Nothing catchy, but an ideal rainy day in Mumbai it was ladies and gentlemen. An evening, when you admire every single drop coming out of God's own playground. A cup of cappuccino and a white shirt (typical filmy) would've gone perfect with it, but perfect, was a word that was like an urban legend to me. Being down with heavy fever (106 degrees that is) with no one in the flat and no food... oh wait a minute, did I mention about the unavailability of medication? No I didn't. This situation was perfect for every sarcastic individual and I was no different. 4th of July, I still remember the date, because you generally don’t forget dates that could have been your last. I was hardly alive that day and the funny fact was that I was around 600 miles away from my home and family. All I needed that moment was some care, some food, some love and some statement like "you're alright dude... be a man"; in short, I needed my mom. Even a girlfriend would have done the trick but I was never able to afford one due to my 'mirror cracking looks'. What happened to me? Why was I feeling so helpless? I'd been away from home for more than two years and I never felt anything even close. The answer was simple... I was a tough guy, but I was not immortal. In a condition where I can't even move my index finger, I was supposed to go to a medical shop that was almost a kilometer away from my room, which was as possible as A.K Hangal doing salsa. All I could've done was that (1) I could've waited for fate to deliver a judgment on me, or (2) I could've gathered my will and walked all the way to the medical store coz that day, our beloved bhaiyyas were on a strike. With scarcity of options, I chose the later one and went out hunting for some medicine. The moment I stepped out of my building, scenario was epic! I was wearing a shawl and was walking erratically like Amitabh Bacchan from 70's with a bullet in his chest. People were staring at me like anything and I could even hear few aunties whispering, “He’s on drugs I guess”. I could’ve really appreciated their help rather than their stares, but I don’t blame them, coz in our country, a person’s misery is a tax free entertainment after all. After some 20 steps, I came face to face with a term that I only had heard about, hallucination. For a moment, the world became mute and I was kind of floating on the road. That was the moment when I realized the need of taking a halt and I sat on a bench outside a building. A security guard, almost half my size, gently abused me and described how he’ll kick my ass if I’ll not move. I literally laughed at his face and started walking. A person, who in normal conditions would’ve got stuck in my nose if I inhaled strongly, was nothing less than Andre the Giant for me at that moment. After gathering strength from each and every molecule of my body, I continued walking and finally reached my destination. The medical store looked so divine to me that I felt like taking off my shoes before getting in. A lady, around 50, was sitting on the counter; she gave me a smile for some reason I don’t know why. On an ordinary day, it would’ve looked like a smile of a cougar, but that day, it was a smile of an angel to me. With my brain filled with thousand emotions, I told her, “Hi, can I get something that can keep me alive?” she smiled again. She was not a doctor, but she was definitely not bad at diagnosing an ill guy. She gave me few medicines and described the course. When I lifted that eco friendly paper bag full of medicines, the feeling was same as what M.S Dhoni would’ve felt while lifting the T-20 world cup trophy. When I got out of the store, fortunately, another lady gave me a smile and she was none other than the lady luck herself. The auto rickshaw strike was over and I got a rickshaw this time for going back home, I guess they say it right; fortune favors the brave, huh. After a dose of medicine and a sound sleep, I felt better, in fact, I felt much better coz it was like winning a war, a war from the situations. Fever bought me in such a position that at one point, I wasn’t even able to move my index finger, but in the end, I showed it my middle finger!
