Big Bounce – Part 8

They stepped out of the clinic with heavy hearts and a light report.

Sameer wiped the sweat off his forehead, “I don’t feel anything like that. It’s amazing, isn’t it? It’s just a little pain that I am feeling and they tell me this. What has this world come to? Should we get a second opinion? Of course we should get a second opinion. I am sure something went wrong in this test. I had a hunch when they took my tests that something was not right. When the other clinic gives us a clean report, I am going to sue them for this mental trauma. This is crazy, isn’t it? How can they say anything like that? It’s just a small pain. What do you say, Arya? Wouldn’t it be right to sue them?”

Arya couldn’t look him in the eye, “No.”

Sameer was not ready to believe it, “No? Why no? Do you believe in this? Come on, you know better than I do. This is not what I feel.”

She spoke slowly but firmly, “We should not waste any more time. We should get an appointment and start the treatment as soon as possible.”

“Arya, don’t keep reading that cursed report. Look at me. Just turn and look at me for once.”

She didn’t budge. Sameer, then, got himself right in front of her face.

“Arya,” Sameer spoke in a worried tone, hugged her tightly and burst in tears. “I am worried. I am scared for myself and even more so for you. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I love you, Arya. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me. Please don’t let me go.”

Arya stopped herself from crying too, “Sameer, it’s alright. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“You’re lying to me. Why are you lying? No, it’s not alright. This report is not alright. I am not alright. Please don’t let me go.”

“Listen to me. Nothing’s gonna happen to you. These are good times. Anything can be treated today. Nothing will be able to take you away from me.”

“Promise me?”

Arya assured him again, “I promise you, Sameer. If Death comes down to get you, I am going to punch him in the face. And he’ll run away if he values his own life.”

Sameer corrected her, “Death is a she, not a he.”

“How do you know? It seems like you have met before.”

“I just know.”

“Very well. Death is a she. Now stop crying like a girl and wipe your nose.”

“So what now? What do we do?”

“We consult an expert. He will tell us what to do next. Most probably he will tell us to go for a few rounds of chemotherapy. If things are good after that, then that’s it. There is nothing more to be done then. If chemotherapy is not enough then there are other treatments we will have to do. Either ways, you’re not going anywhere.”

“How do you know all this? Seems like you’ve been through this a hundred times.”

“I just know. So stop worrying about her?”

“Her? Who?”

“Death.”