Short Story Social Issue – How Many friends do you have
Photo credit: kumarnm from morguefile.com
I rushed towards my locker in the staff room opened it and searched for a tissue which I kept a week ago.
“A true friend is one to whom you can show all wounds and can openly tell him the name of person who has given those. Do you have any such friend? Do I have” she had scribbled those words on the tissue with the hand which had a cannula pierced in it. And there was a big question mark beneath.
I was moving out after changing as I was off duty when I saw her doing this from the window of special ward. I snatched the paper and pen from her. “It will start bleeding if you will not rest your hand dear” – I commanded her politely. She then slipped into her blanket with her back towards me and started sobbing. Before I could ask her anything I got a call from my colleague that the bus is about to leave, so I rushed out threw my belongings in my locker. I don’t know why instead of throwing the tissue which I snatched from her in the dustbin I kept it in my locker.
I work as head nurse in a small nursing home in a suburban area. She was admitted to the nursing home a week back with some injuries on the forehead. It seemed as if she had bumped her head on some heavy object, but parents told us that she slipped from the stairs. I was appointed to attend her and do the dressing. When I asked her parents how come the wounds are on the forehead only and not even a scratch on any other part of the body if she has slipped the doctor in charge asked me to concentrate on my work.
“Do what you are here for. You are a nurse not an investigator” said the doctor.
She was then kept in day care but instead of general daycare ward she was kept in special ward I still don’t know the reason for that. But what I had to do with that my work was to look after her and that what I was doing. I remember some 20 people other than her parents might have come to see her. All were of her age only. Every half an hour I had to visit her room asking the visitors to kindly leave the room and let her rest. She was discharged before I joined the duty next day. In the series of all unusual things this was another as she got discharge in absence of Doctor and nurse who were attending her.
Well I forgot her episode and was busy in my work. A week had passed today they brought her again with fatal injuries. She had jumped from balcony of her room on 11th floor as was declared dead with in ½ an hour. Her parents were crying profusely and so was a young handsome man whom I later found was her fiancé. It was my time to move out as my shift was over. Although I was quite keen to know what had happened to her but I couldn’t stay back because if I would miss the bus I would have to stay at nursing home in night as there is no public transport which connect this outskirt area with the main city in later hours of the night.
I was quite restless even after reaching home. I still had that tissue in my bag. I was trying hard to remember her name. Anandita Bagga I recalled. After having my dinner I opened my computer and for what reason I don’t know I searched for her profile on social networking website. After searching around 10 profiles I finally found her profile.
To my surprise she had around 350 friends which is quite a good number. Then I navigated though her photos there were around 20 albums uploaded. All were either of some picnic or trip or of some party. She seemed to be happy in all her photos. Latest was of her engagement of three months back. Then I visited her wall on website to view the status updates. Although there were a few but none revealed even a slightest hint of why she did that. I saw there were around 200 birthday wished on her wall and around same no of wishes for her engagement as well. A status update after her engagement read “Feeling at top of world finally the love of my life is going to be partner of my life”. It had around 500 likes and some 120 messages on it. Half an hour later I closed my computer and went to my bed. But sleep was far away from my eyes all the pictures of her from social networking website were dangling in front of me. The images of her parents and fiancé weeping in the hospital were flashing in between.
I was questioning myself why she couldn’t tell anyone among those 350 friends about the reality. Why instead of publishing her thought on her status update on the website she wrote it down on that tissue paper. Do I have any friend on whom I can rely upon or do you have any such friend? If no then why the friend count on the social networking site counts in hundreds. Why we share our happy moments only if we can’t share our pain. What kind of friendship it is. Whom are we cheating , this world or our self. Are these sites bringing you closer to your friends or are they taking away a few which you had before. Ask yourself go through your friend list and remove those friends whom you can’t show all wounds and can’t openly tell them the name of person who has given those. I bet many wall will show 0 friends.
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