Splintered Lives (32 page)

In the meantime Mark and Sahida leave the confused couple and Sahida takes Mark home to the village where they say goodnight and arrange to meet again the following day.
 
They have had a phone call from David whilst still at Simon’s before they left to say they will be there at Pokhara after their various connections in twenty-four hours.
 
Mark has arranged to meet them at Pokhara airport to take them to Simon’s home.
  
Sahida will be with him as they have worked out the time they will arrive and she will have finished her school day, because of the time differences between
England
and
Nepal
.

Sahida is excited to be seeing Sarah again and has difficulty sleeping, thinking about Mark, who is a very attractive man and who has shown an interest in her.
 
She remembers him as a boy when he came to stay with Sarah; she liked him then because he was funny and made everyone laugh a lot.

Mark is having problems sleeping as well because he finds Sahida a very beautiful

woman, he remembers her when she was a young girl on her first teaching job.

 
All those years in between and neither of them have found a soul mate.

David and Sarah arrive at
Kathmandu
airport where they catch their connection to Pokhara.
 
The small plane flies above the white peaks and the wonder of the glorious scenery catches their breath.
 
Sarah had forgotten the majesty of the mountain ranges and David had not been in that part of the world before.
 
They look at each other in wonder.
 
But as the plane glides into the little airport Sarah catches her breath for another reason, she remembers that awful day that Taj was burnt to death, when the plane hit the trees and it went up in flames.
 
She freezes and cannot move.
 
The other passengers are getting off the plane but Sarah is trembling in her seat with remembered emotion.
 
David holds her close as he gently talks to her.

“Come on love, we have come to find our son and I can see Mark and a lady waiting for us by the terminal.”
 
He tells her gently.

Her legs are trembling under her but with the help from David she manages to leave her seat and very timidly walk down the aircraft steps.

Mark is the first to see them and he waves to show them where he is.
 
They have to pick up their luggage but that doesn’t take long because of the smallness of the airport.

Sarah spots Sahida and she feels her strength returning to her limbs as she

waves to both of them.

Sarah gives Mark a hug and then turns to Sahida.
 
They hug and cry for they are

both remembering the tragedy of Taj’s death.
 
Sahida is the first to let Sarah go

 
and says.
 
“I think you should introduce me to your husband.”
  

“This is David and this is Sahida, Simon’s aunt and Taj’s sister.” Sarah says.

David smiles and takes Sahida’s hand and says.
 
“I think we have a lot to thank

you for.
 
Mark says Simon has made a wonderful doctor and a good husband.”

Sahida smiles graciously and says.

“Simon has made our family whole, my parents and Taz all adore him and he fits in well here at the hospital where he has been a doctor for almost two years.
 
You must be mystified how all this came about, but he stayed with us when he came trekking with his friends including Ben, the one who fell off the mountain, and Taz brought them both to Kathmandu to the hospital there.
 
My father recognized Simon as Taj, he is so like him and he and my mother put two and two together and came to the conclusion you must have gone home pregnant.
 
My parents and Taz were living in
Kathmandu
and when I came home for the festival in September I was blown away by the way he looks so like Taj.
 
We had a party for his friends and some photographs were taken.
 
Taz took one of Simon and my father and put our phone number on the back.
 
He had it on him, when he was thrown out of the vehicle and found by the roadside in
France
, where he was picked up by an ambulance and taken to hospital.
 
He had a bad head injury and had lost his memory.
 
The French authorities thought he was part of the family that came off the road on a bad bend and thought all his family was dead.
 
They found the photograph with my father and presumed he was his grandfather so they contacted him and eventually my father brought him here to
Kathmandu
.
 
He did not recognize any of us, but we were told that his other family was dead.
 
I hope you can bring his memory back for him but he has settled here and although he could not get a medical degree until two years ago my father and sister had him working with them at the hospital and they taught him as well as any lecturer at the university could have done.

 
Sarah smiles through her tears and hugs Sahida again.

“Let’s go and find our son David, lead the way Sahida and thanks again for all you and your family have done for Simon.
 
I remember how charming all your family was and how they tried to help me at the time of Taj’s death.
 
I meant to let you know about Simon, but I met David, an old friend, and Simon fell in love with a daddy who really loved him and I didn’t want to confuse him when he was little.”

Mark says.
 
“That is true because she asked me to be with her when she told him about his birth father, but I was always away on my civil engineering projects and David was making a wonderful job of being a father to their little girl, who was born a couple of years after Sarah and David were married, and Simon his well-loved son.”

They put the luggage in the boot of Sahida’s four- wheel vehicle and they proceeded towards Simon and Mula’s home.

“Oh I remember this part of Pakhara!” Sarah exclaimed as they passed by the lake.
 
“You used to live near to here Sahida, didn’t you?”

“Yes my father was a G.P. here when you were teaching with me at the school.”

Sahida replies.
 
“I have an apartment along the shore and I thought we could go there to freshen up and have a cup of tea before I take you to meet Simon and Mula.
 
Simon won’t be home from work for another hour and as Mula only learnt his story a little while ago, I thought we would wait until Simon gets home, what do you think?”

Although Sarah and David are anxious to see their son they feel Sahida’s suggestion is a good one, as they don’t want to upset their daughter -in –law and they are feeling grubby after their long journey.

“That will be great.” David says, so they proceed to Sahida’s home and they are impressed by how modern her apartment is.

Sarah looks at the amount of new buildings around the lake and says.

“Where is the hospital where Simon works?”

“Over there, on the other side of the lake nearest to the town.” Sahida points out the large new modern building.
 
“It is part of the
University
of
Kathmandu
medical college, as well as, a general hospital.
 
My father and Taz have had a great lot of input into the idea of a teaching hospital, but it was the idea of Taj’s because he cared about the people in the mountain villages and his hopes, that they would get proper medical care, was his dream.”

Mark helps Sahida to make a few sandwiches and brews the tea whilst Sarah and David freshen up in the bathroom.

“Come out on the patio where there is a view of the lake and the fishtail peak.”

Says Mark.
 
“When you are ready.”

Sahida makes her visitors comfortable and feeds them a light meal.

“I would like you to stay with me, I have a spare room with an ensuite and you will be near to Simon’s house.
 
If you would rather find a hotel, but it may be difficult at this time.”

“We would love to stay with you, Sahida; it is very thoughtful of you.” Sarah replies after looking at David for his approval.
 
Mark goes to the car and gets out their luggage and puts it in the room for them.

Chapter 46

Mula looks out of the kitchen window when she sees Simon pacing up and down the garden path, with a look of sadness and confusion on his face.
 
She gulps back a sob as tears run down her lovely face.
 
Simon sees her and he runs in to the house to her.

“What is it darling?”
 
He says as he pulls her to him and tenderly holds her there until her sobs subside.

“You look so unhappy Simon and I hate to see you like this.
 
Are you worried about meeting your mother and father?”
 
Mula asks.

“I keep hearing David in my memory because his accent is different and I wonder if I will recognize my mother and him.
 
Mark told us that he has been a great dad and that my mother only began to live again when she realized she was pregnant with Taj’s child and after I was born she adored me.
  
How could I have forgotten them?”
 
He rages with himself and grips Mula to feel her hugging him as if she will never let him go.
 

She wipes her eyes and says.
 
“Let’s freshen up and have a cup of tea, before they arrive, it will give us a chance to get our heads around it and see the positive side.
  
You have this family that has missed you and I know that you have not been complete since you lost your memory, sometimes I feel you are sad and confused.”

Simon goes upstairs to the bathroom whilst Mula makes a cup of tea.

“They’re here.”
 
Shouts Mula as she sees Sahida parking her car and then the four of them stroll up the garden path.

Simon runs down the stairs to be with Mula when they arrive at the door.

They all arrive together and as Simon opens the door Sahida goes in first to stand with Simon and Mula, in a protective manner.
 
Mark enfolds Sarah and David with his arms around their shoulders and brings them to Simon and gives them all a group hug including Mula and Sahida and breaks the ice as tears run down Sarah’s face and David feels a great lump in his throat as he sees what a handsome man his son has turned into.
 
Sarah sobs when she sees Simon who now looks so like Taj that she understands how the Menons must have felt when they found him with his friend, when he was eighteen and trekking in Nepal.

 
Mark has a twinkle in his eyes as he introduces Sarah and David by saying “Simon meet your mum and dad.
 
You don’t know how overjoyed they are to find that you are alive and well and that you have managed to become a doctor.”

Sarah holds on to Simon because her legs have almost gone from under her, as she smells Simon’s familiar skin.
 
David hugs Simon and shakes him by his hand

“We are so proud of you and so grateful to the Menon family for finding you, I don’t know what would have happened to you if the connection with your other family had not been made.”

Simon looks at his mother and David and likes what he sees.
 
He has felt some anger that he had not been told by his English parents about the history of his birth.
 
After Mark had told Mula and himself the full story and Sahida had confirmed it, he had worried and raged in his head and tried to remember but even now, although he felt some connection to them, he still does not remember the time before his accident.
 
But he thinks he didn’t remember, and he still doesn’t remember, the Menon family from when he was with them when he was eighteen but they have been a stable and reassuring influence in his life.
 
Without their love and care for him, he would not have achieved the life he has now.
 
But what about his life up to the time of his accident, this other family must have had a great influence on his character.
 
He had a divided life and the only one he remembers is the one he is living now, here in Pokhara with Mula and his daily work.
 
This is the life he wants because he loves his work and the people he treats.
 
The people here in the Himalayas are gentle and hardworking.
 
They need him here and he is determined to stay.
 
He shook the confusing thoughts out of his head and took his mother’s hand and led her along, with the whole party in to the sitting room.

Mula asks “Would you like a drink, I was about to make us a cup of tea when you arrived?”

Sahida says enquiringly, “Shall I help you Mula and leave Simon with his parents for a little while?”
 
“Come on Mark you can help.”