The Last Drop – The Conclusion

Mr. Sharma lay still with half closed eyes on the hospital bed. The machine kept on the side of the bed beeped slowly indicating his failing heart which was struggling with every beat.

He could sense his son Sujal and daughter in law Salila enter the room along with his grandchildren Sarita and Tushar. Their eyes were swollen and red with constant crying throughout the night. He felt their pain but there was little he could do. He was losing the battle of life.

Sujal sat near him. He had a small glass bottle in his hand. He opened the cork, poured the content in a small glass and said to him,

” Baba see what I brought for you. ”

“Pure drinking water”

“Have a sip”

He poured some of it in his father’s mouth.

Mr. Sharma felt “amrit” glide through his throat. It quenched his unending thirst although he was the one who had the privilege to devour it all his life among the people in the room. Maybe since he had drank it more so his thirst was also more. Alas little Tushar could never know the feeling.

Tears of happiness flowed from his eyes. He blessed his son and his family for their love and thoughtfulness. He knew Sujal would have spent a fortune to give him this moment. He got what he longed for even without asking. He thanked God for this life.

This water couldn’t save his life. But he died with a satisfactory smile on his lips. Sujal and Salila were sad. But his father’s smiling face eased their pain a bit.

Sarita sat on a chair outside the hospital room fondling the Aquaring in her finger. She was weeping at the loss of her beloved grandpa. But in her mind she felt a strong emotion to bring a solution to this water crisis. Her urge to study hard and be a scientist in Neeranujam’s team became more powerful than ever. She knew this water crisis killed her Grandpa. The Aquatab didn’t suit his system. And it doesn’t suit the system of many like him. Moreover it was a temporary solution. Neeranujam was working hard on something concrete. She wanted to help. She knew what she wanted to do in this life. The thought of Veer made her sad. She never admitted but she did love him. She resolved never to sell this ring and work hard towards her goal so that her sacrifice was worth it. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of mankind.

Veer Lalwani was an outcast in his family. He didn’t follow the steps of his father. On one side his father was amassing wealth selling water and on the other side he was using his share of wealth in helping the poor and needy. He dedicated his life to this cause running various NGOs and easing the access of aquatabs to the poor.

Jaladhar Srivastav did a successful campaign. He distributed free aquatabs and made a lot of promises for the future. It was not that janta was overwhelmed by his generosity. But his shrewd predictions came true. People became hopeful. They were in so much trouble due to no water that they felt good in believing his claims. They refused to doubt him. He won the elections smoothly.

The fate of mankind was at stake. People were still thinking about their selfish needs. But this could not continue for long. Drinking water was bound to get completely over. Could the best brains in the world replicate God? Was this the end of the world?

No one knew.

The End