THE SHOOTING STAR
The sunshine broke the darkness of the room and crept silently inside. Something was glistening in the beam. It revolved, split up into colourful rays and then rejoined. It was a magical ring. It floated in the air and landed below a beautiful foot of a young lady. Her lips were like that of pomegranate skin, her cheeks were sprayed with the pinkish orange of dawn. A pair of diamond studs took the pride of dwelling on her ears. She wore a white, silky, self-designed gown with a smart bough in the hip region of it. Her eyes and eyelashes opened like peacock feather and a ray was emitted from her eyes. It hit the wall and a passage was formed and the magical ring floated behind her. It lead into a dark space. “What do the heavens say?”, she questioned. “They await your command my goddess”, replied a humble voice. “Let the mission begin.” “At your service. I shall give them your word.” She turned to her right and smiled and the beam from her smile emitted a silvery face. “Moon, you may start your remit as well”, she commanded and he bowed in turn. She caught the floating magical ring and dropped it down. Down on earth, two children Meena and Sona lay on the terrace admiring the galaxy. “Wow, the milky way looks awesome!” “Yeah Sona, look at the moon’s brilliance. There could be nothing greater." “Children!”, interrupted a voice. “Money has the greatest power. I can have that moon under my feet with money in my pocket!” “Mother!”, gasped Sona while Meena’s eyes expressed startle. “Meena, Harish uncle is the richest man in our area. I once happened to see his huge house while passing by with mom”, said Sona. ''Yeah mom has told me also that there is nothing that his house doesn’t have. I reckon there are many toys and play kit, may be, ones, better than ours in there,” replied Meena. Mrs. Rama Ragesh’s eyes showcased a glitter and the children rolled their eyeballs towards the direction of her gaze and the glitter reflected in their eyes too. “It’s a shooting star! Dad has told that it has the power to make our dreams come true." " Lets ask it to grant us everything that Harish uncle’s house has.” “Well said children. Not just that, pray that we inherit everything from them. Why should they have it? After all we’ve only seen the shooting star n only we deserve all the riches!,” exclaimed Rama. “Ok mom”, said the children in agreement and the three prayed in unison. “Honey, its bed time, put the children to bed”, cried a male voice from below and soon Meena, Sona, Rama and Ragesh were on their beds, fast asleep. The silence of the dawn was broken by the awakening alarm of the cock. It was a beautiful day with the debut of spring. Fresh perfume entered the room and awoke the members of the room with its fragrance. The cool drops from the shower poured on Rama’s body as she traveled her soap from her shoulders to fingers. She slowly motioned it on her neck and cascaded it downwards. She was admiring her shape and enjoying her bath. Tired of waiting, Ragesh left the house in hunger. Finally, Rama finished her long bath, let the children to take their shower and entered the room to dress up. She sprayed her favourite perfume under her arms and wore an attractive saree. Her eyes fell on the kitchen. She felt too lazy to cook and ordered four pizzas. She and her children finished up their delicious meal and finally Rama decided to call her husband for breakfast. She picked up the phone and rang up to his mobile. “Rag, I have ordered pizza for you. So be a good boy and come home to eat.” “Why not?! I’m deliriously happy now! I have won Harish’s riches in gambling. Its all ours now!!” “Ours!!!! You are a genius honey! Muah.. lets party together” “Yeah, I’ll be right back”. Rama’s heart overflowed with joy. “Children, we’ve got Harish’s riches!”. She kept walking hastily in and around the house in excitement. “Now we can have all their toys!”, exclaimed the children. The doorbell vibrated their excited hearts and Rama opened the door to receive Ragesh. “Come, lets move on to Harish’s house, I mean our house!." Rama packed all their lodgings and the four left for their new home. The new house was quite big, with myriad rooms. The showcase was filled with medals and intricate statues and the wall contained artistic paintings. Rama hastily entered Mrs.Sahana Harish’s room to investigate her wardrobe. It contained disparate designer wear, cotton and silk sarees inside which matching jewellery were placed for each. She tried them all and admired her beauty in the dressing table’s mirror beside the wardrobe, while the children were busy inspecting the toys in Ranga Harish and Ganga Harish’s room. Ragesh was busy swimming in their pool and the air was filled with enthusiasm. After a busy day of raiding the house, the four met up for dinner. Rama once again ordered food from outside and they enjoyed their feast. The four, opted for separate spacious rooms and laid down to sleep. The next morning, the house was filled with peaceful silence. Rama struggled to break her sleep. With no mood to even have coffee, she entered the bathroom to have her most yearned bath in a bath tub. She untied her clothes and comfortably snuggled inside the bath tub. She spotted a faint, purple bruise on her breast, that appeared like a mosquito bite. Grumbling about the mosquito menace and ignoring it, she had her pleasurable bath. She finished it and put on one of Sahana’s best clothes. The children raced into Ganga Harish’s room. Sona grabbed the alluring teddy bear and Meena tried to grab it from her. Meena pinched Sona, so that she dropped the teddy, but Sona’s hold was tight and in turn, she pinched Meena harder. Ragesh was joyous over the new acquired wealth and was happy that he could drink as much. Weeks passed. Rama’s breast felt hot and swollen. Then she felt a lump, a very rare occurrence for IBC patients. She rushed to the doctor. She was diagnosed and the doctor said “Unlike most breast cancers, IBC appears throughout the breast tissue, meaning there is usually no tell tale lump. Most of the time a mammogram or ultrasound does not detect the cancer. But you are lucky that both did. Come here for regular chemotherapy and I can assure you one out of six chances for your survival”. Rama was heart broken and she faintly walked into the car. She reached her house and stepped inside it to hear screams. “That’s my train toy!” “No, I’ve taken it from you and its mine now!” “POW!” “PUNCH!” “Shut up!”, yelled Rama and at once, silence was regained. With heavy heart, she sought her husband, but he wasn’t in a position to converse. He was unsteady with slurred speech and flushed face. He had been drinking all day. Depressed by her misfortune, she threw herself on the bed with tears rushing her eyes. The next day she arrived at the hospital for treatment. The doctor said, “An ultrasound and needle biopsy also identified cancer in three lymph nodes. You must take immediate treatment. This stuff spreads like fire” Rama began to take experimental drug followed by standard chemotherapy. In eight weeks, her tumor shrunk in half, but it began to grow again she had a mastectomy, which included the removal of 27lymph nodes. She reached home, after her day’s treatment. She found Ragesh over drunk and beating up the kids. She threw him aside and the kids yelled at her for leaving them alone with their drunkard father. Weak, mentally and physically, depressed and downcast, she went to bed. Unconsciously, in sleep, she kept mumbling “Why is my life in hell now? Why should I have so much of problems?” Suddenly a bright light appeared, which formed miscellany of colourful rays and a voice said, “You asked me to grant you everything that Harish and his family had right? Not just that, you wanted to inherit everything from them, leaving them with nothing behind, right? This is what they had. Harish had all riches. He was also a drunkard, his children used to keep fighting and his wife was a cancer patient. As per your wish, you’ve inherited everything from them and now, they are happy”. Rama sprang up to her feet with sweat pouring on her face. The next morning, she called upon Harish and Sahana and offered to give them back their riches. The couple was happy and agreed to it. She managed to take her children and her unsteadily walking husband to their old house. That night, she ran up to the terrace and began sobbing. She looked at the moon and said,”I’m…..I’m extremely sorry. I said I could have you at my feet with money. But now I can understand that pride goes before a fall and attitude determines my altitude”. She looked at the stars and said, “Please forgive me. I was greedy to ask for grabbing someone else’s riches. I admit my mistake. I was happier with what I had. Please take away my woe. I’m dying. I will never do it again. I will also help the poor. Please save me”. She bitterly wept and went down to sleep. The next morning, she woke up trembling. She felt chill, water on her face. “Honey, today I’ve made coffee for you. I kept calling you, but you were in deep sleep. That’s why sprinkled water on your face,” said Ragesh with a silly smile on his lips. “Thank you, I will cook your favourite tamarind rice today”. She heard Sona’s voice from the nearby room. “Here, Meena, use my pencil to draw. You can search yours later” Rama felt her heart light and got ready for her next session of chemotherapy. The doctor looked at her breast and said, “It’s a miracle! Your cancer has disappeared”. “No, doctor, my vices have disappeared!” “What??” With a smile, she left the hospital. "Children, there is nothing greater than love and humility," she said as they lay under the sky gazing at the milky way.
