Page 218 - Till the Last Breath . . .

The spring in her step and the glow on her face, even when it was one in

the night, were apparent. She put a new pot of coffee in the machine and
waited for it to brew. Her body sprawled across the couch, she was thinking
about a vacation they could go on. Maybe, this time for real … Europe. Just

as she closed her eyes and imagined her family on a gondola ride in Venice,
she heard a commotion in the corridor and saw a doctor and a few nurses

run past her office. Instinct told her they were running towards the all-
familiar room no. 509. She jumped up and ran in their direction.

She was there fifteen seconds after the nurses and saw the door ajar. Pihu
was coughing violently on the bed while Dushyant lay on the floor, his hand

twisted in a strange angle, motionless. On the door, she saw Kajal with her
hands covering her mouth as the nurses and the doctor made a mad
scramble for the two patients. Zarah froze, her legs numb, unable to move

or think.
Dushyant was put on a stretcher and rushed out of the room towards the

Intensive Care Unit; he had suffered a major bleed again. From the little
experience that she had, she knew Dushyant’s liver had given up. The

alternatives started to crop up in her head. Transplant? Living donors?
Dead donors? No insurance? Maybe his parents? She just sat there on

Dushyant’s bed, petrified, as the doctor got Pihu to breathe normally again.
She called Arman to let him know about his patient.
Kajal was still standing in the corner, watching in horror as the scene

unfolded.
Finally, she stepped towards Zarah and asked, ‘Will he be okay?’

‘His liver just gave up. He needs a transplant,’ she said mindlessly. ‘But
…’

‘But what? Are you looking for a donor? Can I donate? If that’s okay? I
mean I am healthy and we even share the same blood group! What else do

you need to match?’ Kajal panicked.
A fear-stricken Zarah looked at her in shock. Her feelings towards
Dushyant, which she thought were genuine, were dwarfed in front of

Kajal’s proposition.
‘I need to talk to my seniors,’ she said and got up.