It’s been two days and Rohit had not gulped anything by his
own. All his hopes went down the drain over these two days, as he saw his leg.
It was Shraddha and Mrs. Gupta who were forcing him to eat, drink and take
medicines, without them he could barely survive. They tried to evoke emotions
in him but he did not respond. Doctor said that they would attach an artificial
limb to the stump of the amputee by suction and he would be able to walk like
normal people. Mrs. Gupta was happy to hear that his little prince would walk
and move like normal people and she withdrew the fixed deposit money which was
kept for Rohit’s international dance academy fees.
“I am so happy beta. You
will be able to walk again like Shraddha, like me, like any other normal
people.” Mrs. Gupta hugged his son with a grin on her dark circled face.
“But I can’t dance.” He whispered for the first time since he
got to know about his leg. Her mother had a mixed feeling when he whispered
these words. She was happy because it was a sign of progress in him according
to her but she was sad too because she can never fulfil his dream of dancing.
He looked woebegone. Mrs. Gupta held his hand and looked at Shraddha who shook
her head “he will be okay”.
Mrs. Gupta left the hospital to get some sarees to do
embroidery. She had been doing embroidery on every possible cloth from dusk to
dawn since the day he had opened his eyes because hospital charges were making
her purse empty.
Rohit looked at Shraddha from corner of his eyes who was
scribbling down notes and said “Shraddha…” Shraddha left her work and sat near
him holding his right hand in hers and said in muted tone “Tell me what you
want? I will fetch it to you.”
“I want to dance” his eyes were overflowing with saline fluid
and she could not do anything of it.
“Tell me! Can you make me dance?” She was quiet, she had
nothing to say. “You can’t. No one can.” he started wailing.
“Don’t feel sad you will be okay. You will be able to walk
all over again. You should be happy” she tried to balance his condition but he
was a dance enthusiast for whom dancing was like breathing oxygen.
“What will I do with that artificial leg if I can’t dance?”
he shouted angrily
“You will be able to dance too like Sgt. Jerrod Fields runs.”
She tried to console him “but promise me that you will not say anything for two
days after doctor will fix artificial limb. They said you need a total bed rest
of two days and then you will be given five day training to walk”
He knew it was not that easy but her these simple words were
enough for him. He had a ray of hope in his heart. Doctor fixed an artificial
limb on his right leg and he stayed quiet for two days and did regular works
properly. He wanted his training to end very soon so that he could start his dance
training like a newbie.
Five days of training of using his artificial limb passed too
and he can walk now, not big steps but he can walk like a crawling tortoise.
He was a bit happy because he could start his dance training
too but his condition was still not good. He still can’t walk properly. He
asked Shraddha to help him with his dance training but she said that they need
to work on his walk first. Mrs. Gupta and Shraddha both helped him like parents
do when they teach their own baby. Every night he used to struggle to walk in
Shraddha’s garage.
Footsteps were back to normal. He could now walk like a
normal person but dancing was still a challenge to him which he wanted to win
at any cost. For others, dancing is an exercise which keeps you and your body
fit and fresh, but for a dancer, it is like the first rain of monsoon, magic
that makes you feel free, feeling that disappears you from the world and your
feet move on a piece of music. It is the language that brings your soul and
your body together, an art which tints your face with different feelings
altogether on your face in the form of expressions.
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