Twins - A Short Story

The machines were all beeping rhythmically... If in any other mood she would have brought her guitar and would have built a tune in no time. She knew she was gifted with musical talent and was always thankful to God for her gift. She was very passionate about it …drempt of becoming a renowned musician one day . She  would practice it with devotion not leaving any opportunity she finds. But not today. Today she was in no mood. She even cursed herself for finding music in the machines that were working hard in ICU to bring her sister to conscious.  
The guilt grew exponentially with in her. She was already feeling terrible that she was responsible for her sister’s condition. Her attachment for music even during this period of grief made her feel even worse. 

She was not allowed in the room, yet she begged doctors for she thought they shared the same soul. She will fight against all odds to keep her sister alive. They were twins. She was just a few seconds older than her sister. After all, they were already bonded by the time they came out together to see the world. Their  mom always used to say them stories about  how they were looking for each other soon after they were born, how they acted as if they knew about each others existence. It used to throw them awestruck. They were inseparable since birth and  their mom felt that they could read each others mind even as babies. Their family was happy and complete by their birth. 

Mom named them both  Naina and Karna, for they acted as each others senses. They seemed to be different in many ways yet they were alike in their soul. Naina was always interested in music. Her  mom used to say that as a baby Naina would go to sleep only after she sang her good night songs. She started building her own tunes by the time she was 3. She would just combine names of her friends and family and sing them in a tune. And she was very good at it for her age. Mom and dad  put her in carnatic music class and violin class. She excelled in them even when she was youngest in the class. As an adult she started liking guitar as well. She is now playing guitar for probably 4 years. She is very good with it and would come up with tunes that seemed like a fusion between classical music with a little bit of western hint.


Karna on the other hand is very different from Naina in her interests. She was into sports and was a sports person since child. Although she was good at many sports she picked tennis…and would rigourously practice for it. They had many pictures of Naina and karna from those childhood days where one was holding a racket while other a violin. That was their identity. Since they were look a like twins that helped others recognize who’s who.
But now, Naina couldn’t control her tears. The tough sports star she knew is nowhere. She only saw a weak, fragile person lying on ICU bed,  with pipes and machines all around her. She couldn’t stop blaming herself for what happened to Karna. 

Mom and dad were outside since they were not allowed in ICU. Although they were praying continuously for Karna, they were worried about Naina too. They knew, the thought that they were one soul along with the brutal truth that Naina was driving the car little over the speed limit would tear Naina apart. She will not forgive herself and can go to any extent  in this emotional moment to punish herself for her sister’s condition.


Naina started talking…although karna was in no state to hear. She knew their senses are connected. She thought  “we were both conversing with each other even before we started talking. There is never any barrier between us. We are just one”. Memories from their childhood started flashing. Naina said to Karna , “Do you remember Karna... our class leader  Jenny when we were in 5^th standard. She was such a bully. God only knows why our teacher made her the leader. You remember the day when we took our new video game our aunty got us from Saudi to school? We became the envy of Jenny’s eyes. Every one was around  us during the break time waiting for their turn to touch that super high-tech toy of those days. Jenny was smart enough to catch me while no one was around… especially you. How she threatened me and took it away.  When you came to know about it, how you dragged me along with you… how I was hiding behind you…for I was the soft, delicate one ...and already scared. You demanded Jenny return the toy. How you warned her you would break her bones if she doesn’t. Well, she was the least bit frighned and pushed us both  that we fell one over the other. You were always my protective shield. How you went to her angrily, twisted her hand around and grabbed the video game from her and gave it to me. You were always my greatest strength. She smiled and cried at the same time. Please do not leave me alone… I will be completely broken without you  around. 

She always wondered how her personality would have shaped up without Karna around. She wiped her tears and continued. "You  remember our 10^th grade friend Nikitha. What a sweet heart she was.  That guy Varun was after her threatening her to be his girl friend. He was blackmailing her that he would morph her picture, make it vulgure and post it on school network if she was not going to accept him. What a hell Nikitha was going through when she finially decided to reveal it all to us. I still remember that it was a Friday evening when we made Nikitha send a message to Varun to come to a secret location. We made it look from a distance like she was waiting for him there. And finally when he came closer we all surrounded him holding cricket bats. I still remember how surprised and scared he looked initially but covered it up soon. That idiot felt it was not masculine to be scared of all females around. You hit him right in the spot and we all took videos and pictures of him whining in pain. How we threatened it would be posted on school network if he acted any more smart and troubled Nikitha. It gave me confidence on that day. Together we can win over  everything. We can conquer all our problems. I thought you and I are perfect meaning of made for each other.


Naina was going on even though she didn’t see any reaction from Karna. After a while she closed her eyes and she didn’t know when she slipped into sleep.

"
Come on Karna, hurry up, we are getting late,  I don’t want to be the last person getting in".
"Okay okay. Almost there ,,, let me set my dress right".
"
Okay I will go start the car", said Naina.
"No way I will not let you drive… You are too rash a driver… I will take the wheel", said Karna.
"
Hello Miss. With you driving we will reach there tomorrow".
 They both argued for a minute and then finally Naina grabbed the keys and ran towards car.
"Okay. That’s fine but do not speed".
"
Hello Miss Tennis Star… why are you behaving like a 90 year old. You take care of your dress and I will do my business", said Naina.
 And they started.
 Karna turned the music on and hoped that it would tame her sister down. Although she comes as a tough sports person she was always paranoid about speeding. 

"Do you think Rohit is going to come to the party",  Karna asked. 

"Look at Miss Pinky, why do your cheeks turn pink whenever you talk about him?"

"Stop it Naina"... said Karna too shy to admit. But there surely was something about him that draws her to him. 

Just then the phone rang. Naina saw it was from Surya. Surya was the most handsome guy in their college, the tall, dark and handsome kinds. With well built body. Naina just was too crazy for him. They both hardly ever spoke  and they did not have each others number until a day ago.

"Hi Surya", said Naina. "Hey hi Naina, the party has already begun and Shruthi was not going to   cut the cake until you guys arrive. Where are you?"

Shruthi and Surya were twins as well like Naina and Karna. Shruthi was her best friend in college while Surya though in same college was in different course. He does not mingle with Shruthi's classmates as much. Naina's heart was racing. She thought when would you start feeling the same for me Mr Surya. Naina's concentration slipped a bit and she almost hit a truck coming in the opposite direction.
 "NAINA...." shouted Karna. 
Naina controlled and came back to senses. Karna took the phone from her and told Surya that they just took the highway and would be there in 10minutes. "Okay. Drive carefully" said Surya and hung up.

Karna shouted at Naina. "What happens to you with this Surya guy around. "

Naina looked at her sister and winked. She said, "At least I don't turn all pinky you see"... Just then a Safari was coming in opposite direction, it looked like it lost control and slammed into  their car. It directly hit Karna. Naina shouted "KARNA...."

Naina suddenly opened her eyes to find that she was still next to Karna in ICU. How she hoped that it was just nightmare and none of it happened in reality. But that was not the case . She can never forgive herself for bringing such pain to her sister.

Just then Karna seemed to be moving her hands. Her eyes were moving rapidly inside her eyelids. Naina gave her sister a hug and went running to call the doctors. By the time they came back to ICU Karna opened her eyes weakly. She had a frown on her face. She weakly said, "Why are the lights turned off?". Naina was shocked. She completely went blank. The doctor went to Karna and asked her how she felt. She said something. Naina couldn't hear anything. She was lost. She was not sure how long the doctor spoke to Karna.The doctor then said to Naina "I need to talk to you and your parents". With this she came back to senses. She saw Karna was sleeping again. She started crying. She went running to call her parents who are waiting in the lobby. They all went to the doctors office. 

The doctor started, "Karna seems to be out of danger, she is responding well to the medication. However I have some bad news..." They all were listening anxiously. The doctor continued, "We were suspecting this after her surgery and now we have confirmed. Karna lost her sight...in both her eyes". All of them burst into tears at once. They couldn't believe what they heard. Naina was praying and hoping that she would open her eyes and find out all of this was a dream. For she couldn't take it anymore. Her heart was pumping very fast, she felt she could hear her heartbeat and blood flow. She was completely lost and fell on floor. Her mom although crying went to her and lifted her up. She was equally worried for Naina as for Karna. She  knew her daughters well enough. The doctor then continued, "at this point we cannot tell if this is a permanent damage. It will take sometime for her to heal. In this meantime either this could turn out to be permanent or she could get her sight back. All we could do now is pray and hope. You all have to be brave and give Karna support and strength. For she needs it the most at this time. There are many miracles that happen in this hospital every day which cannot be explained by science. Please be hopeful and pass on some positive energy to Karna".

Naina went running out of the room. She seemed to have completely lost her senses. She has to be calmed down. Mom and dad ran after her. She sat on the floor crying. They hugged her and hoped she would not blame herself. They were all on the floor crying. 

They had no idea how long it had been. It might have been a few hours or days, Naina didn't know. She had no courage to go to Karna. She sat there staring at wall. Suddenly it occurred to her how important her eyes are for her sports. She would be devastated if she finds out about her sight. She cannot play tennis anymore. All her dreams of becoming India's top tennis champion were shattered because of her. "It was all because of me, if only I let Karna take the wheel"

She wiped her tears and then said to herself, "I am going to straighten this up. I will give my eyes to Karna. This has to be done even before she finds out about her sight. She cannot achieve her goal without her sight. I have my music with me, my dreams do not need me to have sight. My ears and voice are good enough for me. I will do this. I will have to convince mom and dad as well. I am responsible for all this and I should be taking care of this. She should not be punished for my sin. She will become my eyes. I don't need any, as long as I have her".

With this she wiped her tears and started towards Karna.