TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Clock is Ticking
“I have Lymphosarcoma of the intestine,” Vinay said it without breaking a sweat
“Lympho what?”
“Lymphosarcoma of the intestine Bhai, you remember that old movie, Anand?”
“The one from the 1970s?, wait, don’t tell me, Vinay, how and why did you not tell me this?” The despair was visible on Vidit’s face, he had finally understood the gravity of the situation
“Bhai Bhai listen, I had to first get some things sort….”Vinay tries to explain it to vidit
"Does Priya know? does anyone else knows?”Vidit cuts him in between
"Bhai please stop, hear me out, I will tell you everything”
"What the hell is left to tell Vinay, how long have you know about this? Why did you wait so long to tell me about this?! I could have done something”
“Do you think I am an idiot?”
“No Vinay, I am the Idiot here!, who thought we were close friends, we shared Everything, you were the first person I told about my relationship, my problems, my kids and whatnot, and you just come out of the blue yo say you're dying and don't even think that it was necessary to inform me”
“Bhai stop, listen to me first”
“What is left to listen? how long have you known about this?”
“It's been more than a year” Vinay tried to keep vidit calm.
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Why didn't you tell me about this last year, when we met at Ashok's party?”Vidit was getting angry
“I wasn't prepared”
“Prepared for what?! Prepared to tell your best friend that you were in pain? When did we grow this apart bhai?”
“Bhai would you please listen to me for once!, Are you crying?”
“I am not crying, something got in my eye while I was ... Why the hell do you care? do you even consider me your friend anymore!”
Vinay moved towards the kitchen and handed a glass of water to Vidit
“I don't need anything from you”
“Just drink it Bhai, I know you are in pain and you're still very very bad at expressing it”
Vidit calms after shouting on Vinay for 10 minutes
"I only have one question, why you didn't tell me?"
“To not make you panic like you are right now”
“So I am the one to blame, right? You're arrogant as always and this time I mean it for real”
“Ha bhai I am arrogant but that arrogance is the only thing that has kept me alive, I tried to kill myself last year after I heard that I had to die, why not die right now?
Instead of living with the thought of my death every day and every night, wearing a fake smile and laughing every day as I get closer to my grave.Watching my daughter tell her dreams to me and telling her that I'll always be there for her” Vinay was serious about everything he said
“You could've tried telling it to Priya”
“Don't you think I tried that?! How would I go saying it to her
Hey Priya, I would die before I get to celebrate my daughter's 10th birthday, How would she react?”
“She's more mature than you are, she would understand everything you say to her”
“I know that bhai but would she let me be here, she would want that I should spend more time with her and my daughter”
“So what is wrong with that?”
“I am not strong bhai, I am weak, so weak that I have suicidal thoughts now and then, I am nothing like Anand bhai, he faced his death with so much courage and here I am, looking for ways to get things off my head and failing”
“Vinay settle down, have some water”
Vidit picked up the glass of water and passed it to Vinay
“What the hell is with you and water?, You can't take away my pain by just offering me a glass of water, I am nothing like you”
“I didn't understand the situation you were in before bhai but I do now, so have some water and calm down”
Vinay takes the glass from Vidit and smashes it to the floor, the glass breaks
“What are you doing Vinay!”
“I thought you'd understand but here you are calling me arrogant at the first chance you get and now you're questioning Everything I say, telling me to calm down! handing me a glass of water like I am a kid who will stop crying after you offer him a lollipop”
“I am sorry for what happened bhai, it was an instinctive reaction and I didn't think to listen to what you had to say but please calm down, I will listen to whatever you have to say, go on,” Vidit said as he moved his hand towards Vinay’s shoulders
“Finally, now listen,
The reason I didn't tell this to Priya yet is that I don't want her to get worried, you know that she has thyroid and if she takes stress it can be deterrent to her health, but this is not the only reason, I had to do one thing that I love more than anything, well not more than my daughter but equivalent to her! The dream we once had bhai, our startup, the one that made us stars in college, the one that made you meet Aparna
As for not telling you about this, how would you react to it, I had to first look for something I wish to do with whatever short time I have, If I had just told you that I was going to die in the next 24 months, how would you take it?”
“How much time do you have now?”
“Almost a year bhai, could be more, could be less”
“Did you contact Sudhanshu, he works at AIIMS right, he would have cont...”
“I have been fighting this for almost a year bhai, I did everything I could, I went to US, Germany, Russia, heck, I even went to China but they have no way of stopping this, I have to die, the best they can do is slow it down by some medicines and make my death a little less painful” Vinay cuts him in between
“Don't say it like that, you will fight against it, you've always been a fighter”
“Every fighter has a cutoff age bhai, looks like it's time for me to retire from...”
“Okay stop right there, let us not talk about what has happened so far, tell me what you need me to do, I am there for you, whatever you wish for”
“Well give me some time, I will get back in a minute,” Vinay said and walked towards his bedroom
Vidit stared at the wall ahead, there was a large photo frame there,
with Vinay, Priya, and their daughter, smiling, vidit could not hold it anymore.
He started walking towards the washroom with his wet eyes
Wham!
He bumped into Vinay, a small notebook fell from Vinay's hands and vidit picked it up,
A note was poking out, vidit pulled it and started reading what was written on it
Desire
I play with fire
with a desire
following instructions
of my destruction
a path I chose
took me close
to everything I want
and nothing I truly desire
Repercussions
Cloud my mind
What else is
There to find
I've achieved
Everything I wanted
But was it
What I desired?
“Did you write this?”
“Yes I did, are you crying again?”
“No, I am not crying, I just wanted to go to the washroom to wash my face, I will talk to you in 2 mins”
“Okay bhai, take your time, I have a lot that I need to tell you it might even take an hour, I would suggest that you should call Aparna and inform her”
“Yes I will”
Vidit moves to the washroom, closes the door and cries his heart out
What is the problem with us men? Why do we always have to act so strong, my best friend is going to die in a year and I can't do anything about it, how worthless we humans are!
He wipes his tears and splashes water on his face, it was difficult to see his tears lost in the water splashes, he wiped his face and called Aparna
"Hey, it'll take me sometime to get back home today, I am catching up with vidit, a lot has changed in the past year, so much that I don't even know how to talk to him"
"Are you drunk, you're talking nonsense again, did Vinay bring you some drinks you wanted?"
"Nahi, not that, I am just catching up with him, you know I don't drink in the day"
"Ha I was just pulling your leg, take your time, I won't disturb you guys, just take care and tell that Idiot to come to visit us someday"
"Haha I will, you take care too, bye"
"Bye"
"She probably got the hint that I was worried about something,ughh why I am so weak" Vidit washes his face and heads towards the dining room
"Ha sit here, check this out" Vinay hands out his notebook to Vidit
"Ha sit here, check this out" Vinay hands out his notebook to Vidit
"What is this Vinay?, You write?"
"I had to do something to keep myself away from these thoughts"
"Okay, I still I am curious about this one"
"Ohh desire, ha bhai what about this?"
"Is this about your life?"
"Yes and No, it's about everyone's life"
"Makes sense, now tell me what do you have to show me?"
"Wait, go the last page of this notebook"
Bucket list
1. Get into IIT Delhi
2. Redeem yourself, do an MBA from the best College in the country
3. Work for my dream company
4. Realize the dream I saw with vidit
5.Travel the world
6.Marry Priya
7.Have a daughter
8. Do something creative
9. Buy a BMW
10. See my daughter getting married
“Do you see it now? How high it is on my list?” Vinay pointed towards the 4th entry
“I can see that bhai, now tell me what I have to do, I can get a new job if it fails, but I would never get back a lost friend and I don't want to live my life with a regret that will haunt me for all my life”
“Okay, then give your resignation tomorrow and we can start working towards it”
“Woah, that fast?” Vidit was a little surprised
“Ha you have a notice period of 2 months, resign now to get free by June, then we'll move on to phase 2”
“Phase 2?”
“Yes bhai phase 2, Phase 1 has already begun” Vinay opened his laptop and showed vidit something he never expected