THE FINAL PAYMENT
Indra stretched lazily on his bed, watching “Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chasma” on his phone; he had been doing that for a whole day now. His daughter had promised him a set of his favourite books; they should have reached him by now, but the hospital staff had become very strict with the rapid rise in the number of cases. He had been reading stories of how rapidly the virus spread through one’s body; however, he felt just fine except for slight breathing difficulties. He wondered what all the fuss was about. With that thought, the oxygen monitor started to beep; his O2 monitor showed 94. He remembered nurses talking to each other about how O2 should be maintained above 95. He thought to himself, “ I should relax a bit. Good thoughts, Indra. Think good thoughts!” And with that, his mind wandered to the construction of his new farmhouse, a project he'd been planning for years. With his retirement just around the corner, he had envisioned spending his golden years there with his w...