Life and Death

Disclaimer : I'm a huge KPop fan and you will come across names and photographs of KPop idols in most of my stories. They are my muse and inspiration in so many ways. The incidents and characters are fictional and have no resemblance to any K pop idol in any manner.

Dr Felix was exhausted as he came back home after a gruelling 36 hour shift and 20 days of being quarantined in the hospital itself. The recent outbreak of a deadly viral infection had wreaked havoc throughout the world. No country had managed to escape from its clutches, so far. 2020 will be remembered as the year of Covid-19, Coronavirus, Quarantine, Lockdown. It was something the world wasn't prepared for! Like an out of syllabus question in an exam! Dr Felix drove back home and immediately sanitised his PPE. After following the lengthy, rigorous drill, he finally saw his wife and kids after 20 days! The little ones ran towards him but stopped halfway, not sure if they can hug their Daddy. However an encouraging look from mummy sent them squealing and screaming into Daddy's arms! Mona had tears in her eyes as she joined her hubby and kids in a group hug. When will this nightmare end? Every single day Mona was living in fear. She waited for that one call or message from Felix all day and night which said- 'I'm fine. Love you all.' He was so tired. They had an early dinner and went to bed. Felix had 2 days at home before he went back on duty. He would probably just sleep for 2 days nonstop! The kids were clinging to him and Mona was was just happy to have him around... Two days were over in the blink of an eye and it was back to the grind for everyone. Like robots, the doctors and the rest of the medical staff worked nonstop for days on end, hoping and praying that this nightmare would end!

But the end seemed too distant a possibility.... Every day hundreds of patients came in. It was mind boggling to see these huge numbers despite the quarantine imposed on the public and the relentless struggle of the medical fraternity to fight the disease! No one thought it would spread so far, so fast! There were recoveries which made people hopeful and there were deaths which cast a pall of gloom. It was difficult to watch without emotions all the time and being professionals, they constantly hid their emotions, leading to frequent outbursts.... They weren't machines after all! They were human.... Dr Felix saw his nurse Suzy struggling to keep her eyes open and suggested she take a nap and then continue. He looked around him and tried hard not to feel weighed down by the chaotic and depressing atmosphere. Being a doctor he was used to seeing this chaos every single day, yet this seemed different... Felix was glad he had a strong life partner like Mona. She never complained about his tedious working hours which left him with no family time! Even if she had any expectations from this marriage, she never said or asked for anything! Felix was grateful to God for sending him an angel called Mona💜. For the likes of Dr Felix, life and death was a daily experience and they talk about life and death in a matter-of-fact manner which can shock others. They try their best with every patient that comes in sick. Sometimes they are worshipped like Gods and at other times insulted and abused!

Dr Felix looks around the ward and puts his smile back on his face, asking his staff to join him as they dance to some peppy music to cheer up the patients and to bring about some much needed hope and positivity in these depressing times! The cycle of life and death is never ending and none of us can escape it! One who is born, will die one day. But, that doesn't mean we die every single day thinking about and fearing death..... If life and death is constant, hope is eternal and that is the variable that makes all the difference!