Monday, Sep 17 2001
Heartbreak
- Meghashri DalviMeghashri Dalvi is a well-established science fiction writer in India. Her
stories are published in Marathi, a regional language of India, and translated in English / other regional languages. Her short stories have won numerous prizes.
She is engineer by profession and enjoys popular science writing, too. Her
first book about machines and their history has won her accolades.
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When Cynthia woke up again, she saw a beautiful and gracious young woman
standing beside her bed. Her delicate silhouette set off against the serene
white backdrop of the small room.
"You must be Laura!" exclaimed Cynthia. "The doctors told me all about you.
I really don't know how to thank you. I mean.."
She struggled to get to her feet. But her limbs were still numb.
Laura smiled. Her perfect teeth shone.
Cynthia tried to take Laura's hand in her hands. "You must be the greatest
Samaritan on earth. So generous. So noble. Imagine paying so much to thaw
me! I was lying there cryogenically frozen for two hundred years. God knows
that. Oh! How you have given me a new lease of life!"
Laura smiled and slowly took her hand away. She turned around. Her expensive
suit fitted her perfectly. Her flawless skin glowed.
Bit relaxed, Cynthia laughed nervously. Her body longed for warmth and some
gentle massage. But mentally she felt fresh. She felt like going out and
meeting people. Seeing the world. Learning to live again.
She wanted to talk to Laura. But her words were awkward. "You paid for my
thawing. Please tell me how can I repay it. I sure will. I mean, if I can
find suitable work in this twenty-third century."
"Sign this please." Laura brought out a paper. Her diamond-studded watch
glittered.
Cynthia took the paper in her hand. Her eyes blinked for a moment. Then she
read the paper cautiously. "What! I donate my heart to you?"
"Yes. My fifty-five year old heart needs replacement. "
"But why me?" Cynthia was totally stunned.
"Your heart is the healthiest heart today in the whole wide world, including
the other frozen bodies."
Oh yes, and she cannot touch up her heart the way she has touched up herself
at places, Cynthia thought angrily.
"Is that why you brought me to life again?" She sounded bitter.
Laura did not answer. She merely extended her pen. A first edition designer
pen.
Cynthia suddenly found her loathsome. Nauseating. Her extravagance repelled
her.
"And what am I supposed to do then? Without a heart?" Cynthia's sarcasm was
plainly visible.
Laura was calm. "Sleep frozen for the next couple of centuries. Till they
are ready to give you another one."
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