Mahi and Sakshi looked on as Meera ran downstairs absolutely elated. She somehow looked a lot like Rishabh, happy and excited, they wondered what had her so delighted. The couple could hardly keep themselves from smiling.
"Mahi, Sakshi you know what.. I've a good news" Meera squealed in excitement, "I had applied for the job of consultant at seraphic hospitals and my application just got accepted, I can't wait to join back"
"At seraphic? I'm so happy for you mumma" Mahi spoke as he hugged her tight. Seraphic hospital was the best in Mumbai, probably the best in country and his mother deserved only the best.
"Should we make kheer? The occasion deserves imo" Sakshi suggested. Mahi agreed immediately.
Rishabh was about to throw his laptop. He was watching a movie but it was too boring and he didn't have anything else to do now that Mahi bhai had confiscated his phone and his playstation. So he did what he had learnt always worked, annoying Cheeku bhaiya.
He ran to Virat's room and jumped on his bed directly. Virat sat up startled, getting a huge urge to pull his own hair. "Rishu aaraam se nahi aa sakta tu? "
"Aap so rahe ho? Uth jao na, mai bore ho rha hoon" Rishabh spoke, pulling the blanket away from Virat.
Virat pulled the blanket up again, "Pareshan mat kar Rish. Sone de mujhe, sar dard ho rha hai mereko"
"Toh mai sar daba dunga na, let me come" Rishabh told.
"No" Virat yelled, "let me sleep. And switch off the lights"
"Aapko jyada pain ho rha hai toh medicine le lo na" Rishabh urged.
"Aise chhote mote sar-dard ke liye mai medicines nahi leta" Virat uttered.
"You do not behave this weird agar chhota-mota pain hota toh. Take medicine or else mai bhaiya ko bula rha hoon, wohi denge aapko" Rishabh told.
Virat straightened up immediately. "Thik hai, la kahaan hai dawai "
Rishabh brought a painkiller and gave him. Virat swallowed it immediately. "Ab so jao aap" Rishabh spoke pulling the comforter up his head.
"Good night. Light off karde yaar please" Virat uttered as he pulled the comforter tighter.
For the next one week, Virat's headache was continuously increasing. He had initially dismissed it thinking it was simply migraine but certainly it wasn't so. Today, he felt fever too, which was so unbearable that he dared not come out of the room and risk falling down the stairs. But at the same time he didn't want Mahi bhai getting to know about this or worse his mother otherwise they would take him to those stinky hospitals and that would be his end.
He googled his symptoms and he was convinced his days were limited. There was no point of going to hospital anyway. He got up with difficulty, washed his face and set his hair and went downstairs, if these were his last days, he would like to spend them with his family happily. He wished all this was just a nightmare, he had so many dreams, to marry Nush, to pamper and spoil Rish to no ends, to spend time with his mother, to be his bhai's support when he grows old, to bicker with his bhabhi everyday, although that would never be enough, he chuckled.
Virat tripped over the last stair, luckily for him, MS had just gotten there on time. He held Virat carefully and made him sit on one of the chairs. Virat held Mahi's hand and buried his head in his chest. MS felt a little weird, Virat's hand was warm and his demeanor seemed sick. "Cheeku, bachcha kya hua? Tabiyat kharab hai? " Virat shook his head. MS didn't buy that. He made Virat look up and checked his forehead. "Bataya nahi tune? Bukhar hai tujhe" Virat wrapped his arms around Mahi's waist and again burried his face in his chest.
"Khana khana hai na Cheeku? " Mahi asked him gently.
"Aap khilaoge? " Virat asked. Mahi hummed in yes. Virat's condition felt terrible, at the moment he would do anything Virat asked him to do, this was literally nothing.
Virat's eyes welled up as he chewed the first bite from Mahi's hands. "Kya hua beta? Bata na, you are scaring me now" Mahi asked. Virat furiously wiped his tears, he felt terrible for falling weak. He would never let his family know anything, he would never give them the pain he was going through.
"Cheeku? " Mahi coaxed again. "Kuchh nahi hua bhai. I'm ill, aapko pata hai na mai aise hi karta hoon beemar hota hoon toh" Mahi didn't nudge him further, he hoped it was just what Virat was telling.
"Cheeks baat maan le beta ab toh, come to the hospital. Your headache should have gone by now, I suspect it's some infection" Meera told and Virat shook his head stubbornly. "Hospital nahi jana bhaiya" he muttered against Mahi's chest.
Mahi looked at Meera helplessly. Meera eyed him to talk to Virat once. Mahi nodded in response.
"Cheeku I'll be with you bachcha. Theek hona hai na tujhe? " Mahi tried. When he didn't get any response he tried again, "You want to play the next Ind vs Aus series, haina? You'll miss out if you are ill"
Mahi was real worried when he didn't get response even on this. Virat didn't like to miss cricket for anything, being sick with fever was the last thing he would want to miss cricket for.
He moved his hand over Virat's hand, "It's difficult seeing you like this beta, do this for me if you don't want to do this for yourself. Karega na? "
Mahi's heart broke when he felt his shirt dampening near Virat's face. Virat clutched the shirt tightly and wiped his face over it. "I'll do anything for you Bhai"
"Toh come to the hospital with me. Get healthy and get rid of these tears" Mahi told. Virat agreed, albiet reluctantly, but agreed.
To say Virat was horrified would be an understatement when he saw the doctor coming in with a big, blunt needle. His horror increased thousand times when she asked him to uncover his back, was she trying to stab him to death here only?
Meera sensed his worry and spoke gently, "it's just to take sample Virat, nothing else. Don't worry, it will be done in a minute or two"
Virat was not convinced. He had not seen anyone taking samples like that. Why did they have to do that, may be because he really had the disease google told him he has, that's why they were dealing differently.
"Wait, I'll explain you" Meera said, "This needle is used to take your CSF sample, it cannot be taken from anywhere else but here, your back. Don't overthink, it's just like your blood sample. Kuchh nahi hoga tujhe, you'll be completely fine"
Virat shook his head, how can someone survive if they were stabbed in their back with something like that? He pleaded with his eyes to Mahi bhai, but Mahi bhai just got up and embraced him, "just 5 minutes cheeks, I'm here only", he said as he rubbed his hands over his back before lifting his T-shirt up. He made him lie down as the doctor instructed him to.
The doctor swiftly inserted the needle upto his spine. Virat winced loudly, it hurt like hell, way worse than a normal needle, which he earlier felt was the worst thing to ever exist. When she didn't take out the needle for another one minute, he was sure the doctor was planning to kill him right there at the spot. "Please dont move. I need your cooperation here, please" The doctor said as he tried to move his legs. When she knew he won't listen to her, she asked Mahi to hold his legs. "Stay still Cheeku, it will ruin things otherwise" Meera requested. Virat tried to curb the voices of the demons inside his head by closing his eyes, but they were just getting louder. He opened his eyes and looked at Mahi bhai, he could see the worry in his eyes, at the same time he could also see the love shining. Mahi bhai smiled at him, although his eyes were still gloomy, he forced himself to smile back. This time he could also see his eyes smiling, he felt a lot better now.
After the doctor took the sample and went away, making him lie on his back on the bed, he dared to ask, "Mumma what was this sample for? "
"To check whether you have meningitis or not. Your symptoms were suggesting this" Meera told.
"Okay" Virat nodded, "what is that? "
"Nothing" Meera said, "Just an infection"
Virat felt a lot relieved, so that was not what he thought it was? When he googled it showed that he had some rare cancer, which had a cure rate of just 30 percent, even lesser in males. "So I'm not dying? " Virat couldn't help asking.
"What? " Mahi and Meera both asked in unison. What even was the boy talking?
"Nothing, forget that. I'm not dying" Virat said, as much as to himself as to his brother and his mother.
"Idiot. Who told you that you are..? Stupid" Mahi felt like whacking him hard. Was that why he was so miserable in the morning?
"No one. I just googled why I had this headache and then this fever" Virat told sheepishly.
"Mahi please confiscate his laptop too, ipad and whatever device he can open google in" Meera spoke exasperated.
"But why? " Virat whined. Was confiscating his phone not enough?
"Because you NEVER google your symptoms. I mean it, NEVER" Meera told strictly. Virat nodded his head like an obedient child. His mother looked very offended.
"Mumma" Virat said, just to divert her mind, "Mai kitne din mein theek ho jaunga toh? Aur is this thing deadly? "
Mahi felt like palming his face, why was the kid hell bent on that d word? Meera replied patiently, "Just some weeks. And it is not deadly, given you take medicines on time"
"And this was just sample, haina? What if it is not menigi- whatever you are saying? " Virat asked. He hated how his brain wasn't resting and kept suggesting him worse things but he couldn't help it.
"Even better if it's not meningitis but simply migraine" Meera said. Virat raised his eyebrows, "then why did you stab me with that? It's paining so bad, my back has broken, will I ever be able to play cricket? "
"Virat enough" Mahi said, "Kuchh nahi hua hai tujhe. Rest your brain and sleep" MS had to put his foot down at last.
Once Virat came home, he opened his laptop and searched, "Is meningitis fatal?" He tried not to, but he couldnt control the urge, he suspected that Meera was just saying sweet nothings to not worry him otherwise why would he get stabbed in the back for nothing? If it was a normal disease, why couldnt a blood sample be taken like every other disease? As far as he knew, such invasive procedures are only done for serious illnesses.
The results came out, "Bacterial meningitis is fatal. Those who do recover can develop permanent hearing disabilities, brain damage and learning disabilities"
Virat's doubts were confirmed. It was not 'just some infection' as Meera said, this was a deadly one. He was a healthy young male, getting treated in the country's best hospital, so he had a chance of recovering but what if he gets those post recovery complications? That, in his thought, was very likely.
He wished the report comes negative. But then his brain wandered what if it's actually that tumor he suspected at first? His brain was just not letting him think right, he was convinced he was finished either way. He tried to behave as normal as he could in front of the family, but his demeanor gave away. He hated how bad he was making Mahi bhai feel, but he could do nothing to help it. The man had hardly had a genuine smile since the past 2 days, all because of him.
The report came after 48 hours, it was positive. Virat had bacterial meningitis, nothing that cannot be cured, but also not something that should be taken lightly. Virat, however, was absolutely not positive, this just meant he would have to live with permanent disability, if the disease didn't kill him. He absolutely loathed the probability that he would become a liability to his family if he didn't die because of the disease, that would be a lot more worse.
Have you ever googled your symptoms? And have you experienced something like Virat that google showed you only had limited days to live?
Anyways, pro tip: NEVER, EVER, google your symptoms, no matter how much the urge is!