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| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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Telling Tales The choice by Sachintha Arunodani Lokuarachchi It was another hot Wednesday. The sun was at its zenith, and a blinding heat poured down from the sky. A young doctor came out of a building-the expression on his handsome face showed disappointment, and weariness. He ran his fingers through his thick dark brown hair, as he paused outside, and read, and re-read the document in his hand. The word 'Rejected' stamped in bright red ink seemed to stare at him mockingly.
The young doctor was an American by birth, but when he was still a child, his family had moved to Sri Lanka. Ever since then, he had grown up like a Sri Lankan, and for a while he had almost felt like he was one of them. His white skin however always drew attention to himself wherever he went. Now at 28, for the first time in his life, he experienced what it was like to be stranger in a strange land. No one gave you the benefit of the doubt. You were guilty, until proven innocent! That's what had got him this transfer. Early next morning, he got onto the train that would take him to his new destination. He found a seat by a window, and gazed out, taking the last glimpse of Galle, where he had spent his whole life until now. The train picked up speed, and he kept gazing out at the trees and everything around him as they sped past him, and turned into a blur of colour. He didn't know how long the journey had taken, or where he was until he felt someone tap on his shoulder and told him that it was time to get off. He quickly wiped the drowsiness from his eyes, and grabbed his luggage. He hustled his way between the busy crowd, and jumped onto the platform. Walk It was rather dark, and the moon was shining. He took out a piece of paper and looked up the address of the place he was to stay. It wasn't hard to find, but getting there wasn't easy. There were no means of travel within the village, so he had to walk three miles to get there, using the moonlight as the only means of light. When he finally got there, it was so dark, that he could only make out a faint silhouette of a small house. He knocked loudly and waited. After about 10 minutes, he heard voices, and the sound of a lock turning. The door opened slights letting out a crack of dim light, and an old face peeped out. "Are you the doctor?" a hoarse female voice asked, in Sinhalese. He introduced himself, and was immediately shown to his room. It wasnt much it had only a small table, a chair, a bed and a lamp to give light. But it was comfortable and clean. That was enough for him. He knew that he couldn't expect the same pleasures he had back in the city and that people here were giving him their best. He was so exhausted from the journey, that he just flopped onto the bed and fell asleep. The next morning, he awoke with a start, hearing a rooster crow right outside his window. It was still dark, but he could see clouds here and there it was a beautiful sight! He stumbled in the darkness, and put on his jacket. Feeling curious, and drawn to the beauty outside, he threw open the windows, and took a gulp of fresh, cool air. Feeling refreshed, but not wanting to disturb the landlady, he jumped out of the window, and walked on, in the darkness, not having the slightest idea where he was going. Beauty At last, he found himself at the water's edge. He stopped and looked around in awe. A calm blue lake, set in a frame of tall mountains, and crested by eternal clouds met his eyes. He had never seen such beauty in his life! The lake was filled with white lilies, swaying to the rhythm of the wind. A soft mist was still hanging over the lake. He watched the scene transfixed by its beauty. He suddenly heard a sound of gently lapping waves, and scanned the lake to see where it was coming from. A girl, about a year or two younger than him, emerged from behind the mist, like a vision; she was in a canoe, and was slowly rowing her way through the lake, collecting lilies. It was the sound of her rhythmic rowing that made the lapping sound. From where he was, he could see her very well. She was pretty and smallmade. She had very distinctive almond shaped black eyes, and long hair, with a white lily in it. As it became brighter, many village women appeared here and there by the lake, carrying empty pots, or their washing. They eyed the stranger warily, because none had seen him before. They observed him, as if he was some kind of an interesting alien life form. Feeling uncomfortable between the suspicious stares, he silently took his leave, and left them to get on with their chores. The very morning, he started working in his new hospital. To his relief, it wasn't as bad as he had anticipated. The news had travelled very quickly, about him. The villagers came to the hospital, just to see him, or to say hello. The village children hung on to window sills and peeped into the hospital with interest. They were also very eager to help him in anyway they could. All this seemed very strange to him, but he kind of enjoyed the attention as well. No one had ever been this much interested in him, or in his life before. It was evident that these villagers hadn't had a proper doctor in many years. The only treatment was done by a local healer, but it was very doubtful that it had great effect. Respect As time went by, the people began to respect him, and almost treated him as a god, because he never gave up even on dying patients, and most of the time, his hard work paid off. He didn't mind working late, or how tired he felt when he finally finished his work. He enjoyed his work at the new place, and didn't even mind the lack of facilities. The only thing he didn't like much was his tiny room. Other than that, he was very content. At first, it almost surprised him, but he soon got used to the idea. The things he had been afraid of earlier, about this place seemed trivial now. Now, he almost felt as if he had always belonged here. About a year later, he finally moved in to a house of his own. He liked the way the little white house gazed into the calm blue waters of the lake. He was never treated as a stranger, as he had been in Galle. He was considered one of them. The colour of the skin did not matter to them. One of the places loved most in the village, was its old fountain. He always liked its sparkling fountain jet, which reminded him of the slender blade of a sword. He also liked the way the water inside the fountain reflected the golden sunlight. But he had a special reason for his attachment to the place. He had met someone, who was very special to him, there. Rain One day he was hurrying home from work, trying to outrun the pouring rain. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even see where he was going. Suddenly, wham! he went and bumped into something, slipped on the wet road, and went down with everything he had in his arms, right into the fountain, with a loud splash! It was actually a very funny sight. The doctor, dripping in water, and looking dazed, and sitting inside the water filled fountain. Quickly coming to his senses, he fished his stuff out of the water, and was just about to get out, when he heard someone giggle: a girl. He strained to see through the rain, and saw the girl he had seen at the lake staring at him, with an amused look on her face, trying her best to control her laughter. At first he was offended, that instead of helping him out, she was laughing at him. But then, he reflected his situation, and found it quite funny himself. Soon, he was laughing as well. The girl, quickly gave him a hand, and pulled him out of the water. And that was only the first meeting. After that, they met quite often, and got to know each other better. Painting One day, he was sitting in the front porch, painting a portrait of his wife. He was putting on the finishing touches on the white lily in her hair, when a man came up to him, and gave him a letter addressed to him. He was surprised, because, he had never received a letter since his transfer here. It was official looking, and had a Galle postmark. He quickly tore open the letter, and read the contents on its crisp white surface. It appeared that the hospital had made a mistake earlier, and he had been transferred unfairly, for something, someone else had done. They had apologised for the error they had made eight years ago, and had asked him to come back, and begin his work, at his old hospital, in Galle. The choice was his. This was the letter he had been expecting for such a long time. His sanctuary. His last hope. Or so he had thought a long time ago!! He smiled to himself, and turned the letter to its empty side. Then he picked up his pencil again, and started a new drawing of a pretty little Sri Lankan girl with blue eyes, on its crisp white surface. Suddenly, he felt two small hands encircling him from behind, and looked up smiling fondly. It was the little girl in the picture, who had her father's blue eyes. His choice had been already made! Sachintha is an A/L student at Visakha Vidyalaya |
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He had been transferred to a rural area in Sri Lanka. Until now, he had
worked at a main hospital in Galle. He loved working there, but for some
reason unknown to him, he had been transferred. He had appealed, many
times, to many places, asking for another place with better facilities-but
it had been to no avail. He was willing to do anything to get this
transfer cancelled. Anything at all! This had been his last hope, but now,
even that had vanished.
