Part V
The Final Journey!
Aug 11, XXXX
I got an early morning call--I always get scared of these early morning calls. Something ominous I presume...
"Hello....", I picked up the phone
"Hi, this is Craig from Auckland. Am I speaking to Mr. Gaurav Ghosh?" came the response from the other end.
"Yes, you are", I said, being anxious.
"Well, do you know Mr. Neil Jones?", Craig asked.
"Oh very well, he is my best friend", I chuckled.
"He wants to see you, if you can make it asap. I am his cousin & he asked me whatever it takes for you to come and see him. He is willing sponsor your trip to New Zealand & let me know when you are ready to travel", was the answer.
"Is everything alright?", I asked, inquisitively.
"Well...he has been admitted to the hospital & chances for him to survive anymore are weak. So, if you can tell me when you are ready to travel asap, I can book your flight tickets & send the visa".
"I will let you know in about an hr, is that ok?" I said.
"Sure..no problem and drop me an email", he passed on his email id as well.
I was dumbstruck for sometime, thinking what might have happened to Neil.I checked my schedule for the next two weeks and found that I had nothing important happening, so decided to visit my friend in Auckland and send an email to Craig about my plans to visit my ailing friend. Tickets were done and so was the visa and I was scheduled to fly on August 19th.
"What is that Neil is suffering from?", I broke the silence, while on our way to Neil' house.
"A lot of complications that has developed over time. Perhaps, Neil was aware of it, but never felt like sharing with us. First and foremost, Neil often complained me of his memory loss--forgetting things to do, names, events..etc--which were actually symptoms of Alzheimer's. That followed with his stomach problems--a tremendous stomach pain often...", "But does he recognise people now?", I had to interrupt Craig.
"Umm..yes..sometimes...", Craig sighed.
I started wondering, "Will he recognise me? Does he still remember Stephanie".
"What was the other problem, the stomach pain you were telling me about ?", I asked Craig.
"Initially doctor diagnosed it to be gastric problem or an ulcer, but later it turned out to be a malignant tumour in his stomach--cancer. He cannot eat anything--so he is being fed artificially!"
I was feeling sorry for Neil. A man of youth is struggling between life and death.
After reaching Neil's house, Craig handed me over the keys of a room--for me stay there as their guest.
It was almost 1--after a quick shower and a light meal, I went off to sleep!
I was woken up by the roosters crowing on the sunrise. Neil has a beautiful house indeed, with a little area in the backyard, dedicated to gardening, farming and some domesticated animals--roosters, pigs and some hare.
I met Craig for breakfast and ready to go to St. Stephen's Hospital, where Neil is admitted for his treatment.
The hospital is just 25 mins away from Neil's residence. Craig, Neil's cousin is now managing expenses for Neil's treatment. However, he stays some 50 miles away with his family and kids. Once we reached the hospital, the doctors briefed us not to ask too much questions to Neil--it may aggravate his current condition and can result into convulsion--he is on the last stage of Alzheimers' and Parkinsons' Disease.
With gloves and masks, we entered the cabin Neil was admitted. He was woken up by the nurse, who was attending him. Neil was staring at my face for quite sometime--either he didn't recognise or trying to recognise. After some 10 minutes, with tears flowing, Neil whispered, "Gaurav"...
Looking at his condition, I couldn't hold my tears--there was the person, who had been fit almost throughout his life and then had no option than lie on the bed and count his final days. One tube passing through his nose--meant for food and medicine and his other vital signs are monitored 24 hours.
I sat next to him on a chair--he touched both my hands to welcome me. "When did you come here?", he asked me, in a husky voice--barely could he speak.
"I arrived here day before yesterday. How are you feeling now", I asked him.
"You know my condition well--just counting my last few days..", Neil gave a mysterious smile.
"How is Stephanie?", I asked him (I was quite inquisitive about his love story for longtime..).
Neil became quiet. I was scared if that might hurt him and we all stayed silent for sometime.
"We parted ways, Gaurav. Even though she accepted my love in the end and I was so happy about it--that my happiness knew no bounds. After winning her love, my next target was to approach her parents to take our relationship to the next level--however, little I could do, since she never allowed me to meet her parents. Often, she would complain that our relationship is like sowing seeds in a barren land--it will not result into anything or sometimes, she would even say, if our relationship ends up in a marriage, she wouldn't let it happen.
"Even though in a relationship (or as she would say "so-called relationship), she would just tell me thrice a day or rather remind me, "One thing for sure, our marriage is not going to happen", and you know me Gaurav--I am quite optimistic. So if I say, "Let's see", she would reply like, "What will you see? Even if it happens, I would not let it happen".
"However, I went to meet her despite a hectic schedule for about 1.5 hours. It was an amazing time I had with her. Despite, it was just for about an hour, I felt like I was with her for more than that...I had an amazing feeling!! The first time, I touched her and squeezed her chubby cheeks. She was looking lovely that evening anyway.
"I came back with fresh thoughts of her, however, destiny wanted something else...her daily of dose "This is not going to happen for sure" to the extent of "Will you leave if I cheat on you? If yes, then I will do so.." and many many more. I dont want people to sacrifice for me just for my gain--rather, if I lose at the cost of their wants and happiness, thats way better---I just couldnt drag on anymore. I tried my utmost to pursue her and even when she accepted, she started refuting day and night.
"We finally parted our ways on Valentine's Day...exactly a year before, I proposed her."..
Neil started showing some symptoms of an incoming convulsions, I couldn't bare it anymore. I just walked out of the room..
(To be continued....)
The Final Journey!
Aug 11, XXXX
I got an early morning call--I always get scared of these early morning calls. Something ominous I presume...
"Hello....", I picked up the phone
"Hi, this is Craig from Auckland. Am I speaking to Mr. Gaurav Ghosh?" came the response from the other end.
"Yes, you are", I said, being anxious.
"Well, do you know Mr. Neil Jones?", Craig asked.
"Oh very well, he is my best friend", I chuckled.
"He wants to see you, if you can make it asap. I am his cousin & he asked me whatever it takes for you to come and see him. He is willing sponsor your trip to New Zealand & let me know when you are ready to travel", was the answer.
"Is everything alright?", I asked, inquisitively.
"Well...he has been admitted to the hospital & chances for him to survive anymore are weak. So, if you can tell me when you are ready to travel asap, I can book your flight tickets & send the visa".
"I will let you know in about an hr, is that ok?" I said.
"Sure..no problem and drop me an email", he passed on his email id as well.
I was dumbstruck for sometime, thinking what might have happened to Neil.I checked my schedule for the next two weeks and found that I had nothing important happening, so decided to visit my friend in Auckland and send an email to Craig about my plans to visit my ailing friend. Tickets were done and so was the visa and I was scheduled to fly on August 19th.
***
I finally reached on August 20th midnight. The flight was long and I was quite tired. Craig was there to pick me up from the airport. Neil's house is quite far from the airport...about 45 minutes drive. Neil was in absolute good health the last time, he visited me a couple of months before. What went wrong?"What is that Neil is suffering from?", I broke the silence, while on our way to Neil' house.
"A lot of complications that has developed over time. Perhaps, Neil was aware of it, but never felt like sharing with us. First and foremost, Neil often complained me of his memory loss--forgetting things to do, names, events..etc--which were actually symptoms of Alzheimer's. That followed with his stomach problems--a tremendous stomach pain often...", "But does he recognise people now?", I had to interrupt Craig.
"Umm..yes..sometimes...", Craig sighed.
I started wondering, "Will he recognise me? Does he still remember Stephanie".
"What was the other problem, the stomach pain you were telling me about ?", I asked Craig.
"Initially doctor diagnosed it to be gastric problem or an ulcer, but later it turned out to be a malignant tumour in his stomach--cancer. He cannot eat anything--so he is being fed artificially!"
I was feeling sorry for Neil. A man of youth is struggling between life and death.
After reaching Neil's house, Craig handed me over the keys of a room--for me stay there as their guest.
It was almost 1--after a quick shower and a light meal, I went off to sleep!
***
Aug 21, XXXXI was woken up by the roosters crowing on the sunrise. Neil has a beautiful house indeed, with a little area in the backyard, dedicated to gardening, farming and some domesticated animals--roosters, pigs and some hare.
I met Craig for breakfast and ready to go to St. Stephen's Hospital, where Neil is admitted for his treatment.
The hospital is just 25 mins away from Neil's residence. Craig, Neil's cousin is now managing expenses for Neil's treatment. However, he stays some 50 miles away with his family and kids. Once we reached the hospital, the doctors briefed us not to ask too much questions to Neil--it may aggravate his current condition and can result into convulsion--he is on the last stage of Alzheimers' and Parkinsons' Disease.
With gloves and masks, we entered the cabin Neil was admitted. He was woken up by the nurse, who was attending him. Neil was staring at my face for quite sometime--either he didn't recognise or trying to recognise. After some 10 minutes, with tears flowing, Neil whispered, "Gaurav"...
Looking at his condition, I couldn't hold my tears--there was the person, who had been fit almost throughout his life and then had no option than lie on the bed and count his final days. One tube passing through his nose--meant for food and medicine and his other vital signs are monitored 24 hours.
I sat next to him on a chair--he touched both my hands to welcome me. "When did you come here?", he asked me, in a husky voice--barely could he speak.
"I arrived here day before yesterday. How are you feeling now", I asked him.
"You know my condition well--just counting my last few days..", Neil gave a mysterious smile.
"How is Stephanie?", I asked him (I was quite inquisitive about his love story for longtime..).
Neil became quiet. I was scared if that might hurt him and we all stayed silent for sometime.
"We parted ways, Gaurav. Even though she accepted my love in the end and I was so happy about it--that my happiness knew no bounds. After winning her love, my next target was to approach her parents to take our relationship to the next level--however, little I could do, since she never allowed me to meet her parents. Often, she would complain that our relationship is like sowing seeds in a barren land--it will not result into anything or sometimes, she would even say, if our relationship ends up in a marriage, she wouldn't let it happen.
"Even though in a relationship (or as she would say "so-called relationship), she would just tell me thrice a day or rather remind me, "One thing for sure, our marriage is not going to happen", and you know me Gaurav--I am quite optimistic. So if I say, "Let's see", she would reply like, "What will you see? Even if it happens, I would not let it happen".
"However, I went to meet her despite a hectic schedule for about 1.5 hours. It was an amazing time I had with her. Despite, it was just for about an hour, I felt like I was with her for more than that...I had an amazing feeling!! The first time, I touched her and squeezed her chubby cheeks. She was looking lovely that evening anyway.
"I came back with fresh thoughts of her, however, destiny wanted something else...her daily of dose "This is not going to happen for sure" to the extent of "Will you leave if I cheat on you? If yes, then I will do so.." and many many more. I dont want people to sacrifice for me just for my gain--rather, if I lose at the cost of their wants and happiness, thats way better---I just couldnt drag on anymore. I tried my utmost to pursue her and even when she accepted, she started refuting day and night.
"We finally parted our ways on Valentine's Day...exactly a year before, I proposed her."..
Neil started showing some symptoms of an incoming convulsions, I couldn't bare it anymore. I just walked out of the room..
(To be continued....)
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