Episode 14 : The Curious Incident Of A Dog On The Road - Concluded

Previously on The Edward Hyde Show...

The dentist could not check me that night; he was grappling with his emergency cases. That meant having the tube for another 24 hours. Resigned to the inevitable, I dozed off.

It must have been the early hours of the day when I heard a voice warn me of trouble ahead. I could not see him, but I could clearly hear what he had to say.

'Beware Hyde, you are walking into a trap. You will come up against one who is very powerful. Beware of Sikkim-Gangtok, for he seeks to silence you forever.'

Sikkim-Gangtok? What kind of a name is that? Other than its obvious reference to an Indian state in the east, I came up with nothing.

At that moment, I woke up. The realisation that it was only a dream did not last very long, for the next instant I found I could not open my mouth. Of course, I was not able to open my mouth after the surgery. The effects of the dream and general grogginess prevented any sense of reason from calming me.

I began to struggle and ended up feeling something plastic. Without thinking, I began to tug at it. As I pulled it, I deluded myself into thinking I was getting freed from whatever it was that Sikkim-Gangtok employed to silence me forever.

Suddenly there was a plop and my right nostril felt larger than before. In the dim light, I looked at a coil of plastic tube in my hands.

The nasal tube!

The mention of a ride to Sikkim by the motorcycling club in Calcutta in a mail long before our trip to Yercaud, my nasal discomfort and The Lord Of The Rings together created a dream and a fictional character modelled after Sauron.

I quietly put the tube aside and turned to sleep.

Edwina noticed the missing tube as soon as she laid her eyes on me.

'Where is the tube?'

I sheepishly pointed to the tube and told her I took it off in my sleep. She made to go and fetch the nurse when I stopped her. 'Let's see what they do.'

Nurse Rose soon came in to check my blood pressure. She did not notice anything amiss, and I heaved a sigh of relief. But it did not last for long.

Later the doctor on duty came with nurse Rose and noticed the tube missing from my nose.

'Where is your tube?'. Nurse Rose looked nonplussed and looked at me.

I repeated what I told Edwina. The doctor looked at me for a few moments, scribbled something on the pad she was carrying and went out of the room. It did not take long for the entire hospital to hear of the tube that was pulled out in the night. Nurse Rose later told us that the doctor did not believe what I said and suggested the look on my face said it all.

Who would believe the story of Sikkim-Gangtok anyway? My earlier hostility towards the tube served as an excellent proof.

Soon it was time to take my medication. Out of four injections, two were injected through regular syringes, a 100ml antibiotic through drips and the last antibiotic, my Waterloo, using a fatter syringe. Nurse July had earlier told me the first injection always hurts a little because blood may have clotted and a little force will be required to open it. I did not mind that one; it was a second-long stab and the pain always subsided by the time I realised what happened. I managed to convince the other two nurses, April and July, to inject the foul-smelling antibiotic into the drip after the third injection got over.

I imagined the foul-smelling antibiotic would continue in the same vein (no pun intended) as the third antibiotic, leaving behind a painless experience. Nurse July was the first to try it out and I only saw her move to stick the needle into the container of the third antibiotic. I turned to look ahead to reduce the usual anxiety that preceded the fourth antibiotic.

A moment later, my eyebrows shot up as a stabbing pain enveloped my hand.. It was not as painless as I hoped, but I did not have to grit my teeth or clench my free hand.

I looked at the nurse questioningly. 'This antibiotic is strong and will hurt. And you are being given a strong dose.'

Oh well, at least it is bearable this way. But I did not realise that my reaction to the injection was affecting the people around me, save perhaps Nurse Rose. While Nurse Rose was injecting the last antibiotic, I was in my usual throes of pain, muffling gasps wherever possible. Edwina had held my other hand in consolation.

As I began to breathe normally, I felt Edwina place her head on my hand while rubbing my forearm. She did not lift her head for some time. I sensed what she was doing. Easing my hand from under her head, I gently caressed her hair.

'The pain will last only for a few seconds. It is alright.'

She lifted her head, and I saw her tear-streaked face.

'But still... I cannot see it.'

I suppose I should do better than just muffle my gasps.

The dentist arrived late Friday evening. He was busy tackling emergencies similar to mine. It looked like my accident set off a trend. He heard the story of the nasal tube. I had begun to drink fruit juice to make up for not taking them through the tube, so he was not peeved. When I asked about getting discharged, he thought for a moment and said I could leave Sunday morning. Of course, the medication had to be tapered off. Which meant taking them three more times. Twice on Saturday and once on Sunday.

Saturday passed by without anything eventful happening. I drank my juices and read as many pages of The Lord Of The Rings. The room began to get cleared of unnecessary stuff while necessary formalities at the hospital were completed. Departing from my tradition of buying Pepsodent, I also got myself a tube of Colgate. I need a toothpaste that can make my teeth stronger not a toothpaste that goes dishum-dishum.

I got discharged close to noon. I had two more months of treatment to go, wherein the metal wiring would get removed from the braces and replaced with elastic bands and broken teeth would get attended to. I had spent 5 days at the hospital, where I underwent a surgery of the jaw, and took a number of injections that I lost count of.

All because of a dead dog that blocked my path a two hours less than a week ago.

Concluded.