Between Needs & Desires

Its All in Mind

This is the story of two friends who believed in bringing back life to their friendship, who made it possible by belief….

Riya and Vicky are best friends from childhood. They are very close to each other. They do not have any secrets between them. They studied in the same school and completed medicine from the same college. They both are now working for a super specialty hospital in their city. Many people are jealous of them and their friendship. Both Riya and Vicky feel so blessed to have each other in their lives. They are happy souls.

Every year, Riya gives a surprise to Vicky on his birthday. On one of his birthdays, she planned a surprise trip to his favorite holiday spot. Once she brought him a T-shirt of his favorite sports star. She never missed giving surprise to Vicky. 

Vicky also plans to celebrate Riya's birthday but in the same way every year. He is very bad at giving surprises and if we ever want to give one, it will become a disaster! So he will never take a risk. After all, celebrating Riya's birthday is his priority.

This year is very special because they became doctors which have been their childhood dream. Riya and Vicky always thought about helping poor people who cannot afford costly treatment. They thought of establishing a hospital and serve the needy. They feel sorry for people who lose their lives just because they don't have money. They think that no one should die, due to lack of money or treatment, at least due to lack of humanity. Even now, in their free time, they go to rural areas and arrange medical camps to help the people. With the help of their friends and family, they want to make their dream a reality. They are raising funds for the same.

Vicky's birthday is in a week. Vicky once told Riya that he would love to go to a hill station. So Riya planned to celebrate his birthday in a hill station this time. But she did not tell him before. She planned to arrange a medical camp in a hill station near their city. She asked her colleagues to accompany them so that they can provide more service to the people. Vicky and Riya, along with 6 other friends of them, started to the hill station for one week campaign. All of them know about the birthday plan except Vicky. They told him that they would return home on his birthday and celebrate there. 

They have to travel on a ghat road to reach the area where they are arranging their camp. Six of them are traveling on their bikes, two on each with their medical kits.  The other two are traveling in a car with some equipment needed to arrange the Riya and Vicky are riding together on a bike. 

Climate is wonderful and it is an eye-treat to watch that scene to all of them. In nature's lap, it just felt like heaven. It is surrounded by greenery all around and cool breezes are touching their face once in a while. There is slight rainfall which added more liveliness to the place. They stopped at a place to feel and enjoy the love nature is giving in the form of this rain and wind. After some time, they started their journey again.

All of a sudden, it started raining heavily. It became hard to look at the road and drive. They decided to stop for some time and continue. They found a place to hide so that they will not get wet. They covered themselves with jackets to escape from the shivering. But that could not help them. It is raining so heavily and the wind is blowing at high speed. They managed to stay there for some time since they could not continue their journey. 

An hour passed by. The rainfall is slowly reducing. It is still spine chilling though. The visibility is better than it was earlier. They are already late by an hour and it is getting dark. They looked around to find any shelter to stay for that night. But there is no such place in and around that area. So they decided to continue their journey. They all started together.

Roads became slippery due to heavy rainfall. It is becoming hard to ride the bike as the slope is rising. Somehow, others are managing, but Vicky has too much difficulty in riding. But he did not tell this to Riya thinking that she will be afraid. He thought he can manage if he drives slowly. Others are far ahead of them. Riya asked him if there is any problem in driving. But he said everything is fine. 

Vicky saw a stone in his way. He thought he can proceed from the other side of it. Any vehicle can easily go from that gap. When the stone is approaching, he tried to move out of its way but he cannot. He is not able to control the handle to divert the path. The road seemed so slippery and his bike is not in his control. Riya is warning him that there is a stone ahead. Vicky couldn't control his bike anymore and he hit the stone.

      *****

 Vicky slowly opened his eyes and found himself on a bed. He did not understand where he is and what has happened, for a while. He tried to remember what happened last night. He could slowly memorize that he had hit a stone and both of them fell off their bike. He is trying to recollect what happened as soon as he hit the stone. He completely lost control over the bike and he fell. His bike fell to the other side. He was in shock. He is losing consciousness. He is not in a position to think about Riya. Now he is in the hospital, the hospital in which he is working. He understood the situation.

He got up suddenly from the bed and checked if somebody is around. He could see his friends standing outside the room. He called one of his friends, Raj, into the room. As soon as he came, Vicky asked him about Riya. Raj remained silent. Vicky again asked him, in a loud voice this time. Raj is startled. He doesn't want Vicky to know what happened to Riya in this situation. Raj told him to calm down. He told Vicky that Riya is safe. But Vicky did not listen to him. Something seemed bad to his heart. He wanted to see her. He asked Raj to take him to Riya. Raj couldn't control him anymore. He decided to tell Vicky about Riya. 

He told Vicky that Riya is seriously injured and doctors told that she could not walk anymore…..Vicky could not believe this. He is in shock. He is not speaking anything. Raj called him to check if he is fine. Vicky did not reply. Raj called him again. Then he again asked Raj where Riya is. Raj understood how Vicky is feeling about this. He tried to console Vicky. He told Vicky that what had happened cannot be changed. We need to accept life the way it comes.

Raj took him to the room where Riya is admitted. She is sleeping. Vicky couldn't control his tears. He is blaming himself for what had happened to Riya. He is thinking that if he had stopped their journey for some time when he was not able to drive, all this would not have happened. 

         *****

After a week, Vicky recovered from the injuries and is discharged from the hospital. Riya's health is also stable now. But doctors told that she still needs to be in observation for few more days. Vicky, being a doctor, can understand the complexity of the situation. He looked at Riya's reports. He is looking at all possible ways to make Riya walk again. He spoke to the doctor who is giving treatment to Riya from the beginning. But the doctor said that chances are very less and there are no records in such cases where a patient started walking again. That might negatively affect the patient if the process is not followed correctly. There will not be any second chance. Vicky asked about the process. But the doctor refused to say it because they never tried it on anyone before and it is not a good option to try it with Riya. But Vicky could not compromise with what the doctor said. There should be something that can help him.  

He met the doctor again, the next day. The doctor is not willing to tell that to Vicky because he never tried that process on anyone before and he doesn't want to experiment it with Riya. But Vicky is hopeful that something will help him and he could find away. He never wants to leave any chance that could bring back Riya to normal.  

Vicky is consistently asking the doctor because he understood that doctor is hiding something from him. Finally, the doctor agreed to told about the treatment. Vicky felt very happy.

The doctor started explaining. There is a medicine which they need to import from a foreign country and give it to Riya in doses every month. The dosage should be given very carefully because giving it a little less or more will lead to serious consequences. But then, there is no guarantee that the medicine will work. Sometimes it may give good results and in some cases, it may completely fail. Vicky listened to the doctor carefully. He decided to do it himself. He asked the doctor the details about that medicine. The doctor gave him all the details to get that medicine imported. 

But the doctor still does not want to take any risk. So he called Riya's patients and explained the situation. Riya's parents did not agree with this. They do not want to put their daughter's life at risk. They started scolding Vicky for doing all this. They said that he is the reason for Riya to be in this situation and now he is doing experiments with her life. Vicky tried to explain to them but they are not listening to him. He asked them to believe him for the one last time and told them that if anything happens to Riya in this process, he will kill himself. Even then they did not agree with this. After a lot of struggle, both doctor and Vicky could convince them. 

Meanwhile, Vicky's birthday has arrived. He went to meet Riya. She is lying on the bed. They both remained silent for some time. Then Riya started talking. She wished him a Happy Birthday. She said she is feeling so sad because she could not celebrate his birthday this time. Then she told about her plan of celebrating Vicky's birthday in the hill station. Tears rolled out of his eyes. He said sorry to Riya. He told me that he should have been more careful while driving. Riya stopped Vicky. She said that she should accept fate. She said that it was not his fault at all and asked him not to cry. Vicky brought Riya's favorite sweet and gave it to her. Then he told Riya that he has good news for her. He said that there is a treatment with which she can walk. But he did not tell Riya about all those what the doctor had told him. He told Riya that she will become normal within a few days. He said that he ordered the medicine and it will come within a week. 

Riya is surprised to listen to this. She did not believe for some time. She asked so many questions. But Vicky said only one thing to Riya that he will give her medicine every month in the prescribed dosage and within six months she will be able to walk. Every time he met her, he used to say this to her. He imposed this in her brain until she also believed in this. Riya also started believing in this.

After a week, Vicky received the medicine. He read all the instructions carefully. He went to meet the doctor along with the medicine. The doctor told him how to give the medicine to Riya. 

Vicky is so determined to do this. He must see his friend in a normal state again. 

Riya is also thinking that she would take the medicine and get well soon. She did not know about all the complications that are involved. So she is free of all those thoughts that something would happen if it won't work. Her mind accepted the fact that this medicine is going to cure her.

Vicky, along with the doctor started treatment to Riya. Both of them looked so normal. They are behaving just like they are giving a routine medicine. Before giving the medicine, Vicky went to Riya and told her that she is going to walk within six months.

Riya's treatment continued. Every time they gave treatment to her, Vicky not only injected the medicine into her body but also the trust in her mind. He has been constantly telling her the same thing which is fixed in her mind. Days passed by. Vicky is carefully monitoring the progress. He is taking care of Riya and checking on her health condition. He is making sure that the medicine is not negatively impacting her.

By the end of six months, there is a lot of improvement and Riya could slowly walk. There are no limits to Vicky's happiness. Riya's parents are also so happy. 

It is Vicky's determination towards bringing her life back and his belief that he can bring it back. Riya determines that she should walk and her belief that she can walk!

The doctor called Vicky to his cabin. He looked so calm and happy. Vicky did not see him like that before. He appreciated Vicky for what he has achieved. Vicky proved himself to be a good doctor, a good friend. He proved that if we strongly believe that we can do something, we can do it. He made what everyone thought impossible, possible. He did not let himself down listening to anyone's words. He knows what he has to do and he did it. 

It is the day when Riya is getting discharged from the hospital. He helped her parents in finishing all the formalities in the hospital. They took Riya and left.

The next day, Vicky went to Riya's house. He took her favorite chocolate while going. Riya's mother opened the door. She looked at Vicky and smiled. The anger which he used to see in her face is not there anymore. She invited him to come inside. She asked him to sit and offered him a coffee. Vicky asked about Riya. She said that Riya is sleeping and asked if he wants her to call Riya. But Vicky said that he will wait until she wakes up.

After some time, Riya woke up. Her mother told her that Vicky is waiting for her. She came out of her room. She told Vicky that they could have woke her up. Vicky smiled. He gave the chocolate to her. She smiled. He asked how she is feeling now. She said she is all right. She is feeling much better than earlier. 

After some casual talk, Vicky started talking about Riya's treatment and medicine. He told Riya about the medicine, the complications involved in it. He also said how much argument he had with the doctor and her parents about this. Riya is surprised to listen to all these. She asked him why all these have been not told to her before. Vicky smiled. He told Riya that it is her confidence and belief which made this happen. All this has become possible only because she believed that medicine will be able to treat her and she can walk again. Riya told Vicky that it is not the medicine in which she believed, but it's Vicky in whom she believed. Both of them smiled.

Riya's health condition has become better now and she started coming to the hospital. Their life became normal as it used to be earlier. Vicky's birthday is arriving in three months and Riya is working his surprise birthday party. They became busy with their lives.

One day, Riya's mother asked if she wants to marry Vicky. She told her that she could never find a better person than Vicky, who cares for her, who looks after her like a kid, who loves her so much and would go to any extreme to make her happy. Riya smiled. She took her mother's hands into hers. She started speaking. She said that Vicky's love towards her is as pure as a mother's love. He treats as a kid and enjoys her company. But he expects nothing in return. She also told her that they would remain as best friends forever, till their life ends, whatsoever comes their way. They don't want to misuse their friendship!

After a few years, they have established a hospital that has been their dream. In that hospital, they are offering free treatment to poor people who cannot afford it. They are serving the needy in all the ways possible. All this would not have been possible if Vicky had lost hope on the day when the doctor said that they cannot give treatment to Riya and Riya could not have walked today if she had not believed in Vicky!

Riya married a guy who is a software engineer. Vicky's marriage is in the next month. This time, she is planning a surprise on the day of his wedding!

Our body and heart listen to what our mind says. The mind has got all that power to do it. When we believe strongly in something, everything in nature also comes together to make it happen. There is nothing in this world that is impossible. All we have to do is to believe in it.