Rainbows

Story 1: Coincidental Meeting

The Good doctor:

It was the first time I had met him. Well, let me correct that. I already knew him, but this was the first time I was meeting him in person. 

My colleague and I were settling down to place our order for dinner. The tables were set around a massive banyan l tree in a pristine courtyard with tea lights hanging from its branches like fireflies in the sky. We had taken a table on the side. I had a speaking assignment at the conference the next day, and we were staying at the hotel overnight.

The moment he entered the dining area, I recognized him. He was one of my favorite actors from the few TV shows I watched. Our eyes met for a few seconds; I couldn't help smiling. I did not want to disrespect his privacy, so I focused on the menu card.

A few minutes later, I found him standing next to our table.

"Sorry to bother you, but could you help me place my order? I can't make sense of the menu here."

What a pleasant surprise! I took my chance. "Why don't you join us?" I looked at my colleague and then back to him.

He hesitated, but when my colleague nodded, he sat with us. We had a nice dinner, talking about why we were here. He had avoided any talk about his acting. He was posing more like a theater artist on a short tour of India. My colleague had not recognized him, so I played along with the fake story.

As we said good night, I handed him my card. He was staying at the same hotel. We went back to our rooms. Sleep took over once I lay down on the bed.

Later around midnight, I got a call from the hotel reception on my mobile. "Sorry to disturb you at this hour. Are you a doctor?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you know Mr. Nicholas Taylor?" I was lost for a few seconds, but then I remembered our meeting. "The actor Nicholas Taylor? Well, yes, I know him."

The receptionist asked me to go to his room. Mr. Taylor was not feeling well and had collapsed in his room. Perplexed at the request, I did not protest and rushed. There was a hotel doctor already attending Nicholas. A pungent smell of vomit seemed to be coming from the bathroom.

The doctor informed that Nicholas needed IV fluids. The hotel doctor and I agreed to take him to the emergency of a nearby private hospital.

At the hospital, Nick recovered by the time the first IV drip finished. He wanted to go back to the hotel. I tried to persuade him to stay till the morning, but he insisted. The hospital let him go on my request.

We came back. I settled him in his room. Once he was fast asleep, I tucked him in. I decided to watch over him for a while. I made myself comfortable on the sofa next to his bed.

I woke up at 7 AM. He was still asleep. He must have been feeling hot. I went near his bed to check on him. Nicholas lay curled, sleeping at peace. His innocent looks reminded me of his shows. I brought my thoughts back to my immediate task, counted the breaths as his chest moved, and checked his forehead for fever. He seemed to have recovered, so I left him a note and made him a bottle of rehydration fluid.

                                  ____________________________________________________

Nicholas:

When I woke up, I saw the note tucked under my mobile on the side table and the bottle filled with the rehydration fluid.

"Hi, I hope you feel better. I needed to catch up on some sleep. I have a full-day conference today. Stay inside today and take a rest. Safe travels in India. If you need anything, you know where to reach me."