A friend above all

It is a beautiful park named Nethaji Park in Nagercoil, where peoples gathered around to get soothed of from their daily routine.  There too the teens looked around by rolling their magnetic eyes attracted to the opposites. Plenty of seats remain occupied mostly by the Homo sapiens except somebody. At one end of the park, Raghav a young man who looked fixedly onto a pair of eyes owned by the gorgeous girl named Ranjana. They were about 5 meters apart from each other. Neither a love nor a lust was found in his eyes. Even then he stared at her eyes. Now, he was sinking deeply into those eyes rolling four years back.

On February 29, 2012, Raghav was doing his final year in B.E.Mechanical Engineering. In his hostel room, he was at the height of frustration and anxiety. The temperature of his breath increased and sounds like the smoke expels from a train. He kept a long rope within his hand and tried to hang himself in the ceiling fan. His heart beat might have amplified to the next door. His father died earlier. He had his mother and a little sister. They had thought that at least he would have overcome the poverty of the family. His mother had collected the money by lending from someone and also by a loan.

Raghav imagined his college life as like a college showed in cinemas. He thought of to enjoy! enjoy! and enjoy!. As a result, he got a bag of arrears that is up to 27 and think of his future like a black hole. The picture of his mother and sister waved in his mind screen. His heart robbed lady love samyuktha too rejected him. Immediately he thought to do a cowardice deed by bringing together his courage. His heart sounds like a beat box, standing on the chair, inserted his head into the rope as the goat getting slaughtered. He was at the near moment of ending his life. He closed his eyes, tasted the salty tear drops. He was in a hurry to kick down the chair.

Suddenly, he found somebody knocked his door. He didn’t realize that knock is going to open his future. He opened the door, there he saw his friend cum classmate Rahul. Rahul had recognized that what would have happened next?

“What the hell you have tried to do man”

“I don’t want to live in this world, I don’t have any right to live in this world, I am useless”

“Stop talking like this nonsense give me the rope, come with me, just have a ride outside come on”

“No, I won’t”

“Just come on egghead” Rahul roared and slapped Raghav. Rahul pulled him to the nearby Nethaji Park by bike.

Both of them sat on the cement chairs of the park. The words from their heart had taken leave for a while remained silent. Tears rolled down from Raghav’s eyes. He was suffered by immense grief. A hard time in his life pained inside.

“Hey Raghav, stop crying man, ok what is your problem? Life is to live, you have to live. Don’t decide to do anything, like a coward”

“No, I am the elder in my family, my mom and sister trusted me a lot but I am I am worthless, I am afraid of the future”

“How many arrears you have?”

“27”

“Just 27, is this the reason for you to quit your life? I know somebody who has 36, 38 arrears. First, you stop crying man. Do you think the whole world will grief along with you, No; No one will look after you. Because of your wrong decision, who is going to affect? Your mom and your sister. Are you trying to leave them alone in this world by presenting a path of thorns toward their end of life?”

“It’s disgusting my love also failed, ‘Samyuktha’ she hated me”

“What is this success and failure in love? Is it a competition? No, it’s just a beautiful feeling, like the fragrance of the flower, that’s all. Just grasp it and move ahead in your life”

“…………..”

“Dude, in this world everyone has their own difficulties and problems to look upon. Even for the great artist Charlie Chaplin who made everyone laugh, had his own grieves. He said, “I always want to walk in the rain so that no one knows that I am crying”. No one will felt for others problem. They just say “oh my god!” and run away. Just think positive and come out of your problems. Every problem should have a solution. I promise that you should clear all the arrears next time. I know someone who has cleared 36 arrears at a stretch. Definitely, you can do it ya”

Raghav looked on Raghul’s eyes and realized that he got a new power inside his mind.

“If u wants to forget a sad moment in your life you should transfer yourself to the deed which you are much interested. Just like hearing music, paintings or doing a tremendous exercise. U are interested in painting know, then why didn’t you try that?”

Raghav got goose bumps and said, “Definitely I will do Raghul”, walked with a positive attitude.

Like the silence after a heavy storm, Raghav slowly turned to normal. In the mean time, he had been drawn a painting. That was the painting of an angel. Since it was a painting of an angel he wants to have a special pair of eyes, so he left the portion of eyes blank. He decided to complete the painting after meeting the beautiful which will be suitable to the angel.

After a month, the semester examinations were started and he appeared for all the examinations with the tiresome effort behind. In a short while, the results were published. Raghul saw his result before him and ran toward Raghav lifted him up above his heads and sounds, “my friend you have done it”.

“Raghav superb yar, you have cleared all the papers”

“Raghul, I am alive because of you. Without you I am nothing”

“Hey, don’t exaggerate it’s all up to you and all the credits goes to you. Proud to say that you are my friend”

“Raghul one more news, I got a job in ‘Global solutions’ software company”

“Wow! That’s great ya, you deserved it”

“Thank you, friend”

Raghav started working in the Global Solutions Company, Coimbatore. While, Raghul got employed at another Multinational company in Chennai. Both of them were in contact then and there. Four years ran away. On 20^th of February 2016, Raghav got received a call at 8am.

“Hello”

With a whispering voice on the other side, “Hello, I am ….I am Raghuls brother. He met with an accident today; He is in a serious condition”

“What?!!! Where the accident happened? Which hospital?”

“Accident happened near Anna bus stand, Nagercoil; He is admitted in GEM hospital, Nagercoil”

Raghav had gone mad. He couldn’t believe this. He started from there and prayed for his friend throughout the journey. He reached the hospital at 5pm. With a weighed heart and a swinging head, he entered the hospital. Raghav’s brother ran to him and hugged around with nonstop tears wetted his shirt. He showed a person who stands nearby and said, “Brother, he is the man took him to the hospital”

Raghav turned to him, “How it happened?”

“A lorry hit him; he fell down; another lorry behind ran over him. His body pierced into two pieces……I ran to him, I didn’t know what to do next? At that stage too he hold my hands and asked me to donate his organs. Then I called the ambulance and reached this hospital. It is not to be happen to him”

Raghav sat down by holding his hand over his head. In a moment doctor came out from ICU and said, “Sorry, he is brain dead; as per his wish if you don’t have any reluctance on donating his organs please sign in this form”

Raghul’s father signed with a shivering hand and cried like anything which made any one to feel the grief. Soon after, Raghul’s organs were taken and transported to the corresponding beneficiaries.

Raghav asked the doctor, “ Could you please tell me the beneficiaries doctor?”

“The heart is for a 13-year-old small boy named Arshad from Coimbatore; Kidney is transplanted for a 60-year-old man named Habibullah from Tirunelveli and his eyes to a 20-year-old girl Ranjana who is admitted in this hospital”

“Thank you doctor”

Raghav felt the quake in his heart and shed tears. He couldn’t believe that his friend was no more. “My god why you have taken my friend?; Ahh! He is not only my friend he is… he is all to me”

Raghul’s eyes were transferred to the girl named Ranjana. Raghul’s funeral was over. Raghav stayed there for two days. Then he went to the hospital to see that girl Ranjana. That was the day she was going to see the world at first. The doctor slowly opened the band aid. Ranjan opened her eyes at a snail’s pace the images turned from blur to clear. Raghav stand behind all and stared his friend’s eyes fixed on her.

Her mother introduced one by one, “Hey dear I am your mother; He is your father; this is your brother and he is the doctor who did the operation”. Raghav looked his friend in her eyes and went away from that place.

Later on, Raghav tried a lot to forget the incident but he didn’t. He tried to involve him in some other job seriously but failed. After a week, the same Nethaji park, Nagercoil on 29^th February 2016,

“Ah! My friend’s eyes” saying this he stared at her eyes. Yes, it was Ranjana. He hides behind a tree. The eyes which gave him a dozen of motivation; he couldn’t get from any motivational books. Tears filled his eyes. Few minutes later, he started walking from there.

“God! It will be better if it rains now”

“Why?” his instinct asked

“I want to cry now”

Suddenly, that happened yes the shower of rain wetted him. He slowly walked into the rain. His tears were dissolved by the rain. It was rained only up to a particular region around him. Raghav wetted the non-wetted floor with his wetted legs. Another pair of wetted legs printed and fainted side by. That must be his friend’s……

Finally, Raghav completed his beautiful angel painting. He found that as his best which he ever painted.

–END–