Debasish Sinha's one English short story

 Delivery 

           The ball bounced over the boundary into the glass window of a dilapidated  hospital quarter under a robust, sprawling banyan tree beside a busy lane that leads up to the NH 34,as I hit a sixer. A small group of crowd, consisting mostly of urchins, that sat contiguous to the boundary line zapped gleefully in the direction of the ball.To fetch the ball. My eyes followed them. As I cast a quick glance over there, I saw something queer : in stead of running after the ball, those small children swerved away and stood pressed to a swelling crowd of people under the banyan tree. People in the crowd looked anxiously at each other's face, talking amongst themselves in a low voice. Inquisitive passers-by, passing by the way, all made for the crowd. What's up there ____ I pondered as I put away the bat. I hurried my way there like a shot, my eyes fixed on the burgeoning crush.

                I pushed my way through the crowd  ____ and to my utter consternation, saw a woman aged somewhere between 25 and 30, lying on her back on the sordid lane,wailing and writhing in agony, her stomach swollen inordinately as if it were about to burst open. A middle aged woman sat beside her, frantically trying to comfort and console her, frequently mopping the beads of sweat from her forehead, while looking around, completely dazzled. Perhaps, she would be her mother ___ I surmised.

            On enquiring into the present fiasco, I got to know that the wailing woman was being walked to the hospital for delivery as there was no vehicle in sight. But, the woman's labour pain set in before they made it to the hospital.Finding no other option, her mother gave up midway!

           While all the curious faces in the crowd were gazing at one another's face, I waved desperately at one of friends on the play ground to fetch a stretcher from the emergency room of the hospital, which was a few yards away from the site. My friend and I got the stretcher and set it down on the dusty lane ; placing the woman quickly on it, we scrambled across the play ground into the delivery unit.

           We waited with bated breath as the doctor went inside the delivery room. Hardly a couple of minutes fled by when a nurse came enthusiastically and broke the news ____ " she gave birth to a lusty, baby boy!"

          At this,I felt embarrassed, not because I have anything to do with the woman, but because I was too young to poke my nose into the growns'-up world.

           I got back on the playground and resumed playing. Within minutes, a man aged 30 ____ perhaps the husband of the woman ____ came over to me, as I was on the crease, waiting for my ball and said with eyes full of gratitude ___ " Brother, my wife has wanted to see you in the hospital. "

At this, I felt again embarrassed.Ashamed!! Displaced!! I can't go and meet a woman who has delivered a baby a few minutes back ____ I was literally scared.

         The man left after a while as I pretended to play. While my, friend, Deepak chuckled at the situation I was in, I averted his gaze and began to wait for the next delivery.