Page 167 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

We sat on the staircase beside the OT door. As I read Rinchen’s horoscope, Choki phoned Ata Gelong
to recite Barchey Lamsel, in the lodge.
In the lobby, we sat beside a woman sobbing on her husband’s shoulder. Just as we sat beside them, the
husband smiled at me.
“Hello,” I said. “Got a patient?”
He nodded.
“Who?”
He tried not to sniffle. “Son.”
“Oh, no! How old?”
“Four years.”
“What happened to him?”
“Leukemia.”
“What’s leukemia?”
“It’s another name for blood cancer.” He stroked the curly hair of his sobbing wife. “Not much time
left.”
I looked up and muttered, “What the blazes have you done?” Turning back to him, I said, “I am sorry
to hear that. May God bless your son.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
My heart wrenched.
After a short time, I said, “Keep faith in God, please. I am sure there must be a treatment for this.”
He shook his head. “Doctors said no treatment.”
I was numb with disbelief. So, I chanted Sampa Lhendrup duepa, the obstacle-removing and wish-
fulfilling prayer.
One hour later, a nurse brought out their baby on a gurney. The baby looked terrified. He searched for
his parents. “Boohoo! Mama!”
His mom scurried away and embraced him. The poor mother sobbed her heart out. Part of me cried as
much as she did.
“Bye,” said the father, full of tears in his eyes.
“Bye, sir.” I waved to them till the shutters of the lift closed behind their backs. I looked up and
muttered, “May God bless that kid.”
The wall clock struck at 1:00 pm, but our baby wouldn’t come out. Flustered, I paced the room. The
baby wouldn’t come out even after one hour. Again, I trudged back to the OT door and peeped in and
returned to Choki. “What is going on inside?”
“Oops, I think I am having a heart attack,” said Choki. “Why is it taking a long time?”
“It requires meticulous attention.”
She clasped her arms and sobbed. “My poor baby.”
Again, I peeped in through the OT door at 4:00 pm. Nobody walked out. My mind raced a mile a
minute. “It’s unusual to take such a long time for any test. What exactly is going wrong inside?”
“Do something, please,” said Choki. “Hope they didn’t overdose him and—”
“Don’t say that, Ama. It would take time.”
Time seemed to pass by fast. The urge of barging into the OT raced like a swarm of bees in my mind,
but I controlled it. We rushed to the door every time they brought out a patient. Our baby didn’t come out
even at 5:00 pm. Overwhelmed by fear, I paced the up and down, waiting for the baby to come out.
Silence.
I rushed to the pediatric ward. “Excuse me, doctor. My baby hasn’t come out yet. What exactly is going
on?”
“They are doing it,” he said. “Relax, please,”
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