by Shreya Faria
‘Hey, how are you? You have lost weight,’ asked Sahil.
‘Nothing, the side effects of the medicines, it’s just getting too much these days,’ said Kavya.
‘Are they that bad? How long do you have to take?’ asked Sahil curiously.
‘Yes, they are highly toxic. Just a couple of months more,’ answered Kavya. ‘So what made you come here? Suspecting me, yet again?’ added Kavya sardonically.
Sahil knew this was coming, and he had his answer ready. He had to lie, and he did that efficiently.
‘No, well actually I read the news on the High Court verdict on your PIL today in the newspaper; so I wondered if I could be of help. There is still hope that you can achieve what you want by going to the Supreme Court,’ said Sahil.
‘Yes, I was thinking of the same. But I will do that after a while. Right now, my body will not support me, I am waiting for the medications to get over,’ said Kavya.
‘What made you upset with the verdict? What were you expecting that the government should actually do?’ asked Sahil.
‘They are only talking about what they can do after one is affected with tuberculosis. No one wants to talk about the precaution to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease in the first place,’ answered Kavya. Sahil looked at Kavya as she showed her disappointment and anger towards her fight with Tuberculosis in India. Her already red face went more red with anger towards the verdict.
‘My whole point of filing the PIL was to obtain a ban on spitting in public most important rather than the other points. But they say that they will make India TB free by the year 2025 and thus operations like this take time and do not happen in one night. So they want me to show some patience over it,’ added Kavya.
‘Hmm, implementing a ban on spitting in public is a thing they can start anytime, why to wait till 2025? By that time, the disease will spread more, you are right,’ said Sahil.
‘Exactly, if a step like demonetization can be implemented overnight, which affects the whole system and people of all class, then why not this?’ said Kavya. Sahil and Kavya got so engrossed in discussing the problem of tuberculosis that Sahil forgot that he was here to talk about something else and not only this. His too felt upset about the verdict after looking at Kavya’s health condition.
‘So, is the problem of spitting the major reason behind the disease? If you don’t mind me asking, you seem to belong from a well to do family and I wonder how you would be exposed to public places like buses and railway stations where the stations are covered with tobacco spit – you would be travelling in your personal car. Then how did you get affected twice?’ asked Sahil, still unsure if he should have asked. Kavya smiled as she saw the look of curiosity on Sahil’s face.
‘It’s not like that Sahil. I used to travel to college in trains and other local transports earlier. College and school too are places where you are exposed to a lot of people who might be coming from area’s where the disease has spread the most. TB bacteria are everywhere. You never know when you can catch it, and once your immune system breaks down, the symptoms show up. You just never know when your body is affected. And even for people travelling in cars, say for example as Dr Udwadia says, a rich man driving a Mercedes with a chauffeur. Now, what if the chauffeur has the disease and he coughs inside the car, will the person sitting behind not suffer? TB can attack anyone. What class, caste and religion you belong to does not even matter. And ... nothing ...,’ said Kavya and then hesitated a little as she was about to say something more.
‘And what Kavya? Is there anything else?’ asked Sahil.
‘No. Nothing. So you tell me, what’s going on with Harvey and Sam? Any update in his case?’ asked Kavya as she tried to change the topic. Sahil knew there was something else she was hiding.
‘Kavya, I know you are trying to change the topic here. I will tell you everything about Harvey once after you tell me what else you wanted to say. And I know that it was something serious as you decided to hide it or else you would have just said it. So please don’t tell me that there’s nothing to say and all,’ said Sahil.
Kavya knew that Sahil had sensed that there was something which she had tried to skip.
Chapter 35
Kavya understood that Sahil was up to something else. And that he won’t tell about Harvey’s case till she told him what he wanted to hear. She smartly made up certain stories about herself and mixed it with some facts of her real life.
‘I am a person whose immunity suffers when I feel emotionally stressed. The emotional and mental well-being of a person impacts a lot in maintaining immunity. Any major disturbances in these two lower your immunity, no matter what you eat and how fit you are otherwise. I realized this only after getting affected by the disease twice,’ said Kavya.
‘So is that the reason you visit a psychiatrist? Are you depressed? ... you can share with me Kavya, promise it will never go out from here,’ assured Sahil.
‘How do you know about the psychiatrist sess... oh yes, how could I have forgotten that you guys were tracking me?’ said Kavya sarcastically. Her moist eyes lighted up and a smile emerged on her face after a very long time. And Sahil felt good after seeing her smile.
‘It’s a long story, Sahil. I don’t know where to begin,’ said Kavya.
‘I am not in a hurry Kavya, provided you are comfortable to share it with me,’ said Sahil. Kavya still took a while to make up her mind before she was ready to say anything.
‘Kabir had cheated on me years back, and since then I have had trusting issues, my immunity suffered a lot,’ said Kavya directly at one go. Sahil didn’t know this was coming. And now he didn’t know how to react.
‘Oh, I am so sorry. Kavya, if it’s something which is going to hurt you again then it’s okay if you don’t share it with me,’ said Sahil. Apart from this, he didn’t know what best to say.
‘No, it’s okay. It’s been many years now, and it hardly affects me that badly now. At that time; yes, I was devastated. The whole world seemed a lie. He was the person I gave my heart and life to, and when I came to know about it, it was like a nightmare. I could hardly cope with that situation. During that time, my immunity broke badly, and soon I was diagnosed with TB. I was at a very tender age then. I was diagnosed with normal tuberculosis during that time within a course of six months. Thanks to my friends and family that I am still sitting alive in front of you. They helped me a lot in coping,’ said Kavya.
‘So are things okay with you guys? I mean, how come you guys are still together? You didn’t leave him?’ asked Sahil. He apologized for asking so many questions at a time, that too the personal ones. And still, he had so many questions rising inside him.
‘Yes, I did get separated from him for a while, but I don’t know why this awareness did not stop me from falling into it again,’ said Kavya.
‘Yes, but why would you go back to him when he cheated on you?’ asked Sahil. Personally, he was amazed that someone would cheat on a girl like Kavya. She was beautiful, smart, intelligent and a girl with a gracious heart.
‘Because he claimed that he didn’t have any feelings for that girl and that he loved me solely, and that was the reason he had married me in the first place. The girl he had a thing with had proposed marriage and would purposely send personal messages on his cellphone at odd hours so that I would read it. Kabir had claimed that there was nothing in it. But my heart was not convinced, and later I actually found out that they had something more between them. Kabir himself confessed and that was the time I started falling ill and left the house. I didn’t talk to him for a long stretch. He kept messaging and calling. He had left all contact with that girl, and he promised to start everything afresh. And that’s when I gave up after three months and came back into his life,’ said Kavya.
‘And so Kabir cheated on you again? How did you get affected with MDR-TB then?’ asked Sahil.
‘No, no. Kabir never cheated after that incident. I did,’ said Kavya. She enjoyed the shock on Sahil’s face. But
before his misconceptions grew, Kavya explained what she exactly meant.
‘No, I have not found someone. There are various aspects to it. Being in a relationship when you don’t give your 100 per cent and just let things go the way it is going is also cheating. When you are least interested in what the other person is doing, and it’s not affecting you, then it’s like you are acting that you are into a relationship, but in real terms, you are not. At times I feel I have friend-zoned Kabir,’ Kavya smiled after adding more confusion to Sahil’s mind.
‘What are you talking about?’ Sahil asked in complete confusion, and he did not understand why Kavya was laughing. Was she just pulling his leg or was there some sense to what she said?
‘Chill Sahil, I am still trying to understand things, what I know is that this is not the way a relationship should be like. I go to a psychiatrist only to understand things better, to forgive and accept that certain things don’t change. We don’t have control to change people and events which happen in our life. But yes we do have control on the impact those events can make on us. To get affected by it or not is all in our hands. At times we just need to let go things and accept the things the way it comes, positively,’ said Kavya. She stared at the puzzled face of Sahil. He was still trying to understand what Kavya had just said.
‘I am suffering from MDR-TB because my previous treatment was not right, of which I came to know about later. Now I am in good hands, the best in fact – Dr Zarir Udwadia. And thus I want to create awareness about it. Most of the people don’t know about types of TB and their proper treatment leading to a relapse of the disease in the form of MDR-TB,’ said Kavya. She gave him every detail of the problems with TB in India and why people are still not aware of drug-resistant TB. And the problems which patient’s go through after having so much of medicines for such a long time.
‘Oh, that’s so much to go through, any normal person would go insane after this. How do you manage to keep yourself sane all the time?’ asked Sahil.
‘I don’t know. I have actually lost all hopes related to my health. I have a phobia that I will never be okay. I still feel something somewhere is wrong in my body. I am just trying to cope with things, what else can I do? What frustrates me more is that TB, unlike cancer, spreads because of the carelessness of others and I want to stop this, and I don’t know how and when will that ever happen,’ said Kavya.
‘So, emotional distress causes to weaken immunity and you are exposed to diseases like tuberculosis? Could this be the case in many?’ asked Sahil.
‘Well this is my personal research, I don’t know what science and doctors have to say about it. But yes we TB patients from all over the world have made a support group where patients can chat or post their queries related to the treatment. After talking to several patients on the group, I have concluded that when you are emotionally low your immune system breaks down much faster than other reasons like lack of nutrition. It is then one can catch diseases like TB which spreads easily. Emotional and mental well-being of a person is vital for one’s health,’ said Kavya.
There were still so many things to ask Kavya related to the scam. As Kavya seemed at peace talking and was answering without any hesitation, Sahil continued asking more and more questions. Kavya understood that this conversation was going to be long. And she called in for some snacks and tea. Sahil was overwhelmed Kavya’s hospitality, and they took a little tea break.
Kavya was a big fan of Indian tea, and tea with a good conversation instantly changed her mood. Sahil himself was a complete foodie and with the combination of good ginger tea and some samosa’s, their conversation changed to food. They discussed various local best foods available all over Mumbai. After such a long conversation, it was again difficult for Sahil to see Kavya as a suspect. She was so comfortable to talk to that Sahil felt he was in the company of an old friend.
Chapter 36
After the long tea break, Sahil decided he had to ask the questions he had come for.
‘Kavya, what are your thoughts over a husband cheating on his wife or vice versa?’ asked Sahil. He knew that this was rather irrelevant and he saw as much in Kavya’s face but added, ‘I mean it would be emotional torture for the other partner to deal with, right?’
‘Obviously Sahil, this is what I am talking about. The other person who is being cheated suffers a traumatic situation. It’s so torturous to deal with, it’s like your heart is literally bleeding and aching badly. You are unable to eat or concentrate on anything. It makes you feel like a psychopath. You behave unreasonably with other people. You realize how much dependent you were on the other person for everything, and it suddenly comes to a stop. Heartbreaks due to cheating are really terrible and suffocating to deal with,’ said Kavya.
‘So you must be feeling sympathetic for the partners of the Ashton Martinson victims, right?’ asked Sahil.
‘Definitely, their state would be miserable after this; they are the real victims who will suffer and not the users of Ashton Martinson,’ said Kavya. Her anger was reflected on her face and voice. What Harvey had been saying about peripheral damage of the other halves was correct.
‘Kavya, do you think it is possible for the partners of the Ashton Martinson users to go to any extent to take revenge?’ asked Sahil. He asked hesitantly; as by now he thought Kavya would know that she was again being suspected. Kavya looked at Sahil intensely as he asked this question and did not reply immediately. Sahil thought he had pulled a wrong chord, just when Kavya answered, ‘It depends.’
‘I have read about several cases of Ashton Martinson, there are people who were genuinely not happy in their marital life and thus picked an escort from Ashton Martinson ... then there are cases like Sam. So Sahil, I won’t directly take revenge unless and until the cheat was real. Especially in the case of Ashton Martinson. So if you guys are again suspecting ...’ said Kavya and she was stopped by Sahil in saying anything further.
‘No, no, Kavya. It’s nothing like that. I came to meet you after I read about the negative verdict on your PIL in the newspaper. Harvey doesn’t even know that I am coming to meet you,’ explained Sahil. He felt very embarrassed after this conversation and became a little nervous. He definitely was not in a position to ask her anything else.
‘Chill Sahil, I was pulling your leg, but you don’t seem okay, as if you are hiding something from me?’ asked Kavya. She knew what Sahil was up to and tried making him comfortable to talk again. She wanted to know what was running in Sahil’s mind, the real intention behind all his questions.
‘Ah, nothing like that Kavya, it’s just that I thought of you today as I read the paper and so thought of talking to you, I just wanted to know about your views and next move,’ said Sahil.
‘Hmm, okay. So did you have a word with Harvey recently? Any idea what’s happening with Sam’s case now? Any new developments?’ asked Kavya. She made such a cute face, full of curiosity, that Sahil couldn’t ignore her and spilled out everything that Harvey had told him over the phone. He told her about Harvey’s recent visit to the LAPD cybercrime unit. And the fact that Sam’s case was quite different from the other victims of the Ashton Martinson scam and thus the suspicion that someone from his circle was trying to take advantage of scam and blackmail him. Kavya listened to everything very keenly and didn’t utter a word in between. Sahil hesitated to say at first but eventually he gave up and also told her about what they were going to do next – about the help they were going to take from their Australian friend and about the LAPD officer’s suggestion to track Sam’s phone and personal movements and keeping an eye on everyone who interacted with him.
‘Oh, well, that’s interesting,’ said Kavya after listening to everything very carefully. For her, this information was the best part of today’s conversation with Sahil. Something unexpected for her to know about. Sahil felt more stupid as he was still not sure that he should have told Kavya about everything or no. After knowing about what problems she went through, he was not able to keep a stable mi
nd to think of her as a suspect.
‘Kavya, well I am not suspecting you or something, but I wanted to tell you that I know about Kabir’s factory in Ankleshwar. I had visited him there as I had gone there to check on something. Sam’s blackmailer had given him an account number to deposit the money, and that account number was that of a bank in Ankleshwar. I had to check on this information along with other related facts with you as there are too many coincidences happening,’ said Sahil. Kavya had been able to wean out all the information from Sahil.
‘It’s okay, keep me updated with what’s happening, and I will help you wherever it is possible from my end. Just ask directly if you need to ask anything rather than asking things indirectly,’ said Kavya and winked again. The atmosphere had become a little serious and to settle it down, Sahil changed the topic and told Kavya to open the box of pastries that he gave her as he arrived. Chocolate pastries work wonders to change the mood instantly, and this is what happened. Sahil and Kavya chatted like old friends while sharing the pastry. After a while, Sahil apologized to Kavya again as he got up to leave from there.
‘So you, please take good care of yourself, we need more and more people like you to change the country for good,’ said Sahil and smiled at Kavya before leaving from there.
‘Yes sure, don’t forget to keep me updated with Sam’s case okay,’ said Kavya and bid goodbye to Sahil.
Kavya blushed as he left.
* * *
‘It’s today or never!’ said Sam to himself as he got out from the famous Los Angeles’s dessert joint Copenhagen Pastry, which was also Rachel’s favourite. He left office early and decided to surprise Rachel. Today, he would confess every silly thing he had done in the last month. He wanted to apologize genuinely for whatever happened. He had understood the worth of their relationship after hearing various stories of the victims of Ashton Martinson. The silence between their hearts was killing him. At times, Rachel wouldn’t even answer Sam’s calls. At such times, the mobile becomes a device of torture in demonic hands of a beloved who doesn’t call back. In addition to Rachel’s favourite dessert, he also picked up some of the best wine; today they would have a romantic evening, he hoped. It was the perfect time to give her a solitaire ring he had bought for her.