Mamta Kalia

intense.
She was lost somewhere. He was
thinking about the relationship between
his boss and the Alfred Hospital trustees.
They were so close to each other that
he just could not discuss such non-issues
with them. Nurses for them were just
tools to carry out their machinery. These
tools were available in open market, even
at cheaper rates.
She again stood up and helped him
in sitting on the bed with her cosy hands.
“Sir, you have to take medicine”—
she had a small pill in her hands.
He simply took the medicine and
lay down. He closed his eyes. She sat
on the wooden stool. After a few minutes
when he opened his eyes, he saw her
sitting like a statue. Her eyes were wide
open.
“Listen”—He called her. This time she
stood up and came near him along with
the wooden stool and sat on it. She
was trying to look beyond closed
windows.
“What are you looking for”—He asked
her.
“Sir, often I see a camel with brown
silver wings, this camel flies in the air
like a horse of Phantom crossing all
deserts, seas, forests, it is driven by
Thomas who comes to tell me that he
is coming soon. He is a reality and not
a fantasy.” —She said. She had a charm
in her glittering eyes.
“Where is he? Can I see him?” He
96 :: April-June 2010
was excited. He had put his hands on
his chest.
“Sir, are you feeling o.k.? Should I
give you Sorbatide?”—She asked quickly.
Even in her fantasy she was alert enough
to her duties. He was moved.
“No, you just tell me about yourself,
I am feeling o.k.”
“Sir, next month I am getting married
to Thomas, he has gone to middle-east
to earn money, he is a technician, he
has earned a lot of money. I am also
working double shift here but you know
how difficult it is.”
She had turned sad again.
“Why are you feeling so sad?”
“No, Sir, I was just thinking that
in such a big hospital they earn three
hundred rupees in one lie with just one
nurse per shift, so I was counting the
number of toal nurses and the number
of nights, it’s a huge amount”—she was
talking like an accountant.
“Tell me, how much do you love
Thomas.”— He had tried to deviate her.
He had succeeded. She replied “More
than the sea at Marina Beach.”
“Since when have you not met him?”
— He inquired.
“He always lives within me, daily
he comes to me on the wings of the
camel.
“No, what I mean is since when he
is in the middle-east?”
“Almost three years. He is returning