I heard someone say, “Keep going, it’s not your time yet.”
I woke up with a start and saw tubes and wires all around me. Am I in a hospital?, I wondered and tried freeing myself from the wires. A nurse dressed in blue approached me and tried to hold me back and a doctor came in with a syringe and injected something into the IV tube. I felt like I am pulled backward and I slept off.

I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my mother holding a giant display device and tapping her fingers on it. I tried to speak but she kept the device aside and gestured with a finger on her lip. Then there was darkness.

I woke up again and saw that it was morning. My mother was still there, she looked aged and was glued to the device again. I wondered what it was. I tried to speak, this time, I was allowed to speak.

“What happened? Am I ill? Was it an accident? What happened?”

“Yes, Rohan, you and Rohit met with an accident while returning from college.” She paused, “and you have been in Coma since.” She became teary eyed and stopped mid-sentence.

“How many days have I been comatose?”

“A couple.”

“How many?” I remember bunking the last lecture to make it in time for the movie. I remember fueling up and…

“many years”, she saidI was at a loss for words. It couldn’t be that long, Mom looks old. Is it true I was out for years?

I was at a loss for words. It couldn’t be that long, Mom looks old. Is it true I was out for years?

“How many, MOM?”

“10”

I have faint memories of the hospital, I got to know what that device was, though. It was an iPhone. Apparently, after the iPod, this was the next big thing Jobs had launched. Sadly, he was no more but the device was amazing. Everything was on a touch; no keypad, everything in color but the battery did not last. I figured it was September of 2016 and was trying to remember whose birthday it is in the month. I had missed 10 years of birthdays and I did not want to miss wishing anybody now. So I asked my sister who was a chirpy 20-year-old if she still had my slam book from the 10^th grade and she replied laughing;

“LOL brother, what are you talking about?”

“What’s LOL? I know I am an idiot to ask you for my slam book 10 years hence, but will I be able to log in to Orkut from your phone?”

“1^st thing, Lol means Laugh out loud. And what’s Orkut?”

“Dah! Now who is ancient? Orkut is a social networking website. Don’t you know?”

“haha, Google scrapped it years ago.”

“Whyyyyyyyy. What happened to all my photos and testimonials?”

“GONE”

“What?”

“Here, why don’t you open a Facebook account now.”

“What’s a Facebook?”

I was educated on the subject and now I had a Facebook account, and an iPhone.

I was overwhelmed with the friend requests, concerned messages on my wall. Within hours I had 200 friends. Wow, I thought that’s a lot of friends one can have but my happiness was shortlived. I browsed through my sisters’ page I saw that she had 1845 friends.

 

After all the formalities at the hospital, I was discharged in 15 more days.

“Is papa coming and picking us up? I asked.

“Nope, we sold the car, I shall uber it. Dad will see us at home after he is done with the insurance formalities”, said my sister, Sonal

Uber is an application on the iPhone that can order cabs as and when required I was told. With traffic and surged fuel rates Ubering it was the new thing.

We reached home in 30 minutes as we took the new highway, which was under construction when I met with the accident.

Sonal nonchalantly shut the cab door behind us and strolled straight into our building lobby.

I called for her “Sonal, wait please pay the driver I don’t have any cash. Hey…. Listen”

The poor driver too forgot about the fare and drove past the gate.

“What bro? The app pays the fare, I had topped it up on our way.”

 

“OK, Call up Mom and let her know we reached.”

“Already what’sapped her.”

I looked at her puzzled and she continued. “it’s a messaging app bro. Give me the phone I will download it for you. Shall enter the wifi password too.”

“Are we rich? We have wifi now?”

“Yes bhai, but the tariffs are cheap now.” She glowered as she opened the door.

“Will you be a doll and feed in a few numbers too? Could you also get photo albums for the last 10 years for me to know what all I have missed?

We lived in a new apartment now a few kilometers away from the previous one. I had my own room. I did not have to share it with my sister anymore.

“OK.” She went into her room and got a larger phone.

“Is this a WEphone? Look at the size, who owns this thing? Don’t tell me you lured Papa into buying this for you.”

“10 years is a long time.” She said with a distanced look. “everything around you is new, isn’t it? You sound like a fossil.” “This is an iPad.”

“What does this do differently that a laptop or your iPhone can’t?”

“I don’t want to disrespect this innovation by answering your question. Here, browse through your photos.”

“I need to see all of the 10 years’ memories and you are giving me this. How much does it store 256 MB max?”

“LOL, have you heard of GB? GigaByte? It’s 64 GB and most of the pictures are on the cloud. I have 1 TB of space there.”

“Wait….wait..wait…That’s too much of information and space for a sentence. Let me Google everything you just said. I hope Google still has answers and there is nothing newer?”

“There is but ya google should solve most of your mysteries.” She said air quoting mysteries.

I spent a good 2 hours reading up, catching up but I was sure I will have many more surprises.

Papa and Mom came home from the hospital and we chatted a bit as we scrolled through photos from the iPad. We also discussed prospects of my education and how I can be up and about. We were expecting a few friends over for dinner who were elated to know of my recovery. I met a few at the hospital but I was looking forward to the casual get together. Sonal ordered the whole meal from a food ordering app on her iPhone and whatsapped everybody about the get-together.

I went back to my room for a quick nap. As I rested my eyes, I directly went into what seemed like a deep slumber.

.
.
.
.

I could hear Mom call out my name, Sonal cry and Dad dial the doctor. I wanted to open my eyes but I couldn’t. I wanted to tell them I am ok, I couldn’t. Am I comatose again?

My god, so many things changed in 10 years I don’t know what the world will be in 2026. My god!

.
.
.
.
.
.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO” I got up yelling.

 

 

Featured image courtesy