Sometimes Something Unexpected

By Caroline Sabitha

“Good morning, Ash.” My batch mate wished me in a cheerful tone. “Morning.” I wished back forcing out a smile. It was anything but a good morning for me. With my crumbled perfume coated sweat smelled shirt and messy hair bangs I was squeezing the sleep out of my eyes. I let my doctors coat hung on my broad shoulders with lethargy and the attitude which set foot in the moment I entered 3rd year of my MBBS.

With the bulk ENT book I had I smacked my friend's head who was basically mirroring my sulkiness. He hissed but didn’t counter – attack, guessed he didn’t have the strength in him. I couldn’t particularly pin down the reason behind my weary. It might be because of the late night party I had with my batch mate, or might be due to my friend’s nagging all night about how his crush gave him a glance, flipped her hair, crunched her nose and sneezed like a dog, or the fact that I was going to attend a long 3 hours lecture on ENT from Mrs. Slaughter Selina Thomas. It might be anything but was really intolerable that I even planned to bunk the class. I already read the whole book twice, nothing new.

I was about to turn back to my hostel room to get my precious sleep back when the wind whooshed making all the trees to have a whole 180. It wasn’t pretty usual in India in the month of November, but it’s nature it had its own way. Many students had to run after their non – winged white coat, as if the nature protesting them from becoming a doctor.

On my peripheral I saw a pale green dupatta in air. Following which I saw a girl younger than me, so new too naive having a glow of becoming a doctor, a fresher I guessed. But that wasn’t the reason for my first hearty smile of the day, it was what she was doing. There was a plant which got a bent stem due to the sudden stormy weather and fell down completely still holding it’s dear life. She was nursing the plant by burying a stick aside and adjoining the plant’s stem to it. After thoroughly checking her work she placed a tender kiss on the plant and patted it encouragingly whispering some words of hope with a alluring smile adoring her natural lips. Must become a great doctor in future, I thought the obvious looking at her love for a mere unspeakable living things. “Bhavana, don’t want to be late for our first ever lecture of MBBS, do we?” I heard her friend’s shout. With that she rushed back to her gang letting her green friend to face the cruel world alone. Bhavana!!! I chanted her name within me, without knowing walking back towards the direction of my class. But this time whole awake with merry pumping system.

I was content for the rest of the day. I am not saying it was a love at first sight. I am such a species who consider erratic heart beat, quickened breath, profuse sweating, severe shivering as a symptom of heart rhythm disorder, panic disorder, hypoglycemia, heat stroke or even hyperthyroid rather a love. Still she made me happy, she was like that one particular aroma that make us calm amidst any emotional turmoil or that one selective song which we could murmur for the whole day long, yet feel fresh and pleasant.

But that is how I met my life partner.

By Caroline Sabitha