sit at your place for a while and wait for your parents to come…If that is ok with you?” Mounika did not want to sound rude; so she let Vimal into their house and offered a glass of juice and went back into her room.

While sitting on the couch Vimal switched on the television… He started surfing a few channels; he was getting very anxious of his cousin’s return .. he then got an idea…. he called out to Mounika; she came back into the living room; “What is it uncle?” Vimal asked Mounika

“Could you hand me the money your dad has kept aside for me? I do need to go to some other places as well” … Mounika looked back at the clock… It was just 10 mins that her uncle had come; what was the hurry she thought… She asked him to wait a bit and tried calling her dad’s cell but could not reach him… so Mounika asked Vimal uncle to come into the master bedroom… She opened the wardrobe and handed over the money that her father had kept aside. ….. Vimal saw there were some more bundles of cash lying inside the locker of the cupboard… He took the money and put it into a leather bag which he was carrying. and after a while Vimal left from Mounika"s place….

Mounika was in her final year… She was hardly at home… She went to college; had a bunch of friends… she hung out with… most of the times she came home with her tummy full after eating outside food… Her parents never really interfered with her eating habits … They just trusted their little princess.

It was about 20 minutes, when the doorbell rang again… It was Vimal again. “Mounika from the bunch of money that you gave me; it is short by Rs.50,000/- “Mounika at first had her doubts about this statement but then she believed him and went back in and brought Rs.50,000/- and said “Sorry about the trouble” …Vimal took the money and quickly went off from the scene before Mr. Sharma could return.

After a while, Mr. Sharma returned home… They kept the shopping bags by the side of the couch and sat down… Mr. Sharma asked his daughter to bring him a glass of water… Mounika went in and brought water for her parents… It was hot and humid weather; one could get dehydrated easily.

“Mounika did Uncle Vimal come home?” Mounika said, “Yes, he came and went back and came back home… he said the money was short by Rs. 50,000/- I did try calling you several times to confirm this but then I believed him and handed over a bunch that you had kept aside… This time he checked and then left… “

A tensed Mr. Sharma yelled …. “What!!!! I had kept exact money there… it"s impossible; why didn’t you call me? …” His blood pressure had already increased; his heart was pounding very fast. He started to sweat and profusely walked into their bedroom and fetched the keys. He noticed the 4 lakh rupees bundle was gone and the additional 50k…” …

He sat at the corner of his bed. Mounika standing right behind him; with extreme guilt and sadness, spoke; “I am sorry Dad, I didn’t know…”

With his humble tone Sharma said…

“Let me tell you one thing my child… whenever you lend anyone money don’t ever expect it back in return…” he knew his own cousin betrayed him and there was nothing he could do about it…Vimal, who was only in his late 20’s’ who had recently got married taking a lot of debts for the marriage; was a young handsome looking lad; who anyone would not judge as a thief… He had that knack of mesmerizing people with his charming words and his stories… Only Mr. Sharma didn’t have much faith in him and then when he confronted Vimal of him taking this lump sum amount; Vimal completely denied the theft….

On the other hand, he yelled back on the phone; “You are my elder cousin; how on earth do you think I will do such a thing to you? I am shocked that you accuse me of stealing.” saying this he cut the call.

“Dad, how can you be so calm?” asked Mounika… “It’s ok !!!…. everything cannot be under your control….” What’s gone is gone…. I believe there is a God and he will teach him a lesson….”

Mr. Sharma was now retired; he was in his 50’s but he chose to be at home rather than continue this rat race… he had worked in his factory for 30 long years as an accountant. His daily routine now was to wake up early; help with house chores at home…. have a shower and sit down to do his prayers for at least 2 hours. This was his personal time that he called his own…He was a very devotional person right from childhood… He lost his father at a very young age of 20 and the entire family responsibility burdened his shoulders…. He was the eldest and his dad left him with a brother and sister to be taken care of… the brother was 4 years younger to him his name was Anirudh and sister was 7 years younger to him; her name was Nisha.

He loved his mother; and he took the responsibility of his home while taking care of his mother and his siblings. He soon joined as an accountant at a factory to make ends meet… For the next 10 years all he did was struggle and focus never left his aura….

He got his siblings educated and helped them complete their studies; he placed his brother Anirudh at a very good white collar office job but then he moved to become a successful businessman dealing in garments and he got his sister Nisha married to a musician after she finished her college…. At the age of 30 he was forced to get married by his mom; his wife was only 19 when she got married…

But now in his 50s he realized that the match was made in heaven; the couple hardly fought. Mr. Sharma was always very helpful and a handyman at home. He made sure he helped in every way he could… a very active person… as many would say age is just a number. This was very true for him…

During his retired phase of his life, he would just watch some forwards that he received from the various groups he was on w******p; else he would look at the calendar trying to recall if any one he knew was celebrating a birthday or anniversary; and try to wish them before noon. He then would have his cup of tea with some breakfast.

After he spoke to his daughter that evening; he sat down at his computer having a sip of his tea and started checking on his investments… A retired Sharma was the most honest person and more importantly a hard-working individual saw his money going down the drain in stock market,

He didn’t show how much he was tensed but didn’t want to blame anyone …in the past he had come across a lot of people who had betrayed him monetarily… so this was not new to him… but each time something like this happened …he was harming his health…he had already gone through a bypass surgery few years back and he had to take a lot of care of his health….but the ‘Chalta hai’ attitude in him didn’t help his health a lot…..little did he know he was on his way to get a heart attack…

By the looks of Mr. Sharma … anyone would have thought he was in his late 40s… He was so fit… It"s probably because for most of his life he walked… Whether it was going to the market, temple or for any other work outside of home…. He usually used public transport like bus or train as he felt them more economical and faster.

Although not from an engineering/ mechanical background; he knew almost everything like plumbing work, electrician work, mechanical work…. You name it…. His mind was so full of information…He loved to be up to date with all current affairs and he could strike any conversation under the sky as he was so knowledgeable

Mounika"s friends loved to come to her place just to have a chat with her dad…

No one"s dad was so cool. Mounika would return home from after college and get ready to go out with friends; she used to go places, visit late night restaurants and be back even at 4 am in the morning… but her parents never doubted her…Her guy friends used to drop all the girls safely back home too…

Off late Mr. Sharma started complaining of being tired most of the time…. And he insisted on taking some rest at home… Everyone at home thought it"s probably because he is stressed by doing things more than he can do… But no one saw his underlying health issue…Mr. Sharma had undergone an open-heart surgery just a couple of years ago; so all thought his health is now ok and it is like a new life.

A simple retired life with the simplest smile on his face…a very likeable man by everyone.

11th March: He woke even more tired than the previous day and was wondering why his health is giving up …. he just asked for a cup of tea … as he browsed through the forwards received by him from various groups….he realized he wasn’t able to concentrate much and he didn’t know if he should mention any of these symptoms to his family….

So he just lay on the floor; with his spectacles in his right hand stretched across his head; with closed eyes he murmured; “I am tired….” He felt uneasy and his back started giving up…

He always self-medicated himself and that’s exactly what he did… he started his own course of medicines hoping to get better…since he was so independent no one bothered asking about his health…

After a while he started getting hiccups …he sipped some water…and he did this through the day…. his hiccups weren’t going away anywhere…so that day he found it very difficult to eat anything… he kept saying I don’t feel like eating…

Mounika told her father…” Dad you are exerting yourself too much…why don’t you take some rest…if you need anything just call me or mom” …saying this she left from the room….it was just 2pm that time…With an empty stomach and discomfort he struggled to shut his eyes…

At the same time some guests came in… a lot of chatter at home …but Mr. Sharma chose to stay put in his room…he didn’t know what had happened to him and he didn’t want to spread it…the guests stayed at his place for a few hours…chit chatting. It was around noon when they came home; so, Mrs. Sharma asked them to stay for lunch… Mounika and Mrs. Sharma prepared some rice and dal with mixed vegetable curry… The guests finished their lunch around 3 pm… Mounika peeped in to check on her father. He was asleep; she did not want to disturb him and left…The guests then had some tea and left….it was almost 5pm…. Mrs. Sharma made some tea for her husband; then suddenly she realized her husband, a diabetes patient, had not had a morsel of food that entire day… Worried, she went with a cup of tea to their bedroom…and saw Mr. Sharma still asleep…she thought it"s best not to disturb him and walked away…

After a while the doorbell rang… Mounika opened the door and was shocked to see Dr. Gupta …she greeted him and asked him if he had come to meet dad… he was confused…he then said “Beta, your dad called me half hour back, he said he is feeling uneasy I have come to check on him”…Mounika was shocked….Being at home she didn’t know this…she quickly called her mom and then took the doctor to the bedroom..”

Her dad had worn his pant and way lying on his back…with his legs down the cot from the knee…she had never seen her dad like this…Dr.Gupta checked his sugar, blood pressure and then checked his lungs…he realized that Mr. Sharma is going through some stress and his lungs were not functioning to the fullest of capacity…Mr. Gupta said “Its best to get him hospitalized else he will be at risk”…the family struggled to get him admitted to a hospital as it was the peak of Covid times…after many hours of struggle and coordination they got him admitted…

All of a sudden Mr. Sharma looked just fine; he walked at the hospital; it was possible the ray of hope is what he required…Mounika had a sigh of relief that he is getting admitted; the doctor said he is critical but he should be ok in a week’s time…with those words of hope she left …before leaving she told her dad….”Dad you will be taken care of… don’t worry…I am leaving now”… dad said “Ok Beta….!”

He was taken on a wheelchair while having a small chit-chat with the doctor…he was then asked to change into hospital clothes…and he simply lay there on the bed …his stats were not normal and was fluctuating rapidly…he then was given a sleeping dose…

While at home Mrs. Sharma and their daughter, although tensed, believed that some medication is going to get Mr. Sharma home in no time… So they had their dinner checked with the hospital if everything was okay… And then dozed off to sleep…

In the middle of the night Mounika woke up and checked the time it was 2 am on 12th March… she suddenly realized she had not checked with the hospital since midnight… so she quickly called at the reception only to be yelled at by the receptionist… “Maam, you just checked 2 hours back …. Please stop calling, we have other work to do…if there is any update the doctor will call you…” and the phone hung….

Saddened by the response and with no one around to help .. she cried under her pillow and tried to sleep….

12th March

Early morning 7 am the cell phone rang… both mother and daughter woke at the first ring of it with their heart pounding as fast as it can, afraid to answer … with a lot of hesitance Mounika answered the call…it was from the hospital… “I am Dr. Manoj; your father had an attack around 2 am and we have revived him with CPR; however, his condition is critical, and he is under medication…the next 24 hours are crucial…He has not passed sufficient urine either so we may have to do dialysis after waiting for a few hours. …” Mounika didn’t listen to even a word of what the doctor spoke once she heard that her beloved father had an attack… his words while leaving from the hospital kept repeating in her head …. “Maam…madam….? Are you there?” said the doctor… “Yes, I am here…” said Mounika…

“Ok Ma’am, we are trying our best to survive him…. if there is any other update, we will call you…” Mounika was stunned; he looked fine at least not this critical just a few hours back… he could walk and talk without any problem; even a day before he helped at home with the household chores. How could he possibly slip into such a condition…the only thing in her mind now was how would she communicate this to her mother? Her mom was standing at a distance trying to gauge what the conversation could be.