C41 The Experiment

The next morning Aisha walked beside Arjun toward the small village clinic, lazily tying her hair into a loose ponytail as they moved through the quiet street. The air was still cool and the village was slowly waking up—shops opening their shutters, a few elderly people already out for morning walks.

“Remember,” she said casually, “I’m only going in for a little while today.”

Arjun glanced at her.

“You say that like you’re visiting someone, not working.”

“There are too many interns these days,” she replied with a small shrug. “I’m basically decorative staff.”

He chuckled quietly as they reached the small white building that served as the village clinic.

Inside, the place was already alive but not chaotic. A few patients sat patiently on wooden benches while interns moved between rooms with files and charts in their hands. The moment Aisha entered, one of them looked relieved.

“Doctor Aisha! Good morning.”

“Morning,” she replied while slipping into her white coat. “How many patients?”

“Only two left.”

She sighed dramatically.

“I woke up early for two patients?”

The interns laughed.

“You can leave after this if you want,” one of them said. “We’ll manage.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear,” she said.

Still, she did her work carefully. She checked an elderly man complaining about severe tooth pain and then saw another patient who needed a quick follow-up. After giving instructions and signing a few notes for the interns, she removed her coat again.

Total time inside: barely twenty minutes.

When she stepped back outside, Arjun was sitting on a bench watching the slow village traffic pass by.

“You’re finished already?” he asked.

She nodded proudly.

“Efficiency.”

He stood up.

“So now?”

“Now we walk back.”

They had barely crossed half the distance when Aisha casually turned into the narrow path leading toward Old House Café.

Arjun sighed.

“I knew this would happen.”

Inside the café the warm smell of broth and spices wrapped around them immediately. Jhimil ran toward Aisha the moment she saw her.

“Doctor didi!”

Aisha smiled and ruffled the girl’s hair.

“Two bowls of thukpa,” she said, then glanced at Arjun. “And one banana milkshake for the officer who can’t survive spicy food.”

He gave her a suspicious look but didn’t argue.

The food arrived quickly. Aisha ate comfortably, adding chili oil like it was the most natural thing in the world while Arjun cautiously balanced every bite with a sip of his milkshake.

By the time they left the café, the sun had already begun lowering behind the mountains.

The rest of the evening passed quietly.

Later that night they were back in her apartment. Aisha sat on the couch wrapped in a light blanket, drinking a glass of lactose-free milk while Arjun sat across from her with the banana milkshake he had bought earlier.

He had been telling her about one of his training experiences in the army.

“During my early years,” he said, leaning back slightly, “I was selected for a joint military exchange training program.”

She looked interested.

“That means you trained with another country’s army?”

“Yeah. A mountain warfare unit.”

He described the training calmly—marches through snowfields, survival exercises in extreme weather, days that stretched to sixteen hours of drills and simulations.

Aisha listened quietly.

“That sounds brutal.”

“You get used to it,” he replied.

Then his eyes fell on the glass in her hand.

“What’s wrong with your milk?”

“It’s lactose-free.”

He frowned.

“That’s fake milk.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I’m lactose intolerant.”

He laughed.

“That’s not a real thing.”

“Yes it is.”

“These are rich people diseases,” he said dismissively. “Everybody drinks milk.”

She sighed deeply.

“My body disagrees.”

“What happens if you drink normal milk?” he asked skeptically.

She answered casually, “I’ll have diarrhea in the morning.”

He stared at her.

“You’re exaggerating.”

She shrugged.

“Believe whatever you want.”

Then suddenly she leaned forward, grabbed his banana milkshake, and before he could react she drank the entire remaining half in one go.

Arjun froze.

“Aisha!”

She placed the empty glass on the table.

“There.”

He looked at her in disbelief.

“Are you crazy? You literally said it will make you sick.”

She waved him off.

“Relax. It’ll just be a little diarrhea in the morning.”

He scolded her for being reckless but after a while she convinced him it wasn’t serious. Eventually they both went to sleep.

A strange sound woke Arjun a few hours later.

The flush of the toilet echoed in the quiet room.

He opened his eyes slowly. The room was still dark. He looked toward the window and saw nothing but night outside.

He checked the time.

Six in the morning.

The bathroom door opened and Aisha stepped out.

She looked pale and slightly weak.

Arjun immediately sat up.

“You okay?”

She wobbled a little and slowly sat on the edge of the bed.

He quickly handed her a glass of water.

“Do you need help?” he asked, watching her carefully. “Is the diarrhea hurting you?”

She took a few small sips of water and shook her head.

“It’s manageable.”

Before he could say anything else she suddenly rushed back into the bathroom again.

Arjun stood up now, worry creeping into his chest.

Another flush.

When she came out again a minute later she looked even weaker.

She stopped near the door of the bathroom while Arjun walked toward her.

“Do you need medicine?” he asked gently.

But as she tried to answer her vision suddenly blurred.

She swayed slightly.

Arjun saw it happen.

“Aisha—”

Before he could reach her properly she collapsed.

He caught her instantly.

“Aisha!”

Her body felt cold. Her skin was damp with sweat.

She wasn’t responding.

His heart began pounding.

“This is my fault,” the thought hit him immediately. “I kept arguing with her… I didn’t take it seriously.”

He gently laid her down for a moment, grabbed his keys, and quickly carried her outside.

He placed her carefully in the passenger seat of his jeep, fastening the seatbelt to hold her steady.

The drive to the hospital felt painfully long.

He drove fast—but carefully—constantly glancing at her.

Her head leaned weakly against the seat.

“Aisha… stay with me,” he murmured under his breath.

The old government hospital appeared ahead of him—a large colonial building from before independence, its faded walls dim under weak yellow lights.

He stopped the jeep and rushed out.

Without wasting a second he lifted her into his arms and ran inside.

“Emergency!” he shouted.

Doctors immediately gathered around.

One of them checked her pulse quickly.

“She’s severely dehydrated,” the doctor said urgently. “Start IV fluids immediately.”

Nurses rushed to prepare the equipment while Arjun slowly stepped back, his heart still racing.

He watched helplessly as they worked around her.

His mind kept repeating the same thought.

Why didn’t I take it seriously?

Just then an old nurse walked toward him with an annoyed expression and shoved a long list into his hands.

“Buy these medicines,” she said bluntly.

Arjun looked down at the paper.

Injections. IV fluids. Several medicines.

“From where?” he asked quickly.

“Outside pharmacy.”

“Why outside?”

She sighed irritably.

“Hospital pharmacy is closed. The pharmacist’s uncle died two days ago.”

Arjun looked at the paper again.

Then toward the emergency room where Aisha lay surrounded by doctors.

His chest tightened with a fear he had never expected to feel so suddenly.