Page 109 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

“She would be fine, sir.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to come back tomorrow.”
“Take your own time. I will manage the school.”
“Thanks.”
I entered the dense forest. Mornings were riskier as travelers crossed paths with elephants and bears. It
was spooky but the chirping of birds solaced me. “Om Ah Huh Baza Guru Pema Siddhi Huh.” After
striding down the mountain for one and a half hours, I arrived at Dezama. “Chabsue chhe!” After one
hour, I arrived at Nganglam. Tshering Zam’s neighbor, Aunt Zam was at the water tap with an empty pail.
“Oop, another bad omen,” I muttered. “How’s Choki doing, Aunty?”
“They took her to BHU last night. She went into labor.”
“Oh, really? Can I keep my bag with you, please?”
“You can.”
I rushed to the BHU. Abi, my mother-in-law and other relatives were sitting on the bench, outside the
labor room. I sat beside them and wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead. For moments, I sat tight-
lipped. Choki’s wails of pain resonated across the labor room. Silence prevailed soon.
What’s going on? I thought, gazing at the labor room door. What just happened?
“Did you start early?” said Abi.
“Yes, soon after the dawn cracked.”
“How did you know about it?”
“I had a weird dream,” I said, looking at the door. “So, I came. How’s Choki doing?”
“Go and see to yourself.”
Choki wailed again. I traipsed to the door and peeped in. Tshering Zangmo was holding Choki’s hands
as she writhed in agony.
“Come, hold her hand,” said Tshering. “I am exhausted.”
“Come in, please,” said the on-duty nurse.
“Thank you,” I said, grinning. “How is she doing?”
She glanced at the wall clock and said, “I think she would deliver the baby by ten o’clock.”
Choki squeezed my hand. “I can’t bear it!”
I closed my eyes. “Lha and suma, chab da gyen zi shi.”
At ten, the nurse checked on her and said it wasn’t crowning. “Oops, why is it taking time?”
My body shivered. “How long, nurse?”
“I suppose it’d take more hours more.”
“Ken-cho-sum, chab da thuji zi.”
The clock struck at eleven o’clock, and twelve. All along, Choki writhed.
At 12:30, the nurse said, “I am going for lunch. I will return soon.”
Choki used all her energy yet the baby won’t come out.
The nurse returned from her lunch. “Any sign?” she said.
“No,” I said.
Two hours later, the nurse checked on her and said, “It’s high time you delivered the baby. You must
deliver the baby in ten minutes or there lies a risk.”
“Oh, really?” I said as my mind raced a mile a minute. “Come on, Choki. You can do it, push!”
Abi and Tshering Zangmo came in and held her other hand.
Choki pushed, gritting her teeth. “Ouch, I can’t,” she said and stopped pushing.
“Oh, no!” said the nurse. “You are choking the baby. Push!”
Choki took a deep breath and pushed the baby. “Aah!”
“It’s coming, push harder.”
“You can do it,” I said. “Push.”
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