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The fall of the Capital
#WritcoStoryPrompt37
The severely malnourished child was on the verge of death. I quickly set up an IV to give him much needed nutrition and other supplements.
Hours later when he was stable I turned in anger upon the illiterate parents. " Why are you starving this child? He needs proper food! "
Tears dropped down the broken, skeletal man who stood before me with folded hands. "Look around you, Doctor Sahib, the land is dead. We have no food."
I will be turning a hundred in a few days. I am glad my memory is still intact. I cannot say the same about my body. Seventy five years in prison can do a lot of things to a man's physical and mental health. I must say I am lucky to be alive. Before I was set to prison I was training to become a doctor. I was a brilliant student. I was trained by the best in the field, the doctors who attended the masters and their loyal subordinates. I dropped out of medical school a few months before graduation. I had already learnt everything I needed to learn. That was not the reason I left. I had a recurring dream about a young girl pleading with me to save her life. I thought it was my duty to find that girl and save her.
At that time, the capital was a place for the elite. My parents were well to do and we lived in the capital. If you had the token everything was available for exchange. I had no idea how life was outside the capital. I learnt from a few books and news that life outside the capital was a hard and difficult one. This information did not prepare me for what I was about to encounter.
I set out to find the girl against the wishes of my family and friends. I had no idea where to start. I decided to travel south. I heard the vast and deep ocean lay to the south of the capital. I had never been to the ocean and wanted to see that with my own eyes. This was the time after the fossil fuels were gone. I packed everything on my bicycle and set out on my adventure.
Wherever I went I found sick people everywhere. Many of them did not even know that they were ill. I could see it in the way they walked, the way they breathed and the way they lived. I stopped to help people everywhere. I did not have any sophisticated medicines with me. I had some basic medical supplies and provided whatever aid I could with that. I bettered the lives of several sick people on my journey. I knew they could not be cured from just a minute's work. I am no miracle maker after all. I did help a number of young children but I was not sure whether I saved the young girl I saw in my dreams.
One late evening I reached the sea. It was dark and I could hear the waves crashing on the shore. I waited till sunrise to inhale the beauty. I woke with the sun and the view was breathtaking. I had not seen anything like that before. But something disturbed my mind from enjoying the view to the fullest. I could hear some cries in the distance. I could not quite make out what they were. I decided to wander around and investigate.
After some time I came upon a couple. They had a young child with them and it was crying uncontrollably. The severely malnourished child was on the verge of death. I quickly set up an IV to give her much needed nutrition and other supplements. Hours later when she was stable. I turned in anger upon the illiterate parents, "Why are you starving this child? She needs proper food!"
Tears dropped down the broken, skeletal man who stood before me with folded hands. "look around you, Doctor Sahib, the land is dead. We have no food."
This far from the capital there was no agriable land. But if they travel a little further north, there are lands and small markets where they can get some food.
"Why don't you travel north?" I asked. "In a day or two you will reach a small town where you will find food and medical supplies".
The man and woman looked at me puzzled. "Doctor Sahib. Are you joking?" the woman asked. Her response made me a little angry and confused.
"Doctor Sahib. We are stray dogs. Didn't you know that. Our ancestors rejected the gods and politics of the masters. When our ancestors were defeated they were sent to suffer in this sterile land. We cannot go anywhere. The masters have ordered the guards to kill us if we step on their land.”
I remember reading about these people but the sufferings of these people were of no concern for the people in the capital. I was determined to help them in any way I could.
"How many of you are here? How do you survive?" I asked.
"We live in a camp about a week walk from here. We live on the food collected from the landfills. For several weeks, my daughter was urging me to take her out to see the sea. She told me that in her dreams someone had promised to meet her at the sea. This person will be the one who will liberate our people. It is a foolish dream but my daughter won't listen. So I risked everything and set out to take her to the sea. We haven't eaten anything for the last week." replied the man.
The girl was still sleeping. I slowly began to realise that she is the one I was seeing in my dreams. I did not say anything to the parents. I gave them some food I carried with me. I asked them to take me to their camp.
The camp was a horrible place. I couldn't distinguish the young from old and the women from men. All looked like pale skeletons to me. They were all living on the landfill without any shelter. They rummaged through the rubbish to find anything that they could use for survival. I had never seen so many sick people. The word spread around that I was a doctor from heaven. People started gathering around me hoping for a cure for their condition. I knew no medicine that could save them. I gave them whatever little medicine I had and dispensed some advice to the others.
I lived with them for a few days trying to figure out a way to help them live a sustainable life with dignity. Meanwhile word reached the capital that a rebel doctor is gathering the stray dogs and planning a revolt against the masters. The guards came and arrested me. I was sent to solitary confinement. Before the guards took me the girl (the one I cured; the one from my dreams) came to me.
“Thank you for saving me. Thank you for saving us. We will come for you.” she said.
Those were hopeful words. They kept me calm and determined in the prison. I did not see light for the seventy years. I had gone blind now. But my ears have become very sharp. I hear a lot of talks about revolution in various corners. They talk of a girl who is the leader of the rebels. She has conquered and annexed all the lands that are outside the capital. She is at last coming to the capital to face the masters directly. The master’s have already made plans to flee to some other distant land without detection. But those plans are falling apart. Soon. I think soon I will be released from this prison.
I will let you know once I do.
© spacebar
The severely malnourished child was on the verge of death. I quickly set up an IV to give him much needed nutrition and other supplements.
Hours later when he was stable I turned in anger upon the illiterate parents. " Why are you starving this child? He needs proper food! "
Tears dropped down the broken, skeletal man who stood before me with folded hands. "Look around you, Doctor Sahib, the land is dead. We have no food."
I will be turning a hundred in a few days. I am glad my memory is still intact. I cannot say the same about my body. Seventy five years in prison can do a lot of things to a man's physical and mental health. I must say I am lucky to be alive. Before I was set to prison I was training to become a doctor. I was a brilliant student. I was trained by the best in the field, the doctors who attended the masters and their loyal subordinates. I dropped out of medical school a few months before graduation. I had already learnt everything I needed to learn. That was not the reason I left. I had a recurring dream about a young girl pleading with me to save her life. I thought it was my duty to find that girl and save her.
At that time, the capital was a place for the elite. My parents were well to do and we lived in the capital. If you had the token everything was available for exchange. I had no idea how life was outside the capital. I learnt from a few books and news that life outside the capital was a hard and difficult one. This information did not prepare me for what I was about to encounter.
I set out to find the girl against the wishes of my family and friends. I had no idea where to start. I decided to travel south. I heard the vast and deep ocean lay to the south of the capital. I had never been to the ocean and wanted to see that with my own eyes. This was the time after the fossil fuels were gone. I packed everything on my bicycle and set out on my adventure.
Wherever I went I found sick people everywhere. Many of them did not even know that they were ill. I could see it in the way they walked, the way they breathed and the way they lived. I stopped to help people everywhere. I did not have any sophisticated medicines with me. I had some basic medical supplies and provided whatever aid I could with that. I bettered the lives of several sick people on my journey. I knew they could not be cured from just a minute's work. I am no miracle maker after all. I did help a number of young children but I was not sure whether I saved the young girl I saw in my dreams.
One late evening I reached the sea. It was dark and I could hear the waves crashing on the shore. I waited till sunrise to inhale the beauty. I woke with the sun and the view was breathtaking. I had not seen anything like that before. But something disturbed my mind from enjoying the view to the fullest. I could hear some cries in the distance. I could not quite make out what they were. I decided to wander around and investigate.
After some time I came upon a couple. They had a young child with them and it was crying uncontrollably. The severely malnourished child was on the verge of death. I quickly set up an IV to give her much needed nutrition and other supplements. Hours later when she was stable. I turned in anger upon the illiterate parents, "Why are you starving this child? She needs proper food!"
Tears dropped down the broken, skeletal man who stood before me with folded hands. "look around you, Doctor Sahib, the land is dead. We have no food."
This far from the capital there was no agriable land. But if they travel a little further north, there are lands and small markets where they can get some food.
"Why don't you travel north?" I asked. "In a day or two you will reach a small town where you will find food and medical supplies".
The man and woman looked at me puzzled. "Doctor Sahib. Are you joking?" the woman asked. Her response made me a little angry and confused.
"Doctor Sahib. We are stray dogs. Didn't you know that. Our ancestors rejected the gods and politics of the masters. When our ancestors were defeated they were sent to suffer in this sterile land. We cannot go anywhere. The masters have ordered the guards to kill us if we step on their land.”
I remember reading about these people but the sufferings of these people were of no concern for the people in the capital. I was determined to help them in any way I could.
"How many of you are here? How do you survive?" I asked.
"We live in a camp about a week walk from here. We live on the food collected from the landfills. For several weeks, my daughter was urging me to take her out to see the sea. She told me that in her dreams someone had promised to meet her at the sea. This person will be the one who will liberate our people. It is a foolish dream but my daughter won't listen. So I risked everything and set out to take her to the sea. We haven't eaten anything for the last week." replied the man.
The girl was still sleeping. I slowly began to realise that she is the one I was seeing in my dreams. I did not say anything to the parents. I gave them some food I carried with me. I asked them to take me to their camp.
The camp was a horrible place. I couldn't distinguish the young from old and the women from men. All looked like pale skeletons to me. They were all living on the landfill without any shelter. They rummaged through the rubbish to find anything that they could use for survival. I had never seen so many sick people. The word spread around that I was a doctor from heaven. People started gathering around me hoping for a cure for their condition. I knew no medicine that could save them. I gave them whatever little medicine I had and dispensed some advice to the others.
I lived with them for a few days trying to figure out a way to help them live a sustainable life with dignity. Meanwhile word reached the capital that a rebel doctor is gathering the stray dogs and planning a revolt against the masters. The guards came and arrested me. I was sent to solitary confinement. Before the guards took me the girl (the one I cured; the one from my dreams) came to me.
“Thank you for saving me. Thank you for saving us. We will come for you.” she said.
Those were hopeful words. They kept me calm and determined in the prison. I did not see light for the seventy years. I had gone blind now. But my ears have become very sharp. I hear a lot of talks about revolution in various corners. They talk of a girl who is the leader of the rebels. She has conquered and annexed all the lands that are outside the capital. She is at last coming to the capital to face the masters directly. The master’s have already made plans to flee to some other distant land without detection. But those plans are falling apart. Soon. I think soon I will be released from this prison.
I will let you know once I do.
© spacebar
