Nidhi and her mom - October 2008.Cancer has stolen another life. A life which was much loved. My best friend, Nidhi’s mom died yesterday. Nobody even told me – they wanted to protect me. I only discovered this morning.
How can you not tell a daughter her mother has died? Because that’s what she was, almost my mother. She fought the battle bravely for almost 2 years and finally gave up. In December, the doctors had given her a clean bill – the cancer was gone, and Nidhi got married in February. And it came back…. This time more powerful. We didn’t have time. We lost her within a month.
I am so glad I went to Delhi last month. Maybe that was the reason I actually went. To see her, to talk to her – for the one last time.
How can you not tell a daughter her mother has died? Because that’s what she was, almost my mother. She fought the battle bravely for almost 2 years and finally gave up. In December, the doctors had given her a clean bill – the cancer was gone, and Nidhi got married in February. And it came back…. This time more powerful. We didn’t have time. We lost her within a month.
I am so glad I went to Delhi last month. Maybe that was the reason I actually went. To see her, to talk to her – for the one last time.
Her house was like my own, I could go there anytime of the day, and she would welcome me with an open smile. She loved to feed me, and this last time too, she cooked my favorite, and some lassi too. She knew I loved lassi.
I was 14 when I met her, almost 16 years ago. I grew up in front of her. I have cried, and the tears are still flowing. I wish I could talk to her one last time, but every time I called her this last month, she was too ill to talk to me.
Cancer- It kills you a million times before it actually kills you physically. It took away my dad when he was only 55. Now it has taken away aunty, she was just 54.
I feel orphaned.
4 comments:
I'm so sorry. I'm glad you had a chance to see her for that one last visit.
I'm going to throw in a cliche here... I truly hope she's in a better place. With cancer, I mean. Death would be better I think, more peaceful.
Sending you some hugs.
Praying for your friend...I understand the pain.
I'm sorry for your friend. I'm keeping her and her family (and you) in my thoughts and prayers.
How are you doing?
hey...thanks for your last couple of comments. much appreciated.
oh for the record, I did study english lit and poetry in college - can you tell? I'm obssessed with plath and cummings. I stopped because my dad said I needed a "real job/career" and because he was right, I'm not talented enough for publishing, although I have gotten lucky and some work has been published in the past, 4 poems and 1 short story, and one paper in philosophy. When I was 9, I had a poem published in one of those horribly embarrassing UN handbooks, kids from all over the world wanting peace and more forests. rainbows and bad rhymes, you can imagine. ha, ha.
Take care.
S
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