STORY-MIDNIGHT KNOCK

MIDNIGHT KNOCK I am the Doctor in charge of Government clinic in a remote village. The City hospital is far away and often I had to sit till all the patients are examined. Mostly they are poor people, as the rich ones could drive to the expensive private Hospital where they charge minimum hundred rupee. My wife tells me to go for such Hospitals , but by temperament I like to serve the villagers. By the time I come home, I am sufficiently tired and go to sleep by ten. When they knocked at my door , very late in the night, I knew there is some emergency. “Doctor, a woman is bleeding and has become unconscious; please come.” There were half a dozen people living in my neighborhood. I hurriedly put on my shirt , someone carried my bag and we went to the hut where the woman was groaning with pain. She may be around thirty and fair to look at. “Where is her husband?” There was no reply. “She and the little girl came here recently. We do not know much about them. She is working as domestic help” Meanwhile I examined her. A tumor has burst in her uterus. It has to be cleaned immediately. There is no time to be lost. I told them to carry her and place her in my car. “One of you must hold her; inform my nurse to come with me” The operation was carried out in an hour. Then I took her to the district Hospital. Only an Assistant Surgeon was there . I gave him a written account of the whole incident:”In case she dies, post mortem report is to be sent to me.” When I went back, they were waiting . The girl was crying. “Mother will be all right ”I consoled her . She may be around ten. I took her with me and spread a mat on the floor, in my office room. She soon went to sleep. Then I went to my bed room. Wife was fast asleep . She woke up at seven and I told her about the girl. She did not say anything. She belong to a rich family and has contempt for the poor . Miraculously, the mother survived; a day later, she was brought home in an ambulance. Father of the Church came to see me in the Hospital. He congratulated me for the success of the operation. “You are not merely a Doctor; You are a true Christian, rare in these times .” “What shall we do with the family? I do not know their religion. Can the Church do something to look after the child at least?” “We can put the child in the orphanage She is too big for the primary section. We will give him special tuition and she can appear in the tenth examination privately. Can you not employ the woman as your domestic help?” Thus it was settled. Father reported that the girl(Susan)is brilliant in her studies . After just two years, she appeared in tenth standard examination and afterwards in plus two. She qualified for medical entrance test. I was financing all her expenses. For medicine we sent her to London , as a Father from London was very much impressed by her brilliance. Then we lost contact with her . Meanwhile her mother ran way with a man . My wife was always unhappy with her and now she sneered me. “She is a slut. You were foolish to take interest in such people, without knowing their background” Susan used to write to me at first. Then she too stopped writing. Time obliterated even her memory. One fine morning she phoned me from New York;”Uncle, I am coming there . I want to set up a clinic for the very poor people . There will be free treatment and free medicines . A society has sponsored the project. I want you to be the Director of the Project” It was then, that I remembered that midnight knock.