An Experiment

In front of him is a Xmas tree, glittering in the dark.  So dark hazy blue and twinkling green, he sees the world in a haze. What thoughts they tell? I do not know. But, why must it matter? Why?



That evening when the sky was still blue and the smog rose above the city line, he saw street lights come on. The drone of busses, screeching rickshaws, children’s cries and a barking dog meld into the heavy air, while the yawn of a tired little boy interrupts the monotony. A torn white curtain flutters in the breeze making truce with the night, and through it a pair of droopy eyes reflects the city's plight. The curtain stops fluttering, the window now closed; behind the walls I hear some muttering. "It's beautiful", muttered Raja, looking at the watch. It was his father's delight. And thoughts raced back in time. Raja, now a frail old man, was thinking of his youth. "Tut, tut", his neighbours would say, "When will you marry boy?" To which he gently smiled, "Maybe someday, but not now", he replied. But today, he chose to remember the happy days, the fame, the fortune, the passions, the friendships, sights, smells and colours all merged within his vivid imagination. "I’ve had a good life" he said, trying to convince himself.



He opened an envelope carefully, to look at it one more time. It was a cheque for a very large sum, for a children's charity that Raja supported. Tomorrow, Raja was travelling with an old friend to check into a clinic in Switzerland. A few months ago, doctors had diagnosed bowel cancer, Raja was terminally ill.