Tags
cheat, death, doer, epiglottis, Haiku, suicide, ultimate power
He counted exactly 27 tablets, calculated the exact dose, estimated the exact minutes needed for the drug to swim into his bloodstream.
“I am the doer. I own my Life. I will design my death.”, he growled.
Death rolled its eyes in mirth and playfully tilted the trapdoor – the Epiglottis
Watched in glee as the 1st tablet intended for the foodpipe … slid down the windpipe.
“No, I decide.” Death asserted. 
Epiglottis: the membranous flap separating the esophagus (foodpipe) from trachea (windpipe). It is designed to close the windpipe entrance while swallowing. When it malfunctions, you can choke, you can aspirate food (or tablets) and/or die.
Quite an anatomical trapdoor, isn’t it?
Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde 
“I am the doer. I own my Life. I will design my death.” One doesn’t design his birth, nor can one design his death. Is that the message?
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There are subtexts here.
First being that ‘there’s many a slip between the cup & lip’
Also, that death can still escape you or strike you unexpectedly – no matter how meticulous your pre-laid plans
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You are correct. No one can design his own death. It will happen whenever it is time to happen.
Talking about death, I have a question. What do you think about death as a doctor? For ordinary citizens, when a death happens, their relatives and friends cannot leave it behind them. But, doctors will certainly leave the death behind them, even if they know the dead patient for many years. They cannot do that on the day they graduate from the medical school. It comes with years of experience. Me think. What do you think? May be you want to write a post about it.
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I think as docs, we too get shocked by the abruptness and brutality of death. It is so final!
But over years, we develop a conscious cocoon of detachment – b’cos too much attachment would leave us devastated day after day; and b’cos after a point, we know we’ve given our best and hope for the best.
Usually, a surgeon would prefer not to operate over his beloved family member. But medicinal treatment of family members is easier on the heart & very much possible.
But death of a family member – hmm, that’s tricky.
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If a patient dies on the operating table, and if the surgeon feels sorry or get upset, he will never be able to perform another operation. He/She should leave it behind and get ready for the next operation. This is similar to what they say in USA about driving a car. If the car gets in a big accident, it is encouraged for the driver to drive the car/any car for several hours on that day after the accident. Otherwise, fear will set in and he will never be able to drive a car in his life.
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Surgeons are a class apart- most of them feel second to God.
AS for on table deaths, most times its a pass the buck from surgeon to anesthetist and back. Guilt? I don’t know – maybe its shoved under the carpet in favor of bigger things like compensation, reputation …
Am I giving a pessimistic image of docs? Well, I don’t mean all of them, but COPRA ACT has definitely made most docs wary.
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Huh! A trapdoor indeed! For 27 tablets, well you really can’t decide everything can you.. The science, the calculation and the math are really such small entities in front of a one big reality..
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27 tablets was just incidental. I was trying to say that inspite of meticulous detailing, death can have its own sweet timing, quirky plans and malicious sense of humor.
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Anatomical trap door, meticulously crafted. One of the reasons that would have prompted the bard to comment ages ago, ‘what a piece of work is man…’
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Absolutely! Most perfectly crafted machine of all. Nature’s very own miracle. The human body and its intricate designs never fail to amaze me.
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A trap-door indeed! I very much liked the way you’ve built it (y) Destiny, the harder we try to refute its existence, the harsher it becomes….
Again, I REALLY liked this micro-fiction…. 🙂
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Thank you. One of my fav sayings, ‘Destiny often meets you on the road you took to avoid it.’
Of course, I still believe hugely in human effort, human choice and human responsibility , but after a certain point, there are mystical non-human factors at play.
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True, I believe in the same way. Effort and determination along with tenacity- of course, are needed, but after a certain point…. as you’ve said, some unknown factors play a big role.
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There are no births and deaths, just change of illusional forms…. my thoughts
Great post by the way… One of many Anatomical trapdoors….:-)
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Yes, Krishn’s great wise words.
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Your starting reminds me of Coelho’s ‘Veronica Decides to Die’ If you haven’t read, then please do. It’s damn goood 🙂
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Hey, Welcome back to my virtual world! I missed your analytical comments. I’ve read only ‘The Alchemist’ so far. Sure, I’ll add Veronica to my summer reading list.
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Its such a coincidence ! It reminded me of Veronica decides to die too !
You must must MUST read it, it is one of the finest works by Coelho, I personally liked it way better than the alchemist
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Really? 2 recommends in one day – Will surely add Coelho’s book to must-reads-this-summer. Thank you.
P.S – Any resemblance is purely unintentional
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No one decides Indeed.. And then its the Best Laid Plans that go awry ..isn’t it?
Certain things are beyond control ..we should accept respect and ….be Thankful for that. at least some complications are for Him/Her to manage… 😉
Gripping !
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Absolutes. We are in charge until we are allowed to be in charge.
Thank you for the comment, Kokila.
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Nice post!
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Thank you Pooja.
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