Akash was deeply concerned about his mother and he could no longer concentrate in his studies and remained preoccupied most of the time. One evening something inside told him that something was going to be wrong. It was already 6.00 in the evening and darkness was quickly engulfing the summer day. He decided to go home suddenly.

Something inside told him to go home.

He took out his cycle and drove fast towards his home. His uninformed and unexpected coming surprised and everyone asked him what was wrong.
Akash replied, " I just wanted to come home. I don't know why."

That night Akash's family had kangshoi and soibum iromba for dinner. After dinner Akash went inside the mosquito net of his bed and took out the Femur, the thighbone that he needed to study for his Osteology classes. Akash never allowed anybody to see these bones for his Anatomy classes.

He remembered what his Anatomy teacher Dr. Ibochouba told him, " Boy, don't let any non-medico see them. You won't like your bones to be seen by anybody. Will you? If the person had not donated his body how would you learn?
Respect him and be thankful to him." He started reading the patellar surfaces and the surrounding areas and the numerous muscles and ligaments attached. Suddenly he heard his mother retching and she vomited.

All of them jumped out of their respective beds and rushed towards their mother and the vomit, "Is it blood?" all of them echoed. Little Esha, the smallest of them had also begun to realize the gravity of the situation when their dear mother vomits blood.

Thankfully it was all kangshoi and rice and all of them sighed of relief. Akash was still pouring a teaspoonful of Digene when suddenly his mother vomited again and this time it was all frank blood and good amount. All of the panicked and called out for their aunts in the next house. Akash's grandmother also started crying helplessly in her bed.

Then Akash told, " Bem, pack the things. Lets go to the Hospital."
That day Akash's mother refused, "No, No, don't take me there its no use."
She sobbed into the night. Akash did not listen and called out for his uncle next door and asked him for a vehicle in the community which could take his mother to the Hospital.

Every body kept quiet and nobody could figure out any family in the whole of Bhadralok Machin leikai who could readily provide them the vehicle at this hour. It was 10 o'clock at night and 10 in Imphal was quite late already.

Akash thought fast and he went out of the house shouting, "I'll get the vehicle,"and sped away on his aunt's luna before anybody could stop and ask him where he was going. He drove into the darkness towards his friend's house in Singjamei 2/3 kms away. He focused on the part of the road lit by the headlamp of his vehicle. Suddenly the engine went dead. "Oh! My God what do I do now?" thought Akash and jumped down of the luna aware and scared of these precious moments.

If he couldn't take his mother to Hospital in time and another bout comes -these thought terrified him. He grove in the darkness for the pluck point. It had jumped out of place out. Akash put it in and jumped start the luna and sped toward his friend's house. They had a car and he knew he could rely on his best friend RK Bob. They called him Arkay so often that at times they would ask him, "What's your surname, Arkay?"

To be continued....