Tanisha was there, lost in a deep slumber, not knowing what
the coming day had in store for her. She had slept late that night after
struggling with the mind fogged with various thoughts, whether her best friend
Aahana had reached Jugalpur properly or not? Was she ok or not? Lost between these
thoughts, Tanisha did not know when she fell asleep that night.
Next morning, when she woke up, her body pained badly. It
was as if her skin had turned inside out and her nerves were beating up against her skin with terrible pain. The
cancer was eating up her body from inside. Somehow, she still managed to get
out of the bed.
While she was just about to step out of the quilt, she again got worried whether her best friend had reached safely to her destination or
not.
She immediately smsed her
asking – “Good Morning dear! Have a wonderful day. Have you reached there safely?”
1 minute gone.. 2 minutes gone.. She didn’t receive a
delivery report..
She got worried. She forgot her own pain and started
worrying about her..
A thought came to her mind – “Its 6:00 a.m. Why are msgs not getting delivered? Is Aahana okay? Shall I call her
up and confirm whether she reached safely?
What if she is sleeping because of tiredness of journey? Let me not
disturb her.”
After hesitating for a long time, she gathered all the
strength to call her up. She dialed the number with her heart beating fast because she knew Aahana was a busy individual and she didn't want to bother her in her hectic schedule. Still she managed to call.
And a voice came from other side – “The number you are
trying to reach is out of network.”
With heavy heart, Tanisha put the phone down. May be she might
not have reached. So Tanisha just prayed to god – “Dear God! I hope my best friend is
ok. Please take care of her.”
She completed her daily chores in her room. She was still in
terrible pain.
She thought- “I would go out and ask mom to cuddle me up.
May be a hug from mom should work out.”
She could hear loud voices from the living room.
Tanisha thought – “May be mom-dad are watching T.V. at very high
volume.”
When she stepped out of the room, she saw her mom-dad
arguing on a loud volume over a petty issue that the salt was more in
breakfast.
She just went there and sat in the living room on the couch
and started watching t.v. so that her mind gets distracted. She waited for their
argument to get over so that she could ask for a hug from her mom.
After a while, when the silence crept in the house, she
thought – “Is this the correct time to tell mom that I am in terrible pain? Can
I ask for a hug at this time? May be my hug would heal mom’s stress as well.”
After collecting all the guts, she approached her mom who
was chopping vegetables in the kitchen.
She went there and told her mom – “Mom, Can you do me a
favour?”
Mom gave her a red eye and replied – “What the hell you
think I am? Am I your maid or what? Do you want me to serve you coffee, snacks,
lunch and medicines in bed? Medicines are my responsibility or yours?”
She just looked down and could not utter a word.
She wanted to tell her mom that - “I am in terrible pain. Can you just cuddle me
up?”
But with heavy heart, she just said one thing – “Sorry Mom!”
She made her coffee on her own. She instructed the cook what
lunch and breakfast she wants to have and Tanisha returned to her room.
She could not stop the tears overflowing from her swollen
eyes. She cried for an hour hugging her favourite teddy bear. After crying for an hour, she felt a little
relaxed.
All of a sudden she checked her mobile. And she smiled
because she got a confirmation that her messages were delivered to her best
friend- Aahana. All of a sudden, she forgot all her pain and smiled with a thought that
at least her friend is ok.
She thought – “Can I ask a hug from my best friend who has gone
to Jugalpur? No! What if she’s busy at the moment? Let me not disturb her.”
Thereafter, Tanisha decided to spend her day with books and books all
around. She kept reading all good books one after another.
Finally, the day wrapped up itself in a shell of emptiness leaving
her hollow from inside. She felt a void in her heart but she could not
understand how to fill that up.
At night, before going to bed, she just prayed to God –
“Dear God! My Day was good. Am happy. Thank you for making me realize again that books are
my best friends. But don't forget Aahana is the bestest friend ever. Its just that she's busy. Please keep my parents and my bestest friend happy and healthy. I
know mom was already in stress and I approached her at wrong time but I was in
terrible pain and all I wanted was just a hug. But its my fault I know. So
please forgive me. I will not bother anyone. And I so want u see you soon God because the pain is unbearable and may be you would wrap your arms around me so that I heal.”
Before just going to sleep, she had a habit of writing the
summary of the day in her diary.
That day, she inked down – “It was just another day! Strange
is Life! Sometimes just a soft hug can heal you and sometimes a stream of words
can stab your heart. But its okay!”
She messaged her best friend, Aahana – Good night and kept that
message window open in her mobile and hugged the mobile in her hand and slept. May be that
would heal her. A virtual hug may be!
