Pricing the priceless!

“Vidhya, are you OK? You look pale and sick since morning” Sowmya asked, truly concerned about her health.

“I don’t know. But I feel a bit stable now. And I am vomiting everything I ate since morning”

“Oh my god! I think you should see a doctor right now” she ordered.

“Hey, there is nothing to worry. I just got the result of my test”

“What test?”

“Pregnancy test!”

“Oh... Are you pregnant?” she asked innocently after a few seconds.

“I am” Vidhya said with a tinge of shyness in her voice.

Sowmya’s eyes widened, jaw dropped down for a moment as she hugged Vidhya tightly and said “Congratulations, that’s a great news!”

Even though Vidhya shared a wonderful news, perhaps the news of her life so far, Sowmya felt that something was not normal. She felt that Vidhya looked both happy and worried at the same time.

“Is everything ok at home dear?”

“Well… not really, but my husband is gradually coming to terms with his recent loss in business and is really working hard to find a job to support our family. I think everything should be fine in a month or so. Let’s see whether my daughter brings any luck to our family” she said and smiled. Unconvincingly.

“Hmmm… But I thought you were so not ready for a baby now”

“I am now. Trust me. Everything will be fine when I deliver my daughter”

“Do you realize that you have to quit your job sometime soon to deal with your child birth? And do you realize that you need to spend a lot for hospitals and child care?” Sowmya asked with a worried expression on her face.

“I do” said Vidhya. That was all she said and stood up from her chair to declare that the conversation with Sowmya was over.

“I am sorry dear. But I was only concerned for you”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that” were the last words from Vidhya that day.

Three months went by. Vidhya stayed healthy. The developing baby inside her was healthy. Her husband was still in huge debt. And he was still jobless.

One fine day, against all the odds, Vidhya quit her job so as to ensure that the baby stayed fine inside her womb.

“Are you crazy? What will you do for your expenses? Do you know how much it costs to see a decent doctor these days?” Sowmya said furiously ready for a big confrontation with her dearest friend.

Vidhya was silent and lost into her own world; the world in which she and her daughter only existed. Even she could not explain why she wanted a baby girl, but she always dreamt of delivering a baby girl; dreamt of feeding her ; dreamt of giving her all the care in the world; dreamt of her going to school and returning ever smiling. But, in reality she had no money. Not even to fulfill one of her many dreams.

“I don’t really understand what you are doing now” Sowmya shouted again.

The rise in decibel level inside the room brought Vidhya back to the cruel world she belonged to.

“So do I” said Vidhya and smiled. At that point, Sowmya realized that there was no point in taking the conversation any further.

“Please do let me know if you need any help, whatever it may be” Sowmya pleaded.

Days became weeks and weeks became months. Every day was a struggle. Her husband was still jobless. Somehow, they managed to keep the debtors away and managed three decent meals per day.

But, Vidhya never stopped dreaming. She tried to confirm the gender of the baby with the doctors a few times. But, the law in India prevented the doctors to pass on this vital piece of information to her. Somehow, Vidhya was absolutely sure that her dreams were real. Every one of them!

Three meals everyday were converted into numerous vomits. Even after the sixth month of pregnancy, she never stopped vomiting.

“Only baby girls make the mother feel nauseous, right?” She innocently asked her husband.

He just nodded. What does he know about pregnancy? He nodded only because he wanted to make her feel happy; he wanted to make up to her for the state they were in as the feeling of guilt was written all over him. He feared for the pain Vidhya had to go through during child birth.

And after!

The day arrived. She was lying on the bed, semi conscious and tired after the child birth. The nurse came in and congratulated Vidhya.

With great effort, she raised her head to look at the nurse who was holding the baby. Her baby. Her treasured treasure!

“Is it a baby girl?” she asked

The nurse smiled. Looking at her smile, Vidhya smiled.

“Can I see her?”

The nurse placed the tiny one on her laps. The baby opened her eyes to see her mother. For the first time. Vidhya looked at her as she experienced tears of joy for the first time in years. She couldn’t actually believe that she produced something as beautiful as this one. All the pain she had gone through to look after the baby inside her; the pain of sleepless nights; the pain of vomiting everything she ate; the pain of swelled legs that made her immobile for weeks suddenly became worthwhile. Just for this moment; the moment the baby gently closed her eyes and reopened to see her mother again. Her dreams were about to come true. Then, the baby extended her tiny arms towards her mother. In fact, she was living her dream at that point.

Vidhya cried. Was it the ‘tears of joy’?

“I have given the money to your husband. Five lakhs in cash” A man said while walking into the room.

“Also, I have paid the hospital expenses. The money I gave your husband will take care of all your debts. Do let me know when you are ready to work again. I will find a job for you” he continued.

“Thank you, we are so grateful to you” Vidhya said and continued crying.

“No. Don’t say that. We are grateful to you this entire life”

“You are always welcome to come and see your daughter anytime” he said and picked the baby from her lap.

“Do you have to take her away now?” she asked and wiped her tears. But, that was of no use. Tears reappeared within micro seconds.

“I understand your position. I don’t want to take her away right now. I will wait” he said.

A relief! She thought.

“I will wait outside for ten minutes. My wife is on the way. We will take the baby with me when she arrives” he said.

Vidhya could not believe it. Someone from somewhere was taking her priced possession from her. Forever. Yet she was unable to fight; unable to stop him. What could she do? After all, she agreed to bear the child for someone else and she had to fulfill her promise.

Five lakhs was the price set for her baby. No one knew what pricing strategy was adopted in this case. Maybe that was the amount Vidhya’s family needed to pay off the debt. In the end, the price of the baby was equal to the price of the family’s debt. Vidhya would never forgive herself for what she was doing now.

She had priced the priceless!

But, she was given ten minutes with her daughter; ten minutes to hold her in her arms; ten minutes to kiss her; ten minutes to admire her tiny folded fingers; ten minutes to care for her. In short, she had ten minutes to live her dream.

But, somewhere in the bottom of her heart, she knew that her dreams were on fire and would be burnt into ashes in mere ten minutes!