Rainbow In The Sky

It had been raining non-stop for the last few days. The grass looked greener than usual. There were puddles of water everywhere which reflected the mellow subdued light of the sky like mirrors. There was an atmosphere of tranquility all around only to be punctuated at intervals by the guttural croaking of frogs.

         

On seeing a rainbow in the sky Tina heaved a sigh but consoled herself by the thought that only after it rains, one can see the beautiful arch stretching across the sky with its myriad colors. Perhaps the same will happen in her life too. Like the scenes in the theater, the different episodes of her life came back to her. She could remember them vividly and a faint smile lit up her face like the setting sun in an overcast sky.

                

She must have been about eight years old. Her mother a frail, sickly woman, holding her younger brother, who might have been four or five in one hand and her in another, would take them to the Railway Station and they would board the local train. She would have had to sing, whilst her brother kept time, beating a tin can with a stick. As her voice rose in a crescendo, the passengers cheered spontaneously. Coins poured in which her mother collected. In the evenings when they went back to their small hut made of straw and bamboos, their mother cooked a frugal meal consisting of soup and bread. Whatever her mother doled out in her dented tin plates tasted so appetizing and she relished every bit of it, moreover so because all three of them shared everything. Though they had a very hard life she was content. She got great satisfaction when people appreciated her singing and she felt happy that she could feed her family by means of her songs. Her father had taken to drinking alcohol and had left the family when she was five.

She was a gifted child. She would hear the songs blaring on other people’s radios and she would pick them up and when she sang, the rendition was professional. She had a sweet melodious voice and when the audience saw a small girl singing so well, there was no end to the appreciation. Her mother was particular about her studies and she attended school regularly. For every school function, her name was given for solo singing. She loved to sing. Sometimes she would pretend that she was Christina Aguilera, at others, she was Jennifer Lopez. She took pride in being the bread winner of the family.

               

In the meantime, Mother’s health was deteriorating day by day. Then one day Tina came back from the crematorium, her brother by her side, after performing the last rites for their mother. She held her brother close in her arms and vowed to be his stay and support, such was her protective instinct. But blinding tears almost burst out in torrents which she quickly suppressed and stifled her emotions which almost choked her, as her brother should not see her cry.

             

It was at this juncture that the rainbow had come into sight and she wondered whether there would be a rainbow too for her after the recent heaviest downpour in her life. Later on, she realized that her brother was actually the rainbow which made her life so beautiful. Whenever she looked at her brother, the large innocent eyes, the tousled hair, the boyish grin, she forgot the pain of having had lost her mother, and her heart went out to him in empathy —it was terribly unfortunate for her brother not to have known the love of a father and now to have lost the affection and care of a mother at such a young age. She wanted to make up for all that he had lost and given him the love and affection of both the parents. In her desire to wipe away all his sorrow, she found comfort and consolation. But this was not all one-sided. Her brother, small as he was, took on the task to be her protector. No one dared to even look at her with an indecent motive, and he knew he would be confronted with a tornado---the little fellow would immediately run and get support from the local boys who all loved and doted on him. Again when she fell sick and could not even raise her head from her pillow, he became her guardian angel and hovered above her all day and night. He ran to the doctor, bought medicine for her and fed her bread and milk, spoon by spoon, till she could get about. When she regained her energy, both of them would go to the station, hand in hand and enjoy singing for the passengers and regale them with song after song.

       

On a memorable summer day, both the brother and sister had boarded the Local train. Tina was immersed in the rendition of a song by Beyonce when a young man who looked like a ruffian passed a vile comment concerning her. Immediately the young brother stood up to him and warned him that if he uttered another indecent remark about his sister, there would be trouble. This man was not only twice the age of the boy but was also in stature. He could not imagine that there could be this stiff response from the small child. He gave a lascivious laugh and mocked the boy for exhibiting so much spirit and flexed his muscles. Then he picked him by his hair and mouthing more obscenities he gave him a resounding blow which sent him sprawling on to the compartment floor. Not satisfied with his vulgar outburst, he kicked the doubled-up figure with the strength of a monster in rage, and the boy was flung out of the compartment and landed on his side on the pebbles lining the tracks. As his head struck a metal rail, it got a deep gash and blood started spurting out in jets. Soon there was a big puddle of blood under his head. Somebody pulled the chain and the train hiccuped twice and came to an abrupt halt. Tina’s whole body was shaking. She jumped out after her brother impetuously and fell in a heap next to him. He was her world and now her world had collapsed. As she fell, she became senseless, and both lay prostrate side by side. The passengers, to appease their curiosity had started jumping out too. The crowd started becoming thicker by the minute. At that moment amidst the hullabaloo, a gentleman appeared and authoritatively started pushing the crowd back. Then he picked up the boy’s hand and felt his pulse. On finding that the boy needed medical attention, he called out to someone and asked for his bag. Quickly he bandaged the wound in order to stop it from bleeding. But when he found that blood was relentlessly spurting out, he immediately called for an ambulance.   

       

The gentleman then quickly checked the girl out to see whether she had suffered any major injury. She had broken a bone in her leg and he surmised that it had to be set immediately so as to spare her excruciating pain. For the past two years, he had often traveled in the same carriage as her and had heard her singing. Her singing was really ethereal and did something to him. He invariably stood mesmerized and listened in awe. It was mind-boggling how she could move him so much. Now she lay motionless and not a sound emanated from the still body. He looked at the pale face. She could have been in her late teens. There was determination written large on her face yet there were softness and innocence. His heart turned a double somersault and he blushed. He immediately tried to block his thoughts. It was madness---he could not allow himself the luxury of nurturing such thoughts. He picked her hand up to feel her pulse more tenderly than a professional doctor would do. He creased his brows in deep concentration as he detected something very abnormal. He beckoned the doctors in the ambulance and said something in a low voice. When both the patients were carefully lifted into the ambulance and it sped off, resonating with its urgent alarm, the crowd moved away and the guard began waving his green flag. The person, who had imperiously taken command of the situation an hour ago, walked slowly back, a broken entity.

He had not expected the girl to be in this condition. She was taking labored breaths.She must have hit her head on something hard resulting in internal hemorrhage and this could prove to be serious and cause death. He had come to admire her immensely not only because of her singing but in addition, he felt she was a role model as a woman, mothering her younger brother, taking on the responsibilities of the family in the absence of her parents, being so gifted yet so meek and humble.

Both the casualties had been admitted to the Elphinstone Hospital. The young doctor did not fail to make his rounds to the sick beds regularly, morning and evening as he was extremely worried. He was surprised at himself that now often he found himself praying to God and pleading with him to make Tina and her brother well again. He could not understand what had come upon him. The girl lay unconscious for four days quite unaware of what was happening to her precious brother. Then on the fifth day, she happened to open her eyes for a brief moment. The EEG report indicated that the blood clot had not dissolved. Would she become brain dead?! She was not showing any signs of recovery. He would just sit by her bedside and wait for her to stir, open her eyes or say a few words. After the seventh day, Tina showed some signs of improvement. His happiness knew no bounds when she finally responded to the medicines.

         

In the meantime, Tina would sometimes see a young man sitting by the side of her bed through a haze. She was not able to recognize this person but he had a likable appearance and was of the gentle kind. When she could think rationally she wondered why he was there. Every day he brought fruits for her and she heard him discussing her problem with the doctor on duty. He would buy the required medicines and ask her anxiously how she was feeling. He became the go-between her and her brother. When she realized this, she became more open and welcoming towards him. She learned from him that her brother too had been admitted to the same hospital in the male ward. His two ribs had been broken and so he had been advised bed rest. The young man was also looking after her brother and so Tina’s feelings were very favorable towards him. He would try to cheer her up and related all sorts of amusing anecdotes. She would be in splits so much so that her sides would start paining. She would also tell him all that had transpired in her life and it seemed that they had known each other all their life. If he got delayed visiting her, she would be anxiously awaiting his arrival. 

                   

One day, it so happened, that he was able to pick up enough courage to ask her for her hand. She hesitated and explained to him that her brother would be upset as he would feel that she was deserting him. He then reasoned with her that since he would look after him and be a brother to him, there was no reason to feel that way, and three of them would get along very well. This way of looking at the whole situation seemed just perfect and she happily gave her consent. She felt that her brother had been instrumental in bringing the young man into her life, for if it had not been for the terrible accident she would not have become so intimate with the doctor. She then remembered the rainbow which she had seen in the sky and how she had wished fervently that there would be a rainbow too in her life. She pinched herself to see whether she was dreaming or whether it was really happening to her. In the wedding photograph, her brother was there in the center, linking the beaming couple on either side, the beautiful rainbow!