Accidental Attachment

close or near

Sree

The new day gave me a refreshed outlook. I got ready and joined Vikram and Ramesh to get to the company.
I looked at Vikram, remembering our conversation from yesterday.
"Vikram", I told his name to myself.

He had smiled in the morning before entering the car though. He was driving that day. I didn't notice for long I was looking at his arms on the steering wheel. Moving from the gears to the wheel.

The day went well, there were meetings and speeches. It took evening for that to get over.

We were going through a narrow street, when we spotted a crowd of people blocking the road. Vikram got down to see what the commotion was about. Me and Ramesh got down too.

There was an old lady on the road who probably met with an accident. There was blood surrounding her body and I was shocked and nauseated.

"Did you people call the ambulance? ", Vikram asked.

" Yes sir, just now though I guess it will take time there weren't enough ambulances in the nearby hospital so we had to call another one which is quite far. ", a man said

" Seems like this lady lives on the streets, why bother ", said another man.

" Why bother?, because she is a human being", Vikram almost shouted.

"If the ambulance is late, it might be too late, I'll take her to the nearby hospital, tell it's name and way", Vikram told a man.

He went to the woman and began carrying her. I was surprised.  Vikram was willing to help a stranger! I was tensed too, on seeing the lady and all the blood.

The car was big and there was a seat behind ours.

Vikram placed the lady there and drove away fast.
" Sree, fast look into google Maps and tell me the direction", he instructed.

I conceded. I was so tensed. Ramesh also seemed worried. We reached the hospital and Vikram ran and took the old woman in.

"Accident case, sir, we need to file police complaint", said the doctor there

" We would do everything, first treat her right now", Vikram shouted at the doctor, his eyes filled with anger and stress.

The doctors took the woman to the ICU.
They asked to call the woman's relatives but we didn't know them. So Vikram signed the form on behalf of her relatives. Then Vikram sat down, stressed and his eyes teary.

He then looked at us.
"Sree, Ramesh you both can leave, I'll take care", he said

Ramesh proceeded to leave and called me, but I didn't want to leave Vikram alone.

" You go, I'll be with sir", I said.
Ramesh gave a quizzical look but left.

I expected Vikram to ask me to leave, but he was just looking into thin air, looking shaken.

I touched his shoulder.
"Vikram, she would be fine, you saved her, not many people would do what you did, you know? You are different,.. Good", I said

Vikram kept staring in front.
" I don't know,.. It reminded me of an incident a few years back.. Of my mothers first cardiac arrest..

I was in college then.. When I heard the news that she met with an accident.. The doctors, they said they couldn't assure anything.. She was my everything...i saw blood everywhere around her..
She suffered a cardiac arrest shortly..

Seeing this old lady reminded me, that she might be someone's mother.. And what I did was something any person should.. Those days gave me panic attacks... " , he said. Tears brimmed his eyes