That one minute...

Her eyes widened. The seat lost all the comfort it provided. Suddenly all the nerves in her body left her alone. She wanted to run to a cliff and scream her guts out, but her voice betrayed her too. The people around her started to spin. Her hands wanted to hold something solid, but her brain refused the command. Her body felt the rush of blood.

She wanted to remember all those times which made her happy. The new school she joined, the new friends she made, graduation party, the day she met Anand, the day he proposed, the day they got married. All the events flashed like lighting bolts in her head. The picture of Anand smiling everytime she blew air in his ears captured her mind. She had come 25 years hence, seen her two boys grow and make a living for themselves. The day her sons graduated, the tears that rolled down her eyes. Anger, joy, sadness, anxiety, fear, depression all flooded her heart. She wanted to break free. And she was going to.

That tiny pain in her chest lingered around. Ignorance is the culprit, she thought. If only she could turn back time. Just a minute ago she wanted to go watch a movie. But now she wanted to visit all possible places that she had not. She wanted to eat all that she had missed out on. She wanted to meet all those who she dreamed about atleast once. But somehow all seemed like cookies in a locked jar. Just a minute ago she was going to be done with this appointment and quickly grab a seat in the theatre. But she was exposed to the fact that it is her luck that she is still alive. The cancer had grown way too far till the liver.

She touched Anand’s hand who could not stop the tears rolling down his face. They both stared at each other and said a million things. With all consciousness lost, she walked upto the window behind. She turned back to find Anand and the Doctor stare at her back. She lifted her hand and found herself staring at the watch. It was 3.46 pm, 14^th October, 2007.

The countdown had begun. She stared outside the window and noticed that a kid was just about to get run over by a car but was saved in time. She wished if someone could come and give her a hand and pull her back out of the whirlpool that she was stuck in.

Slowly she started to feel the window pane, her feet felt the ground and her brain registered what she saw. She looked at her watch and looked back at her husband. She wished they would stop staring.

She took a step forward and said, “we are late for the show.”

PS: A special dedication to my Shaila pachchi...miss you a lot!