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This is a true story, stranger than fiction.
This is a true story, stranger than fiction. Perhaps, it is one of the most difficult riddles of life, that I have come across; and yet another one, which you will read a little later on.
Three of us were childhood friends; Bepsy , Roshan a young doc and Armin, that's me.
Bapsy was the only child of her parents, needless to say, they doted upon her. She was fair, pretty and artistic in nature.
Roshan's parents lived elsewhere. She was appointed as a doctor with the Indian Railways, she was slim and pretty too. Secretly I wished one of my friends would marry my elder brother, though I was never vocal about this.
I was the youngest and was still pursuing my studies, at Bombay, where I had a third friend who was also on my secret list for becoming a Bhabhi

Every vacation we met and spend a lot of time together we would go on long strolls in the evening, the Railway colony was beautiful, studded with colourful and scented flowers and many fruit trees, this made it an ideal place to stroll or cycle; or we walked specially along the railway tracks, to the Wanki River, in Bulsar. Sometimes before a train would pass by, we would quickly put a coin on the track. It would flatten and become a deshaped piece. Once Rajdhani was about to pass by and we put the coin and moved out, its speed and momentum made us sway. We couldn't find the coin, on searching it we were shocked to see it embedded into the track.

We would sometimes collect dry branches with thorns, of the Mehndi plant to paint them silver, gold or green and decorate them with beads or candle wax drops(drops of wax from a coloured candle, into cold water form beautiful droplets). Sometimes we would sit in the afternoon to do some painting or artwork. We often went on lovely picnics for the entire day, with family or friends.
We also went for movies, by ourselves or with our families. At times we even did berry picking or would climb trees to pluck gauvas from the trees in our compounds. These were wonderful days, full of fun and frolic which I cherish in my memory, even today.

Of the three, Bepsy was the first to get married I was extremely excited but couldn't attend her wedding as it was not possible to bunk college and attend the wedding, so I thought I will catch up later on with all the exciting stories n anecdotes, Roshan would be able to do so.

Destiny is really cruel at times; and in Bepsy 's case, it was more so. No one knew the grave situation that was soon to arise. They married in December and after just 2-3 months, her husband was diagnosed with sarcoma, a galloping cancer. In the mean time, Bepsy had conceived and was an expectant Mom. Her life and that of the entire family was totally shattered. No one knew how to tackle this grave situation. Doctors were consulted in Ahmedabad, Bombay and elsewhere. No one could cure that dreadful disease. It took its toll, Homi passed away in April, just four months after their wedding, leaving her shattered. No one could console her . No one had the courage to say anything. Who would have a heart so strong? Words have little or no effect in such a situation. She was in a state of shock, in dire need of help. Her Mum in law was a great support, she cajoled, forced, pacified her to eat, for the sake of that little life growing in her womb and she started looking after herself for the sake of her child.

It was a continuous struggle to by her parents and in-laws to keep her going. Her friends, cousins, relatives actively supported her. Her Mum in law even planned to get her married again, to Homi's younger brother but who knows what is going to happen, our future is safely locked in His treasury and we are absolutely unaware about our tomorrow.

Then came the long awaited day of delivery. She gave birth to a bonny baby boy, very fair and cute, who must have certainly brought a smile on her otherwise sad face. It must have been a poignant moment, when she must have had a glimpse of him or held him in her loving arms, her very own !!! The emblem of their love. Her family was right besides her, by her side, tending her tenderly.

Again destiny or fate whatever one may call it, took a twist, ADM nasty one at that !!! She started bleeding profusely and her uterus did not evolute or shrink as it should have. ADM team of doctors worked hard and dedicatedly. There was a point reached where they were compelled to do an hysterectomy but Ahura the wise Lord took her in His loving arms. Everyone was stunned, shocked beyond words; no one could speak or accept this. Her parents were dumbfounded. She looked like a beautiful princess, as she was laid down on the stone. It seemed as if she would just get up and speak, or call out to someone. My parents couldn't say a word to hers; what could you tell them, when their only child, the centre around whom their life revolved and rotated, had left forever. The ugly claws of death had snatched a beautiful flower, which had barely bloomed.

I too was devastated on getting this news. I couldn't believe that my dear friend was no more, that I would never ever see her again. As I said earlier, destiny is often cruel. It was on the very same day that I got this most depressing news that I was awarded a rotating shield, for scoring the highest in the university, in the field of paediatrics. My joy, the excitement was gone as shock and sorrow took over. On certain occasions words are not sufficient to explain one's feelings, this was one such! It was a devastating experience.

Even today I wonder what was the purpose of life of these two souls? Was it just to give birth to a child ? Why would destiny have such a weird plan? Imagine the child, (Navroz is his name) being an orphan from the day he was born!

Little Navroz was lucky in a way, Both sets of grandparents and his uncles ( kakas, Dad's brothers) doted upon him. They saw to his every need, not just physical ones. One of his Kaka even did not marry because he thought his wife may not be able accept and love Navroz the way the rest of them did. This was super sacrifice, unheard of in recent times.

Coming to the crux of the story, I do accept that Bepsy and Homi had perhaps taken birth, just for Navroz to come into this world. But then, what was the actual purpose of Navroz's birth? Was it necessary for so many people to undergo the suffering and pain they went through ? Couldn't there be a better way out?
I am unable to solve this riddle of more than four decades. Readers, do you think you have an answer? If so, will you all kindly share this answer with me.