02. Someone may not hear the words but the yearning

payoff-e02-short-story-in-english

There’s definitely someone who listens to the prayers said and attends the voices coming from the heart. It seems that Sharda’s prayers have gotten an answer this time.

“Madam, can you hear me?” “Please keep her head up.”

They reach to the hospital. Police also has arrived. Doctors take Shalmali and Kandarp for checkup and police are recording Aman’s statement about the accident. Sharada enters with Mandeep feeling as dismembered from within as her children are. After an hour of checkup and all the procedures, doctor declares that Sharada has lost her son and Shalmali’s eye sight at the same time. Agony has attacked Sharada’s life once again in the name of brain hemorrhage this time that has taken away Kandarp from the family. Sharada’s world has changed in a moment. She feels her head spinning. Aman holds her to save from falling on the floor.

Almost 6 months have passed after the incident. But, it is becoming too tough for Sharada to hold herself this time. After husband’s death, she managed to live in order to give her children a good future. She planted all her dreams into Kandarp and Shalmali. Fate has ruined half of her dreams scattering those on the road! Still she has to fight for Shalmali’s darkened present.

Managing without any man around is a challenge. When the days are tender and the situations are adverse, you better come to know who really is with you! Misery never comes alone. It brings solitude to accompany you pushing all your worldly relations away from your life. So, as expected by Sharada, one day Gautam has called to announce that he is not anymore engaged to Shalmali. He apologized for the decision and added that he couldn’t say no to his mother. Sharada knew it to happen sooner or later. She has seen and experienced the world in all her ebbs and flows of life.

Time is flying bringing little changes to their lives. Shalmali now manages her own works confidently with her mother’s help and support. Gautam visits sometimes as a friend and he has managed to get Kandarp’s insurance claim faster with the help of his resources. Aman is standing firmly with Sharada and Shalmali giving his hand to make their life as easy as possible. He has not even left his efforts to find the person who was driving the car that night. Police is also helping actively in his attempts. And they are almost at the doorsteps of the culprit. Sharada, Aman and Gautam are also trying in one more direction. They are trying for Shalmali to be operated for a corneal transplant. Doctors have confirmed that if she gets her cornea transplanted, her eyesight can be retrieved. But getting a suitable donor for cornea is not an easy job.

It has been a year.

One night, Sharada is wrapping up with her post dinner cleaning. Shalmali is hearing her audio book. Telephone rings, doctor is on the other side of the line. He informs Sharada that they have found a donor for Shalmali’s corneal transplant. Sharada sits tranquilly in the chair nearby.

What is this?

-Are these Aman’s efforts?

-Has Gautam found this donor?

-or a random donor; that God may have sent as an answer to Sharada’s prayers?

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