In High Spirits
“Who are you? What do you mean, my son Atul is in a coma?”
It was close to midnight in Satara, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, when Kailash Agarwal’s phone rang abruptly, disturbing his sleep. The ringtone was the one he had customized for Atul. So, although half-asleep Kailash had had no misgivings when he had picked up the phone. Atul was in Melbourne about four and a half hours ahead of Indian time. He never called very late at night but maybe he wanted to share some news that could not wait till a more decent hour. Of course, any time Atul called was a good time for Kailash and Sita Devi. Atul was their only child.
Kailash wasn’t ready for the strangely accented voice that broke the news to them. His loud reaction woke Sita Devi, who then tugged at his arm; incoherent with worry.
“This is Atul’s friend Noah. Atul is in a coma. Can you come down to Melbourne as soon as possible, sir?”
That was the first of a flurry of phone calls.
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