Last page of the Notebook

Like all other nights, even this night I sat down in my terrace, counting stars, when I saw a bright little star in the sky, which I never saw earlier. Small, yet eye catching, just like my elder sister Priya! The moment I saw that star I felt her to be very close to me. Oh I miss her so much! When the two of us were young, we lost our dear uncle, this was then when she convinced me that when some one dies he becomes a star, I don’t know why I felt like believing in her words. That star made me remember her and I became nostalgic… I remembered the time when we were kids…

She was five when I was born. Mom says that she was the happiest person to find me on her lap. She felt a great responsibility; mom placed me in her hands, responsibility of being ‘elder sister’. May be she was the one who love me the most. She was the one who named me Meethi. She treated me like her own daughter and loved me the most! As soon as she used to come back from the school she used to come to me a give a big hug to me and used to tell what all she did there, didn’t matter weather I understood or not, she used to go on telling.

Three years later, I grew up the age of going to school. I was getting prepared to go to school. Excited yet, scared! She held my hand and we were about to bid mom and dad adieu, when suddenly I lost my balance and fell from the staircases... before anyone could understand what has happened I rolled down till the last step. I fainted. For a moment every one was frozen! Soon the neighbors arrived; they put me in the car along with the other three and left for the hospital. I was having a head injury along with many internal wounds and hemorrhages. I was admitted in the hospital.

The doctors said I was serious, because I had a great mental shock and suggested that I should be operated immediately. After the two long hours of operation, the doctors declared that I was out of danger, the three of them sighed off relief but… I had a serious injury in my left leg. He said that I’ll have to use crutches for my life time. But he further told that since that was not an inborn defect, there was one in a million chance of overcoming it and strong will power and motivation were the only medicines for that!

I was too young to understand even a bit of it. Soon I was discharged from there and my innocent mind thought that things will return back to normal, but they didn’t! The time when kids learn nursery rhythms, I was being taught the proper usage of crutches! This is what we call destiny! But Priya never made me feel that I was some way handicapped… she always motivated, though I and the other members didn’t like her as we felt that she was the one responsible for what ever happened that morning, but she never gave up, she kept on encouraging me to walk on my own, she never let me feel depressed… when ever I used to be depressed she used to say ‘Don’t just live life, celebrate it… in each and every condition, so what there is darkness today, the Sun will rise soon, to enlighten your world!’ some times I wonder that although she was the most unloved person in the family from where did she bring that positive energy? If some other person would have been at her place she would have given up by now… because she was totally sidelined the only reason being she was perfect, in fact too perfect… good at sports, good at music, good at dance and yet good at academics! She was the best tennis player at school and college. She won each and ever tennis match since she was only thirteen… some times I wonder, that when mom dad didn’t pay attention to her, this was the result what could have happened if they even paid a bit of it!!!

Days passed on and we grew up. She prepared for her engineering entrance and made into NIT Surat, our home town itself.

In her college she had more foes than friends because she was the perfect student. Priya had her Tennis national, which was the biggest match in her life. She used to practice very hard... she went on playing for hours, didn't bothered what time it was, when she practiced the player on the other end kept on changing but she used to go on and on and on... till the fall of night. Come back home, have dinner with us, watch famous tennis videos, go to sleep, wake up early pick up the kit rush the court from morning five till evening eight.

The Nationals started and Priya defeated her competitors in each and every match that too with a great difference. Soon the long awaited 'Big Day' dawned... the day of finals, the day when someone's dreams were going go come true and someone's life time hard work was going to be in ashes. The match begun... Priya played like a house on fire… no wonder she made it… she was the inevitable Priya that evening… she won… her dream came true… she won the gold medal!!!



Having the gold medal in her hand, she sat on the changing room's bench. That was the happiest moment of her life... she was happier than the time when the first time she had me on her lap, happier than the time when she cleared her engineering entrance exam, happiest than ever before. But, just after a minute... tears rolled down her cheek... she was no happier... she had an intuition, at that moment she felt that as soon as she will turn twenty within six months she will die!!! The worst part was that what ever intuitions she had mostly they turned true.... who could have thought that the happiest moment of someone's life could turn into the saddest one... maybe, even the God doesn’t love me either, that’s why He played games like this to me!!! She said to herself... She was not angry with God that He spoilt her happiest moment with the worst news of her life... rather she thanked Him that He informed her about her death before hand and now she can prepare well to die! Priya was a person who thought of positive things who always looked as the brighter side of any thing, I think that only a person like Priya could live the life which she had in her fate, if some one else were at her place she could have given up much before.

Priya returned home with the gold medal, but no one bothered. Still... she approached us to show the medal, we appreciated but in low spirits. She wasn't hurt! May be this meant nothing before what she was going to lose within few months! What I noticed, was that after returning, she was always found in high spirits, she motivated me more, she encouraged me more, just that she wanted me to be independent… independent from crutches, independent from the feeling of being helpless, independent from every thing of which I was a slave! She wanted me to set myself free, like a bird which aspires to fly high in the sky… rather higher that sky. But I never understood it!

A few days later she turned twenty. Her fear increased and so did the enthusiasm to live. One evening while returning from her tennis practice, she was not feeling well. She visited a doctor and got herself checked up. Later on she herself collected her medical reports and was speechless on browsing them. The doctor reckoned she had brain-tumor, last stage! She was left with last one month of her life. She decided to spend most of the time in improving my life… she left every other thing for me and I never realized her motive… never recognized the pain & fear in her eyes.

I was recovering very fast and her health was declining at the same pace! Soon we discovered her ill health, and felt bad for her… she was admitted in the hospital with no hopes. It was then when we realized her presence in our life. May be that’s why they say… ‘You recognize someone’s value when they are no more around you’.

The last fifteen days were dreadful… she was loosing it day by day… each new day brought more of pain and disgrace in our lives… we felt sad as now we reckoned her importance in our life! She was an angel for me… I was almost recovered… only one percent left to be recovered and she… was left with one percent of her life. The last day I went to the hospital on my own… without crutches, without holding some body’s hand, without having any kind of support… and again she was the happiest person to see me independent… may be it was similar to what she felt when I was born... as that day I was reborn! Thanks to Priya! She held my hand hard and asked me to be near to her, I did as she wanted... she said "Meethi I want you to be independent, independent from all the limits enforced on you so far by the nature... do take care of your self and mom and dad... and remember 'life is very short, don't just live it instead celebrate it!' These were her last words... she started sinking... holding my hand... she was dieing... and all we could do was be silent spectators... helplessly looking at the doctors... with one single question 'Can't you do any thing?'

Soon she calmed down... the doctors didn't say a single word... all they did was turn around with the answer to our question... we could read in his eyes which said... 'Sorry I couldn’t!' Our hearts sank, we lost the control on our emotions, and we started questioning ourselves why didn't we reckon that angel before... Why it happened to her? Why her? What was her mistake? Why why why? We could never forgive ourselves for what we did, 'cause what we lost, was lost forever! No money, no prayer could bring it back...

Its five years now that she left us... every night since then, I climb up the terrace to count stars... as we used to in our childhood... and so did I today... holding the gold medal I won this evening in tennis nationals... yes I followed what she said I to celebrate my life, not for my self, but for her... this medal was a tribute paid to her by me. May be it was true that when some one dies they convert into star... and may be that bright little star, that evening was her, who showed her happiness by twinkling a bit more... who was happy that I won the gold, I was famous, I was a star, I was a champ. But I wasn't that happy 'cause this medal, fame and all meant nothing before her, this was so small in front of her... I didn't want all this what I want was her... which I can never get!

Request: Please don’t sideline any one in your life… try to figure out the sacrifices that person made to make your life better… they don’t ask for credits or recognition… all they need is gratitude… simply thank them for what ever they did for you…

P.S: All the characters in this story are imaginary and the story is a fiction. Any resemblance of the characters with any person live or dead is purely a coincidence.