Nature's Love

It was a scorching hot monsoon day. There had been no rains in the past week. Farmers set out of their dingy hut every morning only to find themselves staring at a cloudless sky. Disheartened, they would trudge back, waiting for the time when the rains would advance, touching the heart of their crops and giving them life.

But the rains were not going to pour today, nor tomorrow, nor the next week and it was all because of one lady whom this story is all about.

She now lay on her bed, the place where the doctors told she would never leave, looking at the closed window, her eyes robbed of life. They slowly closed as she drifted off into a deep sleep.

The sun rose, its rays seeping through the grounded glass of the window, bathing her face in sunlight. She woke up, not wanting to face another day of endless questioning. Her mind drifted to the earlier times when not a day passed without a doctor visiting her home. But none could find the cure for the disease. None could even diagnose what disease she had; while some simply said that she was perfectly fine but was putting up an act. "She is suffering from depression, the cure is..." One renowned doctor said. "Hmmm...The cure for hyperactivity is..." Another said. The list went on and on.

Her ears perked up to the sound of the dull scraping of a chair but she did not greet her friend who sat with her the entire day, neither uttering a word. She closed her eyes as hopelessness engulfed her once again. She never left her bed nor did her friend leave her side.

And this day was another normal day. But this time, a young man in his thirties entered. He had a jovial and patient face that looked like he could spend a day listening to a boring lecture but never get bored. His lack of seriousness was what irritated her friend the most rather than the fact that they had already seen half a dozen doctors.

'Oh no, what now?' Her friend thought as she looked up from the long list of medicines prescribed by various doctors, irritation evident in her face. But the doctor did not seem to mind. He just said a merry "Hello!" and walked towards the patient as if he had already done this several times. Letting out a huge sigh, her friend returned back to her list trying to pick out the best medicines and in the meantime ready with a pen to jot down the medicine that this doctor was going to prescribe.

After a few minutes, he turned to her friend, "She is suffering from EDD-Emotional Deprivation Disorder. There's nothing I can do." "What should she do?" Her friend asked. "She needs to know love." The doctor replied. He still had a happy face as if this was all going as he had expected. Without saying anything else, he left.

Days, weeks and months went by and still things were not looking good. The farmers had stopped looking at the sky for signs of rain. She had stopped eating and drinking. Nobody could even get a word out of her, let alone make her open her eyes. People came to her house every day. They tried to talk to her, played her favourite music and even shook her to try and make her wake up, but nothing worked. Slowly they stopped coming, having resigned to the fact that she would not survive.

The heat was increasing and so were the preparations for the advancing summer. Everyone was busily making plans for their family; everyone except her friend. Her friend sat all day by the side of her bed, unable to accept the fact that she was dying. Her friend still had hope that she could pull through this and so she did not budge from her usual routine.

As night dawned, the room had become very humid. "Shall I open the window?" Her friend asked, a part of her expecting an answer. No reply. She sighed and proceeded to open it. The window had been closed for so long that it had got jammed. Her friend braced herself, knowing that it would be a tough job to open it. Using all her strength, she pushed.

Surprisingly, it opened easily as if it had been oiled recently. Puzzled, she retreated to her room after enjoying the cool sea breeze for some time. "Good Night!" Her friend said before leaving.

That night was a special one; it was the night the lady would breathe her last. The moon shone brightly that night. Its rays unobstructed by the grounded glass that was usually there. They fell on her face, illuminating her features. Her breathing gradually started to reduce. A loud sound was heard; a sound loud enough to wake her up if she would not have been dying. A bright light streaked through the sky. Her last breath was nearing. Another rumble was heard. She breathed in one last time.

The first drop of rain fell on her face. A surge of energy travelled from the point where it touched her skin to the rest of the body, making her open her eyes. She was alive.

Raindrops fell fast and soon her face was covered with them. Life returned to her eyes as they gazed at the night sky, watching the tiny drops fall on the ground she could not see, making a pitter-patter sound which she so loved. The earthly smell filled her nostrils as she breathed in and out. Colour returned to her skin as she felt the rain against it; that was what she did the entire night - watching the rain, her favourite pastime.

It continued to rain the following day. The farmers rejoiced as they watched their crops coming back to life. The animals pranced about, the rain washing their fur. The birds bathed in the rain, while drinking from puddles in the street. Everyone was happy, even her.

Her friend was overjoyed to see her sitting up and smiling the following day. Her friend was about to call the young doctor when they heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" Her friend called happily. The young doctor entered, beaming. Her friend could not contain her happiness, "She is cured, doctor!" He laughed, "How?" She spoke for the first time in months.

"When a rain drop fell on me, I felt...alive. I-I think that cured me." She said. Her friend turned to the doctor, "You said that she needs to know love!" He smiled. Instead of answering that question he asked another, "What is your name?" She smiled and said, "Varsha," "Varsha, you have finally experienced nature's way of showing love: rain,-" A single raindrop fell on his palm, "-in other words, yourself!" They all laughed.