The Chosen One!

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She was a simple woman. Her simplicity, modesty and elegance was a combination so appealing that even a tot would wait and smile back at her whenever she walked on streets. Her thick eyebrows neatly knitted over her sharp eyes adorned her face. A round face – alluring milky smooth skin made her look beautiful. Her eyes so mysterious that one could lose themselves even in the bright day light. Her thick eye lashes hid the eternal universes apart. Her lips - red like a blood of a martyr and her arched brows could attack and wound several hearts. Her long nose framed her seraphic face. Her smile was the most riveting feature of her face which would melt even an angry soul. She was Seher - my beautiful wife.

I woke up to the sound of the morning alarm clock. I quickly rushed through the daily morning rituals of brushing and bathing. I dressed up and saw my wife seated at the main room. She was watching the daily soaps as usual. I went close to her and closed her eyes from behind.

“So someone is ready for work!” she said.

“ Yes and what’s for breakfast?”

“Poori – Baji,” she said and served me 4 poori’s. She was good at cooking. She used to experiment with her cooking skills.

I didn't believe in God until I met Seher. That was the day I realized that God really existed and he introduced someone like Seher in my life. My love for her was too intense.

Several days I treaded across the eerie roads in pursuit of someone who would win my heart with a smile. It was then I met Seher. She was introduced to me through a family friend and things veered out quickly. I soon saw Seher as my life partner - my share of happiness. Her doting parents never allowed her to do any household chores. She learned cooking and experimented her culinary skills on me. After my parents moved on to our hometown, I gave her complete freedom. I even insisted we could hire a maid to do all the work. She didn't acquiesce to my demands. All that she desired was my happiness. Those were the days when we got to know each other very well. We cherished with love in its purest form. My life was a blank canvas before she entered my life. She painted my life with wonderful colors and made the best painting of my life strengthening the beautiful bond between us.

“So tell me something interesting about you, Gulabo?”

“Gulabo sounds yuck!” she said

"Well , there is nothing interesting about me, since you want to know more about me, my entire being has universes to be discovered,” she paused and continued, “there are mysterious in my heart and lots of dreams in my eyes. Know my soul, you will know me more. Know my desires, you will know me well," she said.

"Of course I know you well and will know you well. But I can assure you that you will spend the best days of your life with me. I love you - my dearest." I sipped the chai that she made for me.

"I love you and you know that too.” She said.

She smiled and said, “I just hope almighty blesses our bond and we remain happy forever.”

"Darling, I am getting late for office. See you at night," I said. I kissed her on her pink cheeks. It was her natural beauty that mesmerized me.

“Okay! You take care! Have a great day ahead.” She bid me good bye.

During these 2 years of our bond, I realized that life was not about impressing people. We shared a sacred bond where we both loved each other. I had her photo at office which I used to admire whenever I had free time.

We got to know each other well as days passed. I was her chivalrous knight and she my princess.

I used to take her out everyday and she would buy loads and lots of dresses for herself. Pink was her favourite colour. One day I took her at InOrbit mall.

"Hmm ! Someone seems to be having a heavy wallet,” she winked.

“This was funny. My wallet and credit cards are always available for you. You do shopping, I do the carrying,” I said, laughing at her.

“Carrying what?” she asked.

“Carry the shopping bags,” I said.

I carried the two heavy bags while she had the other bag. I didn’t want her to carry those but she insisted. It was not that heavy. We were walking on the second floor. I looked behind and saw her standing near the escalator.

"Kya hua?" I asked her.

"Nothing, the bag is too heavy," she said and sat on the nearest chair.

"Achha ji," I said and moved towards her. The bag was not heavy; I couldn't understand why she felt so. We walked for a while. I drove my car towards Marine drive. The scenic beauty of the Arabian Sea could be best enjoyed at the Marine drive. We walked along the footpath. During that 20min walk, she paused several times.

"Seher, you ok naa?" I curiously asked her.

She smiled at me and said, “ Jii , Of course! I am Ok." She said ruffling my hair. “It’s just that I am a bit tired and want to go home,” she added.

I drove my car towards home. We stayed at the 2nd floor at Heritage Apartments at Bandra West.

I quickly climbed upstairs with all the bags and waited for her near the door. I couldn't see her for a while. I quickly rushed down and saw her climbing the stairs with difficulty.

"What happened to you, Seher?" I asked her.

"What will happen to me? Don't you see I am coming up," she said, smiling at me. Her smile was the most deceiving thing that I witnessed in my life. I never knew why she smiled at times.

She climbed one stairs at a time. I knew that she was tired and I prepared the bed for her so that she could sleep peacefully. Days passed and the frequency of our evening outings became less. She would be busy with her content writing and I would be stuck up with work. One evening, I came late from Office. I saw the thali at the dining table. Seher always accompanied me for dinner at any cost. I saw her sleeping peacefully in our bedroom. I didn't want to wake her. I ruffled her hair as she slept and of a sudden, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. I would do anything to steal a smile on her face.

"Had your dinner?" She asked," I had kept it at the dining table." Seher tied her hair with a rubber band and woke up.

"Not yet. Whats wrong with you, Seher?" I asked.

“I am fine. You know doctors say that it’s good to sleep early,” she said.

"You look so dull," I said.

"I am not. Oh it might be because of the headaches.”

“What? Headaches?” I asked.

"Let’s go to the doctor," I said.

"Arey don’t panic. I took the paracetamol tablet...I just need a sound sleep." She said in a coarse tone and slept. I had my dinner and slept after some time. I lied next to her. I woke up for a while mulling over things bothering Seher. She was turning fragile. What was wrong with her? Over thousand questions invaded my mind as I touched her. I could see that she was sweating profusely even in the AC room. The next morning I woke up and I went to the kitchen. She was busy in cooking. I held her tightly from behind. She screamed and said it hurted her.

"You have changed, Seher" I said.

"I have not. Good Morning!"

“Mumbai’s humid weather is so disgusting na,” she said. She never gave me a chance to complain about her. On contrary it was a pleasant day outside.

I observed many changes happening within her. She would not talk much with me. She used to watch her daily soaps every day and night without fail but lately she turned reclusive. She couldn’t concentrate on her Content writing as well. She used to share her day to day activities with me whenever I reached home at night. At times, I even observed her speech was slurred. Her unusual behaviour alarmed me and at times she couldn’t walk properly. It was my mistake that I couldn’t spend quality time with her. As days passed, she turned even weaker. At the time of dinner, she would consume only half chappati.

“You are on dieting or what?” I casually asked her one day during dinner.

“Ha-ha! What made you think so?”

“By looking at you anyone would ask you that?” I said, firmly.

“Arey! These days I am not feeling hungry yar,” she said. I even realized that her eye sight was turning weak. She used to give me lame excuses citing excessive watching of TV serials as the reason.

The next morning I heard a loud noise from the kitchen. I quickly rushed and saw Seher lying on the floor. I took her to the hospital and got her admitted. Several tests were carried on her. EEG, CT scan, MRI and CSF content tests were performed on her. After diagnosis, the doctor asked me to meet him at his office. I met him and the biggest shock of my life awaited me.

“Don’t you take care of your wife, Mr Malik?” The doctor said to me.

“I do. It’s just that these days I have turned a bit busy..But I make sure that she is happy,” I replied him.

“Your wife is having brain tumour,” the doctor said.

“Can’t be!” I said.

“Please check...my wife's name is Seher Malik,” I requested the doctor to check the reports again.

“Yes Mr. Malik. I know it is hard to believe but this type of tumor could have been cured,” the doctor said.

“She is having tumour in the front of the brain. It is directly linked with the eyes. The tumour has grown up to 4 cm now and it has spread to the other parts of the brain.”

“Can’t she be surgically operated?” I said, finding it difficult to believe whatever I heard from the doctor.

“It could have been when the tumour was small and benign. Now it has spread and complicated things.Moreover this has caused her heart to pump less oxygen to her brain.” The doctor kept his hand over my shoulder.

“Wasn’t there any warning symptoms associated with this?” I asked.

“Well every major disease comes with a warning sign and may be you were too busy for your wife,” the doctor said.

“Can you please tell me the warning signs for this disease?” I asked.

“For instance, slurry speech, feeling hallucinated, imbalance in the body, lack of focus or concentration, general fatigue, loss in appetite, inability to walk continuously or climb stairs, sweating profusely and poor eye sights could be few of them.”

I stood there in a long state of shock and dilemma. I couldn’t believe my ears. I had seen all these warning signs in front of my eyes. Now I realized how much sufferings she must have gone through.

“Doctor! Please save my wife,” I cried.

“If we try to operate her, we could be successful but she might lose her eyesight,” the doctor said.

I gave him a nod for the operation without consulting Seher. I was broken and shocked. Her disease could have been controlled and cured if I had paid much attention to her. That night I couldn’t control my tears. I feared confronting her. I never wanted to break in front of her.

“Ji, how are you?” she asked me.

“I am doing great Seher.” I gave her an animated smile.

“Oh so even you know now that I am almighty’s favourite,” she said, smiling at me.
"What are you saying, Seher?" I asked, trying not to sob in front of her.
"Brain Tumour!" she said.

“I am his special child and that’s why he gifted me with a dreadful disease like this ,” she added.

“I overheard what you and the doctor spoke,” Seher said.

“I have no fears of dying but I want to ask God – why he wanted to break our beautiful bond so early?” she added.

“Weren’t we happy together?” she asked me.

“We were, we are and we will always be happy forever. You will always be mine, Seher,” I said although tears welled in my eyes.

I finally cried in front of her. I hugged her so tight that no earthly power could separate us. She agreed to the operation. The D-day arrived when she was to be operated for the brain tumour.

“You shall be cured and together we both will lead a very happy life,” I said to her and kissed her forehead as she was taken to the Operation theatre.

“I know and I know I will fight with God ...he can’t snatch me from you...” she said.

“Shut up! You will be mine and will be forever mine!” I said to her.
“Yes , I am your and will be yours forever!” she said, smiling at me

The operation started at 8 AM. It went on for another 8 hours. The team of doctors finally entered outside the OT at 4 PM.

“Mr. Malik, we tried our best to save your wife but her body vital organs failed to support. She is no more,” the doctor said.

I broke into a loud shrill as I heard those words from the chief surgeon. I couldn’t accept her loss. Her memories shielded me like winds surrounding the stormy nights. How could I talk to her, laugh with her and how could I admire her mesmerizing smile? I seemed to have been drifted in her memories. I sat down at the hospital premises and wondered why Almighty chose her. I wanted to ask him one thing. Why was my Seher - the Chosen one?

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Life is precious. Any major illness has associated warning symptoms. The issue can be nipped in the bud. A stitch in time saves Nine. At the end of the day, we all love our dear ones and we do care about them. Make sure you never ignore any warning signs that your body gives – for that matter whether it be your parents, friends, wife or anyone whom you know. Take Care!

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