Whispers

 ICU Room Number 104 - St. James Hospital

 It was that part of the night when everyone sleeps. The shadows of slumber linger in the hospital as the night staff works on. Life quivers and shivers in agony.

Tick tock tick tock....the time walks the clock.

Blink....beep beep..thut thut...lights blinked green and orange dots came alive to die the next moment. The hum mixed with other sounds from the hospital apparatus created weird unmatched notes with peculiar pauses to add to the serious starkness of the hospital room.

The frail body on the bed had eyes closed on her white cheeks. Many wires and tubes made her look different. The face looked tired and sad. But her flowing hair looked like champagne on the white pillow. It was as if life was trying to be with her as each strand of her hair shown brightly.

It was after sometime as a beep went out summoning the nurse who came to administer some medicine. As she measured it to exact proportions her eye caught something. She noticed the slight fluttering of the eyelashes sweeping the cheeks of the girl lying unconscious. Patient number 104 was reviving after the seven hour surgery. Time to report to Dr. Thomas the nurse decided. She hurried with her job and went out of the room to find the doctor as the night slept heavily in the hospital. Her steps made an odd sound which added to the already existing sounds in the room. At that precise moment the patient opened her eyes.

Where was she? She thought, her mind was still under heavy sedation and she could see the white room but register nothing. She closed and opened them trying to see clearly but then tired with efforts she just let them be...and listened to all the sounds of beeps...ticks...tocks...trickle....she heard some footsteps and became aware as someone entered, but she could not open her eyes she was too worn-out.

 "Another injection nurse and be quick. It will take another hour for her to come out.' A voice said in an authoritative tone.

The white shroud enveloped her again as she floated on clouds in air. She felt light and saw a bright light which was changing shape ....slowly it developed a tail ...then the form became visible and she caught her breath when she saw the splendid mount in front of her.

"Fluff… she cried and wanted to hold him...Her dear, dear Fluff.

He came towards her and stood looking at her expectantly.

 ‘Fluff my dear where were you?” She cried

 She decided she wanted to ride and with some effort she was flying in the sky towards her fascinating lands of those lovely tales.

 
The whispers

Fluff was Tia's best friend. She adored him with all her mind and heart. Fluff fitted in her life as a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. It was another story that this puzzle had only two pieces there was no need and no space left for anymore. It was just perfect.

Fluff was a stunning white horse as Tia told everyone. She could feel the wind bustling through her tresses as she galloped to the mountains through the plains and valleys. Fluff would take her to those lands she read in the books, on the path of stories. Tia would pick and choose the stories with tales and select some ideas on the way to weave them in solitude. She did try to knit a fascinating yarn with patterns of mystery, dreams and hope, then with delicate preciseness which would touch you and make you more curious and fill you with strange longing to find out the words would follow each other as rain drops on winter night. What happened then would be the question which would pop out of each and every eye which listened to her in soft hush. Her listeners would forget to utter a word but the speechless moment would be extremely pregnant. It was like giving a spoonful of water to a thirsty traveler. Each one of her friends would gather in her room on those long frosty winter evenings and look at her with eager faces, anticipation written in the eyes as they waited for her to create those wonderful worlds, and stories danced on her lips as snowflakes float from the winter sky. The warmth of fire and comfort of her stories was intoxicating. Tia would hold the hands as she walked to the magical land of infinite possibilities. Where the buttercups fought with forget me pansies where the nightingale taught the musical notes to other birds. In those land's streams changed the paths while you sang and the hearty laughter of trees echoed the forests. She painted the pictures with deft masterstrokes to fill it with captivating detail to feed the young minds with imagination to let them fly in their own land of fantasy.

Tia's friend Leon was the only one who would have the stability in his mind to question the logic of all the tales she narrated. He would not believe but then desperately wanted to. There would but a tug of war in his mind which made him question. All worlds she created and what he had learned and read in his young life were like parallel lines. He would often interrupt her story to ask

"No, way! The flowers cannot laugh, show me, and then I will believe." He would often exclaim.

 Shhhh... she would put her finger on his lips,

 "It is magic!!" she would whisper.

 “Magic is to be respected, you need silence of the soul to calm your mind...and the.....supernatural whispers and chants in your ears and takes you to that land..." she would close her eyes as he would stare at the mysterious ecstasy on her face with a delicate smile.

 "What? I don't believe you?"

"Well that is what my grandpa told me." Believe then you will see the unseen, the astonishing, the splendid ...the..." she would go on.

But Leon would just nod his head.

Everyone wanted to see Fluff, meet him, but he only visited Tia because she could hear the magic whisper....she was the only one to see him. She would take them out in the open and point to a distant star...

"Hey that is the star where he comes from ...he glides down on his delicate wings at night when there is no one around just to take me to those wonderful lands."

Everyone would look at that star ,too far to believe but her confidence prohibiting them to think otherwise.

Leon went away with his parents to the North. The evenings continued at Tia's place for some time but their frequency diminished slowly.

Tia went on to become a travel writer. The master story teller traveled far and wide for stories. Her travelogues were magical and her readers adored her. Now with her Fluff she went to explore the land, the sea, the mountains, the lakes and then she spun magnificent tales on legend and lore mixed with history to make it enthralling. It was marvelous to see a silken thread of history knitted well with geography with fine threads of folk tales and legends created a mesmerizing fabric with beautiful hues.

She felt Fluff was reluctant to stay with her. She was scared as he disappeared

Her throat had thorns she thought…

“Water..’she managed in a feeble voice as she woke up from that lovely dream.

With Fluff she had traveled the path of her life when consciousness started setting in. She became aware of the pain in her body. Her tears froze in her heart making it heavy as the realization of the situation set in.

 The nurse gave her some water as she continued to walk on the path of recent past in her mind.

Life's cup was brimming with happiness and wonder. But then the wicked witch of destiny came in with her black magic. A fall from a mountain top landed her in a strange place devoid of happiness. The light died in her eyes as she was admitted to the hospital.

Surgeries..... one ...two.... three... four she lost the count....as her life revolved in and out of many hospitals and white drab rooms.

 Her days and nights were suspended between periods of haze and daze. The clocks ticked, the pendulums moved between hope and hopelessness and time passed but nothing changed in her static world.

 'Tia my dear how are you?' her father's voice was sounding bright

 She tried to see his worried face when she caught a small streak of flickering hope in his eyes quivering like a flame against strong wind.

 Her eyes held a question mark.

 Tia I have just discussed and found out about a new line of treatment. "

 She closed her eyes

 "Listen to me my dear, this surgery has ninety percent chances of curing you.”

 Her lips quivered as she tried to see through the misty haze in her eyes.

"No Papa no more knives for me now.' she said in a listless voice as she shuddered

. He tried to convince her. She spoke no word and let the tears flow down to tell what was in her heart.

‘Just this once." he insisted.

"Ok Papa I agree, but I will not meet anyone I will endure painful procedure...for the last time...' she agreed reluctantly.'

Tears threatened to spill from the other pair of eyes as he controlled by gripping her bed to show the whiteness of his hands.

 She resigned herself to the administrations of the hospital staff hardly realizing what was happening around. With her parents she could see to feel the thoughts racing in their minds. The three pairs of eyes spoke without a sound and cried without any visible tears.

The night before the operation was the longest, darkest and bleakest. The minds had their own whirlpools to suck them.

Her thoughts were silver shivers of dread and fear. She fought herself. The early winter chill seeped in heart to turn it into a coldest desert. The dark night walked with heavy lonely steps leaving her in a valley of dead dreams and sinister images.

Coming Back-the Afternoon in the ICU

Tia woke up late and saw the face of her mother lined with worry looking exhausted.

Her mother looked at her with anticipation as she fluttered her eyes. Just then a nurse came over.

"Do not disturb the patient.' she whispered as she asked her mother to leave the room.

Tia tried to say something but her voice did not reach to her mother.

It was after some days when she was out of the ICU that she could talk and think. The surgery had been fine but whether she could walk, only time would tell. She would have to co-operate they said she had nothing left in her to go on. She was fatigued and just wanted to sleep, a sleep, without any compulsion to dream of past, present or future. She refused to get counseled. She refused to meet anyone just closed her eyes when the doctors visited.

 That evening she was lying on her bed watching the ceiling of her room with great interest. It was white just like her life there was nothing there no designs of hope she thought when she heard some footsteps.

 'Hi Good evening"

She immediately closed her eyes tightly.

"How are you?”

She gave no answer

"I thought I would just ..." the speaker left the sentence midway.

There was no sound except for rustling of some papers. She kept her eyes close, forced them to remain closed, but she sought to see who was there because the silence was getting uncomfortable. She tried to see under her lashes just noticed someone sitting in a white uniform...He did not speak and she refused to acknowledge his presence.

She heard him sing a tune still she closed her eyes tightly.

It was after about an hour when he ended the strange tacit war between them.

"I know you are listening to me even if you do not open your eyes.’

 "Listen to me your surgery has been very successful but now it is up to you ...you can improve only if you want to."

She did not say anything she had heard it all so many times...she will not listen to all this now she had decided.

'You have to believe that you will walk." He told her

 "How is it possible when I can't move my feet on the bed itself?' She retorted in an agitated tone.

"You can....you have to."

“Something which just exists in your imagination you want me to believe." she replied in a shaky voice.

 "Yes he said in my imagination, its magic and magic whispers to those who dare to believe." He laughed

Now she had to open her eyes ..."Magic whispers in the ears of those who dare to believe.....!"

This was she in some other time and place

 "Who are you...Dr. Thomas...?”

 "Leon for you Tia....not just some Dr. Thomas...?' he made a face...

"But you never believed in magic then..."

"Yes I did not but when I went away I kept thinking about your stories they never ever left me. They followed me to the medical college and in the hospitals I discovered the magic of faith, belief, imagination...it works...You rightly said it then, I experienced it and now we will have an actual proof if you help me ...magic in your mind and magic in my hands...we will have it in our lives. Now do smile and let me see if it still as charming as it was a long way back."

 A weak smile fluttered on her lips like a fragile butterfly.

"Well it is fine but less charming because your heart is not there.." There was a naughty note in his voice.

 "Your eyes used to dance when you smiled Tia ...and they will again I am sure.”

 "You are going through the physical rehabilitation course and walk and run and dance."

 “'Then we will go out together...."

"Where will we go?”

"To a magical land ...with Fluff ..." his eyes smiled with very different emotion

"Fluff! but fluff will have me only.." she laughed

"No way! He said softly

"I am going to carry you away on Fluff to a magical kingdom. It is the Prince who comes on the white mount but in our case it is the Princess coming on the splendid mount.'

"But I don't care just don't" Leon said as he took Tia's hand

They were both in the charmed land already.

 The nurse came in to get some papers signed and watched the two bewildered....nodded her head and went away

What has come over Dr. Thomas? She fought with confusion

 How was she to know that Fluff had already managed to take them to the magical land of love?