Fade to black

I was feeling very happy that evening.  After many miserable days and nights, I was very hopeful of it happening that night.  I had waited for a long time and many a times felt it come by.  But this evening the feeling was much stronger.  I could hear the people run around in agitation.  Some of them seemed to very close working on something with urgency.  There was a lot of shouting but with every shout my happiness increased.  Oh yes!  I was ready.  I had waited for this moment for long.  My thoughts were on what happens afterwards.  Where would I go?  What would happen to me?  I had heard a lot about it but did not know what to believe and what not to.  So I waited eagerly for it to happen.  Suddenly my happiness started reducing.  I started feeling a pain.  I did not quite understand where the pain came from.  But it was there and it increased as time went by.  Soon, I lost all remembrance of the happiness.  The pain had become unbearable and it was all over me.  I wanted to shout and scream but did not know how.  I wanted to run away but did not way where my legs were.  All that I could feel was the pain.  And then the pain stopped.

The noise of the world went away.  The need for the shout subsisted.  I had felt anything for a long time but the feeling of nothing that came by was very different.  I tried to understand what was happening.  For the first time in many days, I looked around but saw nothing.  Earlier I could hear the people around me but now I heard nothing.  I used to feel pain earlier but I did not even feel that now.  And then the nothing started fading out.

Right across the road

I slept early that night.  The heavy lunch did not let me think of dinner and the time spent out in the summer sun had made me tired.  By the time I reached my room, the pain from all across my body traveled to my head and made it pain like hell.  I did not have the energy to walk from the door to my bed. I plopped on the sofa and fell asleep even before my body hit the sofa.

I am not sure what woke me up but I became aware of a terrible thirst soon after - my throat was parched; I needed some water; I needed a lot of water; water, water, water.  I groped around, my hand hit something and it fell off the table with a loud crash.  The sound brought me back to complete wakefulness and my desperation for water increased.  I attempted to get up but slipped off the sofa and fell onto the floor.  After struggling for a minute or so, I managed to get on to my feet and went searching for the lights.  When brightness came by, I looked around but did not find water around - not in the hall, not in the bedroom and not in the kitchen.  I considered drinking water straight out of the tap but I could see germs of the size of football in the water.  I checked the watch and realized that some of the shops would be open at the time.  I got out on the road and looked at the shop across the road.  There were a few vehicles on the road and I waited to cross the road.

As I waited , I heard the sound of the cars coming by from round a bend.  I waited but nothing happened.  I could hear the car's engine at some distance but did not see the head lights of the car.  I waited for some more but only heard the sound of the car.  It did not come closer.  I waited listening and looking for the head lights to show up.  I leaned against a lamp post and waited.  I am not sure how long I stood in that pose.  But I suddenly opened my eyes and realized I had dozed off for a few moments.  I looked around and found there were no vehicles around.  The shop keeper on the opposite side was beginning to close the shop.  I called out to him and started running across the road.

There was loud sound on my right; I turned to see two lights coming in at a great speed towards me.  I froze for a moment and then ...

I was turning in the air like a leaf.

My head hurt and I could feel something wet running across my face.

The smell of iron was all around.

There were people around, looking at me with horror in their eyes.

Someone was shouting "Taxi, taxi,..."

Pain, pain, pain, ...

People had lifted me and I saw an open taxi door.

I heard my scream.

"Don't worry, you are ok".

Lights on the ceiling running past me.

The smell of medicines.

"Do you hear me?"

"Is it paining here?"

"... operation theater..."

The sights and sounds started fading.  The pain started receding.  Sleep started coming in.  Will I see a bright white light?  Will my brief life's activities run in front of my eyes?  Nothing happened; I only felt sleepier.

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