What's her mistake ? - 8

I decided to contact my classmate, the third son of Nammu Aunty.

The oncologist was very clear. He wanted the eldest son’s contact number.

“I have to talk with him. It is very important” had said he.

I called up the third son who is in Chennai.

It was after a long wait, he came on the line. He was very curt and to the point. He did not bother to reply when I asked how you are and worse, he did not ask about his mother. Do these people have no emotions or are they so stuck up with their own wife and kids that they have forgotten the woman who gave birth to them?

I asked him to give the number of his eldest brother.

“Why do you want it?” was his terse question.

I got angry. I raised my voice and said, “I want it because he needs to sign a document”

“You tell me what it is?” His voice was laced with suspicion.

I had to fib. I thought fast and started telling. The words rolled over each other to come out fast. But my lie was caught by him.

“Sorry, I can’t give you. You are not clearly telling why you want his number” and the line went dead.

I looked at the receiver with dismay and disconnected. It was a cyber-center with computers from where I had made the call.

I now got wild. Does he really think that I can’t get his brother’s number just because he can’t give?

I went inside and logged on to the Internet. Google can throw out information about almost anything!

I went into the Rourkela city and the factory the first son was working. After some jugglery I could find the phone number of the department he was working. I remembered that he had mentioned about it sometime ago.

The HRD of any company would know the names and contact numbers of the employees. So, finally I got the number of Nammu Aunty’s first son.

I called up the Oncologist and he was remembering me! That’s great I thought and gave him Nammu Aunty’s first son’s number.

He told me to come on the fourth day alone. I was supposed to take Nammu Aunty on the sixth day.

So, I went to meet the oncologist the day he asked me to meet with him.

He invited me to the room and I sat in front of him.

“What do these children think? Do they feel they can throw their parents out the moment they are independent?” His voice had an edge.

He was trying to control his emotions. The oncologist’s face was clouded.

I just waited since I could see he was about to speak.

“My mother was diagnosed with blood cancer and I could not save her even with all the modern equipment and I being an oncologist” he was very sad.

I watched him not knowing what to talk. But he had continued talking.

“So, whenever I see a patient I become much attached. I cannot accept the behavior of your Aunty’s children. How callous one can be? So, I decided to teach them a lesson”

I started wondering what he has done.

“My classmate who is also a close friend happens to be the resident doctor in the Rourkela factory where the first son is working. So, I called your Aunty’s son and put a fear in him... so...” He now smiled and showed me a bank statement on his computer screen. “You see, the fear worked and the sons have agreed to shell out money to treat their mother”

“Sir, you said sons?”

“Yes!” he was very triumphant. “Funnily fear works very well with our people. All the three sons have contributed for their mother’s treatment. And they are going to pay for further treatment also” He continued. “I know what I did was not ethical by any standards. But here we have a human life at stake and she deserves better than what she has now”

I just looked at him admiringly. Now, Nammu Aunty can have her treatment without any problem.

I wanted to know the chances of her being better. So I asked the oncologist.

I could not hold my tears back when he told about Nammu Aunty’s present condition.