The troughs of Life

The evening had set in.It was dark outside. Rishabh was back from work.He and his wife Isha sat in the living room sipping coffee waiting for their daughter to return from college. It was the most unexpected day. Isha’s face was expressionless, giving no indication of the turmoil in her heart and mind. How will she tell her?How will she react?Anyways she simply had to tell her. She waited.

Isha’s biopsy report had come that day. It was positive. She with Rishabh, had rushed to her doctor. He had explained everything.There had to be a surgery followed by a treatment plan. Isha had Cancer.

At that moment, Isha was thinking about Ruhana, her daughter. She was in college, a very lively girl with a strong mind of her own, was enjoying every moment of her college. She was involved in various actities and her current passion was organising her college festival which was one of the very popular ones in the country. She was completely involved in it more so because she had been elected the chair person of the festival for the year. It was her dream come true. The festival was just about a month away.

“Hello! how come the two of you are having coffee at this time today?”floated Ruhana’s voice from the kitchen, where on entering home, she had gone to have a sip of water. “Am starving mom so will have dinner right away. Also have loads of work to…”She stopped,“What’s wrong?”she asked. “Why, nothing. How was your day?” Rishabh tried to distract her. “Day was good but something is amiss here. I can see it on Mom’s face. Isha knew that her family could read her face like an open book.

“Come lets sit for dinner” Isha got up. “No”! first tell me what is it mom” insisted Ruhana. Isha knew Ruhana would not budge before being told.So she simply said,“My biopsy reports have come.They are positive.”Her heart broke to see the shock on her daughter’s face. “And?”hung Ruhana’s question heavily in the air“Please tell me everything.”

Rishabh told her everything that the doctor had said and that the surgery was scheduled for the coming week. “ Tomorrow I will go and resign”, said Ruhana decisively. Isha had anticipated this. She got up and went to sit next to her daughter. She hugged her and said, “You will do nothing of the sort and that is final Ruhana. Hear me out please” she carried on “this has been your dream for the last two years and you have worked so hard to achieve it. I know how much it means to you and so to us. Ruhana, I am ready to fight this unexpected foe with all my might but I am not ready to pay this cost!I will not be able to accept this.”

“Mamma, you will have a major surgery. You will be hospitalised for days. I want to be there for you, take care of you when you are battling this foe that has popped up in our lives. How can you even think of me continuing shoulder this huge responsibility that demands most of my time now?I will no way be able to do so.Tomorrow I will resign.”

“Ruhana,I am overwhelmed and blessed with such love.You need to understand that I too am passionate about dreams and achieving them.Your letting go of your’s now, will terribly upset me. Let’s talk. Plan and see how things can be done by stretching ourselves, being strong and then may be, paying such a heavy price would be avoided.”

Ruhana hugged her mother tight and they sat so for some time.Rishabh sat there calmly with his hands gently stroking Ruhana’s head. He had a strong girl there!

Isha was hospitalised.The day of surgery arrived. She saw the sea of faces of her family and friends, filled with love, anxiety and hope, all waving to her as she was wheeled into the operation theatre. It was a six hour operation. Isha knew nothing. She was in deep sleep. She remembered a soft touch on her forehead, a soft whisper.Ruhana…Rishabh and sleep again. She was in the hospital for almost three weeks. Every evening the door would open and Ruhana would walk in with a smiling face filled with love, eager to kiss her mother.She would then fill Isha up with her day, the highs, the lows the happennings while feeding her dinner. This was the best part of Isha’s day.

In due course,Isha returned home.Her treatment was on.With all her positivity as a patient, Isha was her doctors’s delight.She was recovering fast.

Ruhana’s college festival was a huge success. She was very happy and so were Rishabh and Isha.The journey called Life is packed with challenges. Immense amount of mental strength is needed to face them. It does wonders to switch our minds to the Solution mode rather than letting it fall prey to the Problem mode. Seeing young Ruhana sail so beautifully and bravely through such a difficult phase of her life and come out triumphant, went on to strengthen Isha’s belief in the saying of Mahatma Gandhi..

“ Be the change that you want to see”

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