Something unusual happened today. I divulged the dark truth of my family’s most chosen hospital. I always had suspicions about my family doctor but I never spoke due to my family’s reliability on him. I knew they could never doubt his work. But I was sure that he had a motive behind being the most favorite of all the doctors. He had a purpose being at our house for hours. I remember an incident which happened 2 years ago.
While walking down the stairs, I heard some strange noises coming from my room, I eavesdropped from outside. I comprehended the noise and realized it was my cat, Savannah. I opened the door and found the doctor forcefully doing something with my cat. I shouted “DOCTOR, what are you doing to my cat?” expecting to have an answer as quickly as possible. “I was just…..just…grooming your cat”, he replied. “Grooming? It doesn’t seem like!” I questioned. “Oh no…. I forgot, I have some patients waiting for me. I think I have to go. Talk to you later. Bye.” He hastened himself out of the room. I tried stopping him but he ignored everything I said. I rushed towards my cat and found her in pain. I called my dad immediately and told him the whole story. He replied, “If Dr Smith said he was grooming her then why are you doubting him?” I knew already he won’t believe me.
After few hours of deliberately thinking what his purpose was, I was tired and never thought of it again. After few days, my cat died. Nobody knew the reason of her death. However, Dr Smith kept asking my dad to give her dead body to him. My dad, with all the trust, gave him her body. I was against it all the time. I knew he had done something to my cat when I found him with her the other day. But I also knew that nobody was going to believe me.
Things became normal and no such incident marked our days until two years. After two years, we got a news that our grandma had to be admitted in the hospital under Dr. Smith’s care. We rushed to the hospital and found she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. She had to be admitted there for a week. Despite being my childhood best friend, I didn’t talk to her much. Now, that I had gotten a chance to share all my memories with her, I decided to stay with her for a night. We chatted for an hour or so, and I came up with an idea to tell her what Dr. Smith had done to our family cat. She keenly listened to all of what I’d said and replied “You know what, Kenna, when he first entered our house, before becoming our family doctor, the first question that he asked was, “Do you have any pets?” “No”, we replied. “Then you must buy one because I believe that domesticating an animal is a future act of protecting its species”, he claimed. His influence brought Savannah into our house.” “Grandma, then maybe he is the reason why Savannah died. I don’t think he loves animals or he wants to protect their species; he is, what is now called, a slaughterer”, I said. “But we still cannot be too sure. Before complaining, we need some proof. As of now, we should give up this idea and sleep. Good night, dear.”
She ended the conversation and slept. But I couldn’t stop thinking of it the whole night. It was 1 a.m. at the time when I heard someone whispering just outside the door. I intruded a bit and moved closer to the gate. “We should hurry up. If someone sees us we would lose our reputation”, a manly voice spoke from the other side. OH NOOO! It was Dr. Smith and something was wrong. I rushed towards my grandma and woke her up. “Listen more, Kenna. Maybe we are close to our conclusion. Just listen to them keenly”, grandma whispered. “As you say, Grandma”, I replied. I again moved towards the gate; they were still talking. “I have injected poison in the snake and he will die in a few weeks. I order you to bring its dead body to, 123 Main Street, Downtown”, the doctor whispered. My heart collapsed a beat as if I’d found a treasure. I ran towards my grandma and told her everything I listened to. She said “Now that we have evidences, I can now convince your dad to checkout the area along with the cops”, she replied.
The next day, my dad and the cops investigated the area and caught Dr Smith with his subordinates who were illegally killing animals for their expensive fur and skin.
My grandma and I were appreciated for our courageous work.
RISHIKA JAIN