The next morning I woke up in a pool of sweat and hacking rasping cough. Hannah on the other hand bounded out of bed, leaped around the room a few times a cried out to the world that she was better. In fact the whole 2 years I had known her I haven’t known her not to have a fever, however she was crying out to the world that the fever had gone. Somehow in the midst of my agony she had been cured of every disease under the sun that she could name and even some she had specially invented for some of her afflictions. All except rabies which she knew was going to the cause of her demise.

I rasped out a croak and a cough which I was convinced brought up some blood but I was too scared to check the tissue in case I was right. Hannah heard that and fled from the room in search of breakfast. Food was the last thing on my mind and the thought of it just made me cough some more and sweat. I looked down at the clammy bed we had been sharing and almost felt some pity for Hannah. However all the pity I could muster at that point was well and truly reserved for myself.

Somehow we had managed to be staying in a really clean and comfortable hotel (as opposed to a hostel). We even had about 100 channels of TV to choose from. I tried to make myself comfortable but that only produced more sweat and more coughing. So thus began a 12 hour TV fest. I didn’t even eat. In fact I was in a world of pain and feeling sorry myself. I have been away from home for nearly 3 years and I have never really missed home much before. Right about then I started missing home, hot showers, English speaking people, smog free environment, my mother, a ham and salad sandwich, clean clothes, clean streets, and the list went on and on. Instead all I got was Bollywood movies and the occasional English movie.

At lunch time Hannah peered into the room.

“Hello” I rasped out, bored out my brains and feeling more sick than in my whole life.

“Just checking to see if you are alright.”

“No I am not alright. I mean about 20 seconds before you came in, and I don’t care what any doctor says, my heart just stopped beating for a minute.”

“Mika do you want something to eat?”

“I can’t eat my heart is still not working! I can’t even feel my heart at the moment.” I replied as I limply raised my hand to my non-beating heart for emphasis but all that did was cause a fresh bout of coughing and pain.

“Do you want anything?”

“Antibiotics. I don’t know what they do but I am pretty sure I have lots of biotics in my body at the moment and I don’t want them there. They make my heart stop beating.”

“Mika are you sure you want them, you don’t even know what sickness you have. I think you need a doctor.”

“Doctors, smoktors. What do they know more than me? Not much and all they would say is that I am full of heart stopping biotics.”

She looked quite dubious but left anyway.

A little while later she returned, staying within the safety of the hallway and threw in some antibiotics. “Here I found something to make you better. The man at the counter said these should make you feel better. They are antibiotics.”

The only thing I could do was reply with indigenous bouts of raking coughing.

The next 26 years was spent in that clammy bed and me not leaving our room. It was bad enough getting out of bed let alone to do something such as leaving my room. So to calm the boredom I decided to go mad. I mean I have always had a little respect for madness and being cooped up in this room wanting to die was as good a place as ever to go crazy. I mean I could identify a lot with that crazy lady in Kerelar. I bet she had had these heart stopping biotics.

Hannah also joined me in the madness craze except hers what not really kind of madness I was experiencing but rather the angry, go crazy at Mika for being sick and stuck in this town which contained absolutely nothing to do.

I tried the whole positive thinking deal and tried to picture myself as an old man with grey hair and little kids running around the place and me rocking on the rocking chair yelling at the punk kids to get off my lawn and telling them in no uncertain terms that when we were young kids we were not so punkish and didn’t have the luxury of hover boards and flying cars and gave our elders respect. I soon gave that up when all it produced was another bout of coughing, fever and sweating.

One morning I woke up and stood up and didn’t feel all that dizzy and proclaimed to Hannah I thought I would be alright. As soon as I said the words I think I am alright the dizziness started again but by then Hannah had already packed both our bags and was grabbing the keys to leave. I didn’t really have much choice.

As we walked outside and hailed a tuk tuk, I looked around and stated to Hannah, “Man there seriously is nothing in the place, its so dull.” The look she gave me could have melted stone. I decided it prudent not to press the matter.