Three Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat

'Don't even talk about the full price. Ish wrote to every big hospital in the UK and

USA for subsidies. The best deal he has is from a hospital in UK, which has promised

us an operation for five lakhs. Of course, Ish never told me all this. That is all I could

hear from the thin plywood wall'

'You have the money?'

'Ish saved two lakhs in the past three years. I saved another three. Last week I went to

him with the money. I said let's pool our resources and get Ali operated. I said we

must act now as it takes nine months to get an appointment at that hospital anyway.

And then he...,' Govind's voice choked again.

'You ok?' I said.

Govind nodded. 'You know what he did? He refused to touch my money and wore

cricket gloves while handing the envelope back to me. In fact, he offered me his

cashbox and said he could give me money if I needed it to satisfy my greed. He said he

didn't want to get Ali operated with a dishonest man's money.'

Govind voice began to break. 'I am not dishonest. I'm selfish and have made mistakes,

but I'm not dishonest. And I don't only care about money. I care about Ali, too.'

I sat on his bed put my hand on his arm. He pulled it away.

'After three years of saving every rupee I could, Ish calls my labour dishonest. I can't

take it anymore. Dr Verma had given me pills as I had trouble sleeping at night. That

day I felt why not sleep once and for all. Maybe I had calculated life all wrong. It was

time to quit the equation.' He smiled feebly.

The doctor came to Govind's ward at 7 a.m. The chemicals from the pills had been

flushed out of Govind's system.

'I'd like the patient to sleep for six hours,' the doctor told me as he drew the curtains.

I left the room and went out. Govind's mother sat on a bench in the corridor. She

looked up, worried.

'He is fine, just needs some rest.' I sat next to her on the bench.

'Such a brave boy I had. What happened to him?' she sighed.

'He thought he was being brave,' I said. 'Does Ish know?'

She looked at me sideways. 'They don't talk.'

'Can you tell him what happened. Don't force him to come to the hospital,' I said.

Govind's mother nodded. We left the hospital together. She had sat in an auto when I

spoke again. 'By the way, do you know which college Vidya goes to in Bombay?'

'So many visitors? This is a hospital, not a club,' the nurse grumbled as she changed

Govind's bedsheets in the evening.

Govind's hospital room was bustling with people. Apart from the nurse, there were

Ish, Vidya, Govind's mother and I. We waited for Mr Sleepyhead to wake up from his

second nap of the day. A lot of people had lost sleep because of his sleeping pills.

Govind's eyelashes flickered and everyone moved closer to the bed.

'Ish? Vidya!' Govind blinked.