Sauvage
Anika has never felt this before. All that she can do, sitting outside the miserable ICU of the best hospital in her locality, is think about why hadn't she noticed the symptoms earlier. She begins to rub her palms and cheeks as a futile attempt at distraction from her own disturbing thoughts. The warmth that they produce is what Anika thinks will calm her down. But her trembling hands, incessant salty tears and the constant feeling of throwing up only add to her anxiety. Had she noticed her grandfather's rough coughing, impaired speech, insignificant memory loss and failure to balance himself on his feet a little earlier, she thinks, she could have saved him from the severity of the meningitis he is suffering from. Post dinner Anika gets ready to leave for home after helping her mother with the adjustments in the waiting room. With all the strength left in her shaky legs, she walks towards the lift. On any other usual day, she would have preferred stairs over the lift. But t...