Short Story Friends – Two lives One Soul
Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com
I am a B.B.C reporter based in Australia, I am associated with a woman’s magazine. I am given the task of writing about a lady who has an extraordinary life story . I have to interview the lady and send a write-up for the magzine. Based in Sydney, I have to make a list of such people and then short list them. It is a tedious task,some of my friends come to my aid and i come to know about this Indian lady based in Melbourne.
I get her contact details and call her. She is surprised to get my call and agrees for the interview. I decide the convenient date as i have to fly from Sydney to Melbourne. I take the early morning flight and reach the airport. Here i am picked up by the lady’s chauffeur and driven straight to her residence. It takes half an hour to reach her place.
As soon as I reach, I am welcomed by a smart lady dressed in jeans and tees.She looks young and well kept for her age.Though a working lady,she has kept her promise and taken leave from work.She works as a manager with a renowned pharmaceutical company.She is a mother of two teenaged children,but still shows no signs of aging,even though she is sans make-up.
I am ushered in the living room,tastefully done in virginal white,with plush sofas giving the room a serene feeling. I am impressed and she offers me a cup of creamy latte and homemade fruit cake.The true Indian hospitality before we embark on work.
I see a slight limp when she moves,I enquire, then begins her extraordinary story. As she begins telling me about the extraordinary friendship she had with her friend Radhika, tears well in her eyes. She calms down after sipping a glass of water.She is Seema and Radhika was her college friend whom she lost in an accident.
Both the girls had taken admission in the same college and were following the same course. Both had been introduced to each other through a common friend. They were mere acquaintances. Both had their own close set of friends. But midway while doing their post graduation, their set of friends left college, both were lonely. Chance happening they started gelling with each other and within no time became bosom pals.
Radhika drove and she had bought a moped to go to college. Both came and went from college together. Radhika picked up Seema from home and then they proceeded to college. Both had developed a family friendship. Just as they were nearing completion of their post graduation Radhika got engaged. She was excited and shared her intimate secrets with seema. Seema was happy for her friend and was looking forward to the wedding which was scheduled before the exams.
Both were frantically doing the shopping for Radhika’s trousseau. Radhika had lost her father at an early age and her mother had single handily brought up Radhika and her three siblings who were younger to her. Seema’s parents were also providing all the help they could give.
It was 27th January which was deeply etched in Seema’s mind,both of them had gone for shopping on Radhika’s moped. While Radhika drove, Seema rode pillion holding the shopping packets. They chatted gaily about the wedding and before they could make out a city bus coming from the wrong direction hit them. Both lost their balance and stumbled. Radhika fell one side while Seema was dragged a little with the impact. Both became unconscious, some good Samaritans managed to take them to a nearby hospital and informed their guardians from a diary they had. Their parents rushed but Radhika had suffered a head injury so she could not be saved and she succumbed . Meanwhile Seema too was critical and had got multiple fractures.She too had to stay in the hospital as a number of surgeries were performed,her leg had been crushed and doctors worked on it.A metallic rod was put in the foot and so she had developed a limp.
Radhika’s mother was heartbroken as she had lost her husband and eldest child. Inspite of her grief she went to look up Seema in the hospital on a daily basis. The minute Seema was discharged from the hospital she came to know of Radhika’s death as her family had kept it a secret fearing she might go into a shock. She accepted it with a pinch of salt in fact she developed a strong bond with Radhika’s family. Radhika’s mother started treating her like her own lost daughter. She wanted Seema to marry Radhika’s fiance,who was distraught after Radhika’s death. But Seema refused as she felt it was betrayal to her pal. She didn’t want to appear for her exams but her teachers encouraged her so with great difficulty she appeared for the exams. Meanwhile her parents found a match and after exams she tied the knot in a quiet ceremony.
Before she knew her husband was offered a job in Australia. She was a bit upset as her family was in India and going to foreign shores meant leaving everyone. She had developed a strong bond with Radhika’s mother and had given her a promise to be like her eldest daughter.
After settling down in Australia, she honed her computer talent and procured a good job with a leading pharmaceutical company.
Her first responsibility she felt was not for her own family but Radhika’s family. She made it a point to make arrangements to bring Radhika’s mother to visit her in Australia. She wanted to gift her happiness. Seema made it a point to arrange marriages for Radhika’s siblings as a responsible elder sister. Her husband too is a support and whenever they visit India they go to Radhika’s place, who regards them more than her own children.
Seema feels happy in having two mothers but unhappy at the loss of her sister.She feels they had two lives,two bodies but one soul. Death has united them into a single soul.
The way she is caring and feeling for Radhika’s family is extraordinary and worth writing. I end on this note,take my leave as i have to send this for publication.
For them it can be truly said”Friendship is one mind,in two bodies”
–END–
Preeti
