Be-imaan Munni 2

CONTINUED from BE-IMAAN MUNNI

……..and while John was out shopping, drank the whole bottle of the rat-poison.

He waited for an hour. Then Another

Nothing happened. Later he came to know that John had actually used up the whole rat-poison and the bitter liquid which Sid had drunk was actually vinegar. It did not take long for John to understand that Sid was contemplating suicide. Sid too became wary of John. He realized that as long as John is living with him, he would not be successful in his suicide-bid.

One day, he called John and told him.

Sid: “John, I no more need your services. I am happy with whatever you have done for me, but now I think I can handle everything on my own.”

John:“But….”

Sid:“No John, I can look after myself. Take 15000 rupees from the almirah as your next 2 months salary and also, you can take my bike. I can write a letter saying I am giving you this bike lest someone suspect you of stealing it. Just write down the letter on a piece of paper and I shall sign it.”

 

John was hesitant to leave and did not give in, especially since he knew that Sid would try to commit suicide. They had never discussed this earlier and finally John gathered courage to speak up

John: “I don’t want you to go away from this world. Please Mr.Siddharth, don’t do this. In army, many a times, some of us lose limbs, and we reach a stage where we start hating ourselves, but none of us ever commits suicide.”

Sid laughed at him.

Sid : “What? Go away from this world? I am not going anywhere”

John: “You are lying; I know you tried to commit suicide. Please don’t do it “

Sid: “You have been mistaken, John. How could you even think like that? Why should I suicide? See, I am so happy and content with my life.”

 

Eventually, John was convinced and Sid was all alone in his house. He started revisiting his suicide plans. This time he wanted a fail-proof plan. So he decided to visualize each and every detail of his plan before executing it. He went about collecting information about various possibilities. By this time, he had a number of options enlisted – jumping into a water body, hanging from the fan, or lying on the railway tracks for a train to come and end his life.  He liked the last option very much.

On a dark and stormy night, when most people would be in their homes, he planned to complete his plan of action. He covered a lot of distance to reach a place which was not at all crowded.  The storm and the rain and the muddy place made his task even more difficult.  He finally reached the railway tracks and lied down on the tracks. It was raining intermittently and he had become all wet. The storm had grown fierce and he started shivering. There was no sign of any oncoming train. He patiently waited for an hour and he could now hear the vibrations of an oncoming train. He was relieved and thought, “Finally, the end is near”. The sound grew stronger and stronger, but then nothing happened. The train went and passed by the other track. Sid was heartbroken. He started crying but nevertheless continued waiting for some other train. By this time, he had almost given up hope, when suddenly the sound of another approaching train gave him a ray of hope. When the train came nearer, he felt someone shove him off the track.

Sid:”Who are you? Why don’t you just let me die?”.

The other man:”I am Pritesh. Come on man, say thanks. I saved your life”

Sid:”Do you know I got this opportunity after such a long time. You ruined it.”

Pritesh:”Ruined what? ”

Sid: “ I was waiting for that train to take my life and you came in between”

Pritesh:”Goodness me. I thought you got stuck in the mud or something. “

Then he laughed a lot.

Sid: “what are you laughing at?”

Pritesh: “Nothing. Was wondering why you would do such a thing”

Sid:”Can’t you see? I can’t see. I am blind”

Pritesh:”Oh, so that’s the reason. Come on, suicide is not an option. Did you consult a doctor?”

Sid: “Yes of course, an eye replacement will help but I am not getting any donor. The near-by eye bank is running empty. And then of course, I don’t have the money to pay for the operation”

Pritesh: Come with me. You are already very wet. Come to my home. We will find out a solution”

Then Pritesh took Sid in his car to his home. It was a huge bungalow. Sid dried himself and Pritesh offered him a fresh set of clothes. Sid changed and they sat on the dinner table.

Pritesh:”So what if I promise you a pair of eyes within a week and also I pay for the operation?”

Sid:”You are kidding. Why would you help me?”

Pritesh :”You must have realized the size of my home and also may be how rich I am. I could easily get you a pair of eyes through my contacts and also easily pay for your operation. You can pay back the money in due time as we are now good friends”

Sid: “I can’t believe it” And he started crying.

Pritesh and Sid talked a lot.

Pritesh later on dropped Sid home when the storm subsided. While getting into his car Pritesh said, “We will meet at ‘Tomahawk’s bar’, a month later when you would be having your vision back”.

A week later, Sid got a call from Appollo hospital saying arrangements had been made for his surgery and an ambulance would come to pick him up.

The operation was successful. Two weeks after the operation, Sid was discharged. Doctor had advised Sid not to strain his eyes much but nevertheless he started painting and sketching. He was getting restless as he wanted to meet Pritesh urgently. He tried calling his number but no one would pick the call. Finally the D-day came and he reached Tomahawk’s bar.

He was waiting near the bartender expecting Pritesh to come up any time and talk to him. After some time, the bartender approached him and asked him”Sir, are you Mr. Siddharth?”

Sid:”Yes”

The bartender handed him a sealed envelope. Sid opened the envelop, there was a letter inside. The contents were as follows:-

“Hi Sid,

Hope this letter finds you in good health. Hope my eyes are serving you well. Ok, now let me tell you a story. The day I met you at the railway tracks, i had come to the tracks for the same reason – suicide. My reasons were a bit different – I was actually reasonably rich but recently had suffered heavy losses in the business and was under heavy debt.  Because of this, my wife Munni Lakhani had lost interest in me and had started going out with other people. Because of this, I was depressed as I used to think that her love for me was true and had planned to commit suicide. But that stormy night, I frankly had no idea you were planning to suicide and thought of saving you before my death. But your story gave me a new idea. I could indeed help you with my eyes and also pay for the operation by selling off my bungalow – my only property left, which otherwise would go to Munni. I pledged my eyes and personally for you and soon I will suicide and of course to take care that no damage happens to the eyes- I would cut my veins.

Now, you have been restored your eyesight and Munni is left with nothing. Let her find someone else!!”

Sid folded the letter and put into his pocket. He shed a tear for Pritesh and smiled wryly thinking about Munni who would never know what true love is.

He quietly walked away thinking about how fate was playing different games with all of them.