"I'm Back!"

‘Ugh! You’re back? Again? But whyyyy?’ Deepti lets a long whine. Regrettably, she is already exhausted and achy. ‘I wasn’t expecting you atleast for a few days. Why… why…why… do you always show up out of the blue? You were here just five days ago! Everything doesn’t always have to be according to your bloody whims and fancies!’

Unfortunately, Deepti doesn’t get a response. She feels the throbbing pound in her head—rapidly increasing. It is similar to the grand entry of soldiers playing on drums. 

Feeling helpless, she tosses and turns in bed, trying to find the perfect position to get back to sleep, trying to ignore the inevitable, but that all seems next to impossible. She then feels that uncomfortable urge to pee. She drags her tired self out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom, turning on the light. 

‘Oh.. noooo!’ she shudders immediately, turning it back off. ‘No light! Not now. Not today.’

Her head hangs low while she sits on the pot. ‘I guess today will be just one of those days.’ She begins to sob. 

Finally, Deepti is back under the covers. She wriggles and squirms, hoping she will be able to fall back into a deep slumber, but her rumbling stomach wins. She goes to the kitchen, turns on the dimmest light, and makes herself her regular sandwich. She eats in the dimly lit dining room, hoping everything will feel normal again soon. 

Once again, she is back under the covers. Her own nausea is included with the intensity of the drumming sound. The soldiers were making ready for battle. Their war is on! 

‘What do you want?’ she whimpered. ‘Why can’t you just please leave me alone?’

‘NO!’ a voice said sternly. 

‘But whyyyyy?’

‘Meri marzi! My Wish!’ the voice retorted. 

‘Oh, to hell with you! You always drop by unannounced. Who do you think you are? And why do you always make everything so hard and so cruel?’

The voice began to laugh hysterically. ‘What do you think? I’m going to make it so easy for you?’

‘Oh, you’re such a stubborn bitch!’ 

‘Oh, sweetheart! This is just the beginning of another episode. I’m just making myself feel at home. Although I did give you a break for five long days.’

‘Yes. And I managed to get so much done during those five days. Think of the productivity. It was like I was reborn again! But why the hell do you keep coming back, knocking on my door? Or should I say on my head?’

‘Because I like it here. It’s homely. It’s my safe place.’

‘Safe place! Wow!’ Deepti groaned. She pressed her eyebrows between her thumb and index finger. Pressing as hard as she could. ‘Please… why can’t you just go!’ 

‘No! I’m here to stay. And I’m going to make your life a living hell!’ The voice exclaimed. 

‘You know what! Bring it on! Let’s see what you got! Main bhi dekhu tere mein kinta dum hai, salle!’ 

‘Oh, my! Deepti, my love. Language! Now, now, let’s not get our knickers in a twist.’

The battle continues. The pain is intensifying. Her vision is blurring. Her throat is parched. She tries to ask her husband for help, but she is inaudible and helpless. She totters to the kitchen, opening the freezer, and takes out an ice-cold towel to wrap around her head. She pops her homeopathy sos pills and crashes back under the covers. 

‘Trust me! There is no use. You don’t know how powerful I am,’ the voice boasts. 

‘Oh, I know! Don’t get me started on my previous episodes. Till when do you plan to stay anyway?’ Deepti rolls her eyes. 

‘Oh, how nice of you to ask. Well… I was thinking, as long as I need.’

She lets out a long, tired sigh. ‘Can’t you just let me sleep now? It’s almost five in the morning.’

‘Of course!’ the voice cackles. ‘Only if you can! Haha!’ 

Deepti stays in bed, waiting for the sun to rise, for the darkness to be banished, and for someone to rescue her. As the clock turns seven, she picks up her phone and dials the number. The same number she always dials in these moments of desperation. 

‘I’ll be there in half an hour,’ the person says over the phone. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll get everything you need on my way.’

Deepti lets out a sigh of relief. 

‘You know all that is just temporary!’ the voice adds.

She then tries to recall the series of events of the previous day. ‘What went wrong? Where did I goof up? Was it something I ate? I didn’t even step out in the blazing heat. I’m a work-from-home mom, and for God's sake, I have another one on the way. What’s the reason for it to come again and again?’ Deepti's thoughts trail along while she waits for her superhero to come to the rescue. 

In due time, her so-called saviour arrives. She is a calm, kind, loving nurse. She stands on the other side of the door, patiently waiting with a bag of goodies in her hand. 

Deepti opens the door and gives her a wry smile. She staggers to the bedroom as she has kept everything ready. 

‘Now, let’s see for how long you're going to last!’ Deepti said to the voice, crashing into bed. ‘My old friend is here to the rescue.’

‘Old friend?’ the voice says, sounding confused. 

‘Yeah! Old friend. Because of you, I have to get my old friend to pull me through.’

‘Oh, nooooo! The old friend… that cannula. That’s not fair!’

Deepti closes her eyes and allows Simran, the nurse to perform her duties. She stays still in bed, watching Simran work quickly to get everything in order. Soon, she carefully inserts the cannula into Deepti’s right hand, strapping it tightly with tegaderm to keep the cannula in place. Simran immediately starts the medication to relieve Deepti from her miserable migraine attack. She lays in bed with her eyes closed, allowing the medication to work its magic.

Eventually, the nurse quietly lets herself out of the front door. Fatigued, drained, exhausted, Deepti feels her body relaxing, the pain dissipating, the weight lifting, the heaviness drifting off. The soldiers melt into the distance. All she wants now is to fall into a deep sleep. But before that, she hears a fading scream… ‘Aaaaaaaah! Not again! But don’t think you’ve escaped. My soldiers will return!’

She smiles to herself, ‘Oh! And I’ll be ready!’