Cold blood...

The unmistakable scent of finality hung heavy in the air, and the sterile demaneour of the room did nothing to alleviate that depressing feeling which simply grabbed you by the collar.A look around the room served to remind you of the ultimate reality of life, anything - except her.
Lying on the bed near the window, she looked positively angelic, her half-smile belying the superhuman effort needed to overcome the pain that took her closer to the edge every passing moment.As he reached her side, taking care not to disturb her stupor, he had half a mind to reach out to her and kiss her lightly.It was with some effort that he managed to restrain himself.He had given her the pill about 4 hours back, so he expected her to stir to wakefulness anytime, which was why he had got her favourite chocolate cookies for her.Today, he was not going to deny her anything regardless of what the doctors had advised him.He put the bag near the bed and decided to wait for her to wake up.
As the clock ticked away, his mind started to walk down memory lane. It was nearly a decade now that they had been together, though to him, it always felt like yesterday when he had happened to first see a petite, beauteous girl walking her dog in the park. Though he prided himself on his cold rationality, this was one moment which simply had him overwhelmed. He was totally smitten, and once he was sure of that,he wasted little time in taking things where he wanted them to go. Meticulous planning was another thing he prided himself on.
Life, though, had its own plans laid out for him. It all started about 6 years back when she had to be taken to the doctor following a seemingly unexplained bleeding while brushing her teeth. One thing lead to another and before they could comprehend what was happening, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Since this was discovered too late, all they had in hand now was to watch her wither away silently as the disease slowly and surely took her away onto the final destination. What made matters worse was the fact that no one could tell how long she would have to undergo the ordeal - it broke his heart into a million pieces as she made every possible effort to keep the smile on her face going, just so that she could see one on his.
His chain of thoughts was broken by the slight sound she made as she shuffled to wakefulness. As he reached out to her and placed his lips on hers, she tried to put her arms around him but was restricted by the IV needles on her wrist. She was visibly irritated, but managed to conceal her frustration. As he took out the cookies from the bag, her eyes displayed a curious mixture of simultaneous joy and surprise. "Don't worry - let the docs go to hell for this one day...", he said, with a slight tremor in his voice. It was hardly a matter of minutes before the cookies were exhausted - she ate them as if her life depended on it. Satiated, she gave him a look which could only have meant gratitude.
"Time to go to sleep, sweetheart!!!" - he said, as he rose to adjust the IV injection flow. She seemed reluctant to have the sedative enter her system but he managed to convince her. He put the pouch on the stand, adjusted the IV and sat there, holding her hands in his. In a short while, as her hands grew colder and her breathing slower and slower, he got up, kissed her, and walked out of the room, not wanting to look back. In the column of light flowing in from the window, the ampoule of Veronal in the dust-bin reflected a sinister glint.

Yaaro... dosti badi hi haseen hai!!!

It's been a really long time since I visited Soul Country. There has been a lot that has been weighing me down in recent times and it has been one hell of a comeback from the anguishing depths of despair to the detached highs of serenity. Today's post is a mere token of my gratitude towards the people who helped me turn around, either directly or indirectly, from those close by to those hundreds and thousands of miles away - my "friends". Why the quotes - you may ask. It's just my way of indicating that I intend to use that word in its truest sense, not in the casual or flippant manner it has come to be used these days. For me, it holds great meaning and as you read on, you will see why.
Years back, I had read this quote somewhere:

"I believe in Angels, the ones that heaven sends,
I believe in Angels, but I call them my best friends"

Back then, I had found it to be a bit too mushy, a touch too idealistic. Of course, having friends is great, but isn't calling them angels taking things a bit too far - was what I reasoned to myself. I was convinced that while having friends was good, their importance was being overstated and one could, with some effort, manage without them. But then, as I walked down the years, underwent trials and tribulations, tasted bitter failures and sweet successes, I realised the importance of having the right people by your side to share it all with. Having the right set of people around you can make all the difference between an unhappy, incomplete life and a contented one, is what I strongly believe today.
It's very rightly observed that we can't choose our relatives, but we can definitely choose our friends. I believe this is so for a reason - unlike in relations, where you are "supposed" to fulfill certain social obligations and conditions, in friendship, the connect is entirely mutual and voluntary. And because forging a friendship with someone is a conscious decision, we tend to invest more of ourselves into it, making it a much more fulfilling and enriching experience. This might not be necessarily so with our relatives, where it's more about blood than soul.
In my opinion, what makes a true friend (I am NOT considering acquaintances or here) such a wonderful thing to have by your side is how they always seem to be right around the corner when you truly need them, regardless of the physical distances separating you. It's all about how their arms always manage to wrap around your drooping shoulders when the burdens of a complicated life threaten to bog you down. It might not be often that you need that kind of support, but it's in times like these that you truly appreciate their importance.
I started off this post saying that it was a tribute to my friends but so far there are so names mentioned. This is so because there is simply no need for that. Those who belong to that select bunch, know, and those who don't, need not know - as simple as that. This is not all that I had intended to put forth and I will definitely return to complete this. For now, it has to be Sayonara...

Who said angels have wings? No, they don't... :)