Page 82 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

“I am sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t control it.”
He kick-started the scooter and raced away.
Kelzang Tshering, another childhood friend, came running to me. “You okay, man?”
“Ouch! My right calf hurts,” I said, grimacing. “I think the muscle is torn.”
He peeked at it and said, “There is a wound.”
“Really?” I said, feeling relieved. “How big?”
“Yeah, nothing much to worry about.”
I turned back and peeked at it. A caterpillar-shaped blister appeared across the lower part of the calf.
And the lacerated skin on the front part of the shin bone throbbed. The pain was excruciating. I limped up
the path to my hostel room.
Lambu was washing his plate at the water tap. “What happened?” he asked.
“Scooter accident.”
“Scooter Accident?” he said, mouth wide open. “Where the hell you got the scooter from?”
“Namtshe’s.”
“Namtshe’s? That’s gonna hurt you a lot, buddy.”
“Just a scratch.”
“You’ll see it.”
I cleansed the wound with Dettol liquid and bandaged it. The next morning, the bandage was stuck to
the dried wound. I tried to stand up, but the shrilling pain flinched me to bed. I got up measuredly. Blood
seeped out of the bandage. I limped down the winding steps for my classes.
From the last bench, Namtshe crossed his arms and frowned at me. He let a grunt out of the corner of
his mouth.
“Hi, Uncle,” said Sam, a short-stuff guy with a freckled face, but the shrewdest in the class. “How’s
your leg?”
“Sorry, I can’t play today,” I said in a low-toned voice to avoid Namtshe overhearing me. “My leg
hurts.”
“You must play,” he said.
“I can’t. It bleeds.”
“It’s our final match. You must play.”
I shook my head.
The pain augmented. So, I sneaked out for the dorm and napped, but the sudden hard knocks on my
door woke me. “Who is it?”
“Sam,” he said. “Time to go, Uncle.”
“I can’t play.”
“Please, Uncle.”
“Substitute me, please. My leg hurts.”
“Don’t worry. You will be okay.”
“How?”
“Trust me. I have an idea.”
“You sure that would work?”
“Yeah, please hurry.”
I limped on his support. The pain subsided as we hobbled down the steps. On the ground, our
teammates were warming up. Sam’s breathing quickened seeing them.
“Uncle, hurry,” he said.
“Easy, buddy,” I said. “Don’t forget my leg.”
He dragged me across the ground and fished out a bottle from his jacket pocket. “You will feel better
with this.”
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