Fight With Lord Yama

There were three school friends from their native place who were segregated after their twelfth board examination. They would go to school together, play together, and view films together. It was a surprise for other friends when they didn’t find them together. Since the twelfth board examination was the turning point in their lives, all of them made sincere efforts to succeed according to their abilities and intelligence. Arun and Mr. Baba passed the examination with flying colors, whereas Shrikant failed to do so. Since Mr. Baba was poor in mathematics, he did his graduation in science in biology, whereas Mr. Arun did his graduation in science with mathematics. Mr. Shrikant changed his career route due to the poor condition of the family. He took some supplementary courses like typing and shorthand. Fortune favors the bold. He got a job as a dealing clerk in the municipal corporation in the city. Arun did his post-graduation in science. He got a job in the central government, while Mr. Baba got a job in a state government office in his home state.

Hardly had they met each other when they got jobs. They were busy in life thereafter. Out of sight, out of mind. They secretly saw each other when they had their family responsibilities. Since Arun had a transferable job, he was always wandering in length and breadth of the country. All of them were in the same boat as they had no time to look into the past due to their hectic family activities. No sooner had they entered the retirement decade than they built their dream homes in different areas of the same city. Scarcely had they been aware of their school friends when they started living in their newly constructed homes. Incidentally, Baba and Shrikant met each other in a mall. No sooner did they see each other than they recognized each other. They hugged each other. They were extremely happy. Both of them lived in the same area with a fairly small distance from each other. They met frequently, as in the past. But they weren’t happy as they were missing their third beloved friend. Incidentally, Baba met Arun’s elder brother at a marriage function in the city. He inquired about Arun. He was surprised to know that his beloved friend also settled in the same city just a few years ago. He got Arun’s cellphone number from his elder brother.

This was another turning point in their lives after the twelfth board examination. In this way, old beloved friends again met in a new city. There was very close contact among them after the reunion, as absence makes the heart grow fonder. They went to their native place to meet their friends as well as to recall their old memories of school life. They arranged various picnics for their enjoyment. They celebrated the sixty-first birthdays of their common school friends. They also celebrated the annual anniversary of their arranged mega-event of the common sixty-first birthday every year. They decided to cover up the quota of their lost friendship time. But time and tide wait for no man. Though Shrikant was a very strong, healthy, and handsome boy in his young age, he lost all these merits due to his bad company during his service period. He was admitted to the intensive care unit several times for various clinical problems. He was a patient of heart issues, blood pressure, sugar, and liver problems. But his willpower was stronger than his two friends. Though his friends were quite healthy, their willpower wasn’t as strong as Shrikant's. His wife always blamed his beloved friends for taking him on outside tours for enjoyment. He didn’t care about his wife’s botheration. He was of the opinion that he had spent more than half his life for his family. He wanted to spend the rest of his life for himself and his dear friends. It was their routine practice to admit him to the hospital in the intensive care unit. But every time he would come back to give them his company. He always assured his family that he would come back after treatment. They shouldn’t worry about him.

One day, his friends admitted him to a hospital. He was in the intensive care unit, as usual. After a few days, he shifted to a general ward. He was recovering day by day. He was discharged from the hospital. They were very happy. But just after two days, he had some chemical reaction. He would make very loud noises. Though he called his friends to meet with him, his family stopped his friends from meeting with him. They went many times to meet with him. Unfortunately, his family members showed their unwillingness to allow them to meet their friend. They were of the opinion that he might turn violent during the meeting. They were ready to face his violence, but they couldn’t do so. He was again shifted to the intensive care unit. They met with him in his unconscious condition. He was there for a few days. They thought that he would also fight with Lord Yama, as in the past. They, as well as other friends, were damn sure that he would come out from the health crises, as in the past. But when Arun saw him in the intensive care unit, he hardly saw any movement or symptoms of life in him. He had a doubt that he was forcibly kept on a ventilator in the intensive care unit just to make extra money from the family. His friend saw him eye to eye, but they were helpless. One day, Baba phoned Arun that their dear friend had kicked the bucket. Though he had deep sorrow, he wasn’t shocked by the news. They were all present at his funeral and on the fourteenth-day function. But their beloved friend couldn’t give them a surprise, as in the past when he was admitted last time in the intensive care unit. They paid their last tributes to the soul of the departed friend. But they had deep sorrow as well as regret that they couldn’t meet their friend before his final journey. They also couldn’t know what his last message was for them. If his family didn’t stop them from meeting, they would have known his wish as well as any secret he wanted to share with them.