(This is the last part of a fictional short story - In you we trust. You can find the first part here.)


Aparna got a transplant a couple of months after that call. The transplant was a success. She would not need dialysis any more. Her brother was a good match. Her brother and family had come down to Bangalore and took very good care of her. Her sister-in-law was very loving and she took care of Aparna like her own sister. In moments of weakness, she would tell Aparna that they would feel so guilty every time they talked to her over phone from the US. But their situation was so horrible that they had no choice. Luckily for them, there was a change in rules around that time and they could come back to India without losing the opportunity to go back when they wanted.


The family was now perfect. They had beautiful moments together. Within a year, Aparna, her brother and his family moved to the US. Aparna took up a job which wasn't too stressful. It kept her busy. She liked what she did. Her health kept good too.


Epilogue


About a year after they moved to the US, Aparna got an email from Dr. Jha. It read:


Dear Aparna,


Hope things are going well for you. I trust that you are taking good care of your health. I am sure your blood test values are well under control.


Aparna, I wanted to update you about an unfortunate incident that happened at Charaka recently. You remember the technician Prakash. Poor guy, he unfortunately had an accidental prick with a Hepatitis C positive patient's needle. This was about seven months back. He was a nervous wreck all these months. He would get himself tested every month. A couple of days back, his report came out positive.


Prakash was shocked. We had to relieve him of his duties immediately as Charaka does not allow positive employees to work. Luckily we have a couple of other technicians we hired a few months back who are also good.


Prakash has gone back to his village. Before going, he came to me one last time and said remorsefully,  "I guess my karma caught up with me Doctor. I still remember what I did to Aparna. I was so immature and foolish. More than foolish, I think I was plain evil. What I did was so wrong. I will never forgive myself for doing that. And what has happened to me serves me right. What else could I expect after what I did?"


I am writing this email to you to advise you not to harbor any rancor towards Prakash, Aparna. He has been punished enough for his misdeed.


Take care.


Sincerely,
Suketu Jha


A tear rolled down her cheek. She immediately wiped it off. Her brother caught her before that however. "What happened?", he asked. She showed the email to him.

"Serves the bastard right!" he exclaimed.

"No, don't say that." Aparna replied. "No one should get infected like that. No one. Not even Prakash!"