For the Sonorous

Take the Bull By its Horns

It was five past four in the evening and Neesh was returning from her home, literally running. Her blue dress swung as the evening breeze blew her curls loose. Sleep deprived swollen eyes and the crooked wrinkles on her forehead spoke of their own. Moving the curls behind her ear, Neesh stepped into the serene corridor of the hospital, and walked towards a room.

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Her eyes fleeted across every corner of the room. The white bed lay empty. Tensed, her jaws trembled and she lost words. Terrified, she gathered herself and called aloud, "Shail."  No response from her only son made her impatient. She knocked on the washroom door; it opened wide. Shail was out of sight.

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She rushed towards the corridor. "Have you seen Shail?"  She asked in one breath at the reception. Shocked, their faces turned pale. They looked at each other and Neesh cursed herself for leaving him alone.

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She ran outside the building where nurses were helping patients walk. Neesh looked at almost everyone, but could not find her son.

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After searching around for twenty minutes she bowed her head down, helpless. Sweat beads formed at her forehead slowly moved towards her temples. Tired, but with raging fear and dismay, she continued. She reached a corner of the garden only to find her son lying under a tree, unconscious.

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Neesh shook Shail and felt his skin damp and cold. His hands had multiple scratches. A loud cry of anguish escaped her.  Hearing her wails, nurses at the hospital rushed and took Shail indoors.

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Neesh craned her neck to see what was happening behind the closed doors of the room. Green spikes and random numbers on the display frightened her. Neesh did not understand what had happened to her son again. She sank into a chair just beside the door, weak.

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A nurse approached Neesh, kept her hand on Neesh’s shoulder, and said, "Your son is out of danger now. But, he is still unconscious. No one knows how and when he sneaked out." Neesh knew it was their carelessness, but still flashed a halfhearted smile that did not reflect in her eyes and dashed into the room.

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It was five in the evening. She rested her arm on the bed and her other hand on Shail's head, closed her eyes, and thought about the previous day.

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***

Yesterday morning.

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With a TV remote in her hand, Neesh scanned through the channels and stopped when she found a cookery show. Shail sat in a corner near the window and watched the tall green trees.

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"Are your friend's parents joining today?” Neesh asked. “It will be good if they come. I can meet them"

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He remained quiet. She changed the channel to a sports one. But he still stared the vague space in the sky. Even his favourite sport could not pull him out of his silence.

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"Since few days I have observed you keeping to yourself. Anything you would like to discuss?"

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In one swift, he looked at her in anger, walked past her, and closed his room door shut. Neesh was confused of Shail's behaviour.

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An hour passed. On top of her voice she said, "Hope you remember, today is your graduation ceremony."

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"Yes," he said and walked towards the washroom hurried.

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"We’re leaving in another thirty minutes," Neesh said.

Shail did not respond.

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From the corner of her eye, she could see something white rolling down from a pile of pillows. A soft thud made her turn, only to find their puppy walking away, bringing her to a smile.

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The hands of the clock raced and half an hour passed. She said, "The front rows are going to be taken."

Still Shail did not respond.

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When he did not come out for an hour, and all her pleas remained unanswered, Neesh broke open the door. Her eyes popped out. She could not believe the sight in front of her eyes as she saw her son down on the floor, profusely sweating.

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Her trembling fingers dialed the emergency number on the phone. She breathed rapidly and every passing second was a nightmare. On the way to the hospital, thoughts engulfed her mind. Above all she thought - what has happened to him suddenly?

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At the hospital, Neesh was surprised to see her son's swollen face. She asked the doctor, “What has happened to my son? Why is he still unconsciousness?"

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The doctor looked at her, and replied, "Your son is high on Cocaine."

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She could not believe her ears and gaped at the doctor, her eyes wide open. The word cocaine echoed in her ears. She murmured,”whhhhy, whhhy did he do it?" The truth was quite bitter for her to remain normal. Is that the reason for his silence?

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It was dusk to dark. Stars twinkled; Neesh sat on a chair just beside Shail's bed. Her chin rested on her knees, which her arms hugged tightly. Not taking her eyes off Shail, she thought, what made him do this? Quitting is difficult unless he has made up his mind. Will he be willing to let go of that poison from his life or have I lost my son to drugs?

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The rays of the morning sunshine penetrated through the drapes and onto the chair. It was early morning; her gaze had not left him even for a minute. His face, still swollen.

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Time raced. It was more than twenty-four hours, and Shail was still lying unconscious. Suddenly it occurred to Neesh that their puppy was not fed for twenty-four hours. She planted a kiss on Shail's forehead, informed the nurse that she would be back in an hour, and had hurried to her home around three o'clock in the noon.

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***

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It was ten past six; Neesh felt something being pulled under her arm that brought her back, out of her nap and the previous day’s thoughts. Shail had woken up and was trying to move without disturbing his mother. He moved his hands towards his face, cupped his cheeks, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

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Neesh passed him a mirror, and Shail was shocked to see his swollen face. Neesh said, "It is better now."

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Shail looked sorry for his state of health. "This looks to me like a one-way.  I want to come out of this darkness. Please help me mom." He started weeping.

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Neesh understood she had almost won the battle with Shail's decision.  She held his hand tight, patted, and smiled.  She was again in loss of words, this time in ecstasy.

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Keeping his hand on hers he said, "Sorry mom." He looked at the chain and the pendent, and said, “This decoyed me. When I woke up, I found myself alone in the room."

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Neesh slowly raised her lids, looked at him, and thought it was just for an hour that she was not here, but did not utter a word.

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"My skin started itching and a feeling of uneasiness raced through my nerves. My head hurt. I felt heavy boulders trying to burst open my skull. I felt insects all over my body, crawling, biting, and sucking my blood."

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Neesh felt sorry for her son. Her son's confession moved her. She planted a kiss on his forehead and was on the verge of tears.

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"I had hid some powder in the pendent of this chain,” he said showing the chain, "The devil in me, took the better of me." He was in tears.

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Neesh hugged him and said, "You have realized and are sorry for it. We are together. On the recovery path we will take this bull by its horns."