The Story of Rasping Coughs of a Chemically Injured Patient

Her hands were shaking. She sat down on the furniture in front of her husband. The old man was talking with someone on the phone. He was so angry.

He put down the receiver so harshly. He picked up his stick. He walked inside the room for several minutes.

He is not here, he is not here, he said!!!

That is not clear where the damn dealer is; I hope him to die. He was supposed to let us know the news until night!

The long rasping coughs could be heard even from the street. The sound was heard from the house of the neighbor. The old woman put her hands on her both ears. She was not able to tolerate this situation anymore. She had a bad health condition once again. She ran towards the bathroom. When she returned, still her face color had turned pale.

She threw up the magazine which was in her hand. She stood up and as she was going to the kitchen said: "Don’t be worried Nosrat Khan! You have blood pressure, your heart is sick…”

Nosrat Khan looked at his wife so angrily. He hit his stick to the ground: "We could wait for tonight as well, you could await more, would the world be damaged if you had done this?!”

We did not sleep on Tuesday, we could wait this night too, and the world would not go to the end!!

If they come here tomorrow and catch us and arrest us, what do you want to do? Who want to stop them, you or me…?

The sound of rasping coughs could be heard. The chemically injured patient wanted to vomit. The old man leaned on the bench and he pressed his head between his hands.

The wife from kitchen loudly said: "What are you groaning Nosrat Khan? The sounds of his coughs are the same as a hammer hitting my head. His vomiting has made me sick. What is our fault that we have become the neighbors of a sick man? We are humans. We have not eaten and slept well for three nights. Now you can take your medicines.

The old man poured all the pills inside his mouth and he drank a glass of water quickly. Who is sick Mrs.?

This young man is a man who has been hired by the government. He has become sick in the war "He has been exposed to chemical weapons”. If he reports this issue, we will be captured by several persons in the morning.

The wife moved towards the window and she watched outside of the room from behind of the hanging curtain. It was snowing so roughly. The snow could be seen that sometimes was intensive and sometimes ordinary from the light of the yard.

The sound of an owl could be heard from the pine trees. The load sound of coughing was still being heard. The shade of someone who was moving in front of the window could be seen continuously. The woman yelled "haven’t you become tired of cough, is your head made of iron? Or you have put cotton inside your ears?”

The snow had made everything white and covered everywhere. The flowers had been covered with snows too. Nosrat Khan hit his stick to the ground and said: "Aghdas, you made many troubles for me!”

A boy offered him a bunch of flowers and he said slowly: "Mr. this bunch of flower has been rewarded to you by my father. He pointed to the ambulance that was near the street.”

My father is in the ambulance! He is going to hospital. He told me to inform you that he apologizes due to the annoying that he has caused during the past nights. He has promised that he won’t return home until he has not been fully fine!?

During the final days of my lifetime I have to be imprisoned, the old man said, you wanted this?

If you had tolerated this situation for tonight too, we could sell our house. Everything would be finished so well. We could move to a place where the neighbors were high-class persons and those who respect each other; to consider each others rights, not like here.

Aghdas said: "It was out of my control, during the past nights I have had bad headaches due to the rasping coughs of this chemically injured patient. I had to do it Nosrat Khan; I had to do it Nosrat Khan. Do you understand?! Nosrat Khan moved his head angrily and he said: "I had too…” Tomorrow when I go to prisons, I will understand it. When you left, the governmental officials came to the house of this young man for several times. They came here to visit this disable man. You think that they came here only to greet him and to know his health condition? No, Mrs. No Mrs. For sure he must have complained against us!!!

The old man pronounced the word ‘Complained’ so loudly.

Aghdas sat down in front of her husband. Her lips were shaking. What are you saying man? What was wrong with my sentences man? Did I abuse? No! Did I express something bad? No! I only said that we can sleep well or eat well. I only said this issue due to the coughs of that chemically injured patient. So can they complain against this issue?!

His wife said nothing. Her face turned red and she apologized and she said: "We are really sorry, my husband missed his children after a year and he decided to come here and to stay in our house for a few nights. Because he wanted to stay with us during the New Year celebration time; so please forgive him. He will return to the hospital after a few days.”

Aghdas finished her words with some funny behavior. Nosrat Khan put his chin on the stick and he slowly and regretfully said: "After a few days, after a few days, Dear God! So how many more nights should we tolerate this situation?

This damn dealer did not come here. This crazy man was supposed to clear our situation until night. That is not clear what the hell he has gone to.

Aghdas put her hands on the ground and attempted to stand up. She said: "it seems that this Mr. is human. Our children are in foreign countries, so we must pretend this issue and go there to visit them everyday and repeat this sentence that we have missed them? Now, Nosrat Khan you can go to your bed. Last night you slept only for five hours.”

Nosrat Khan leaned his stick to the furniture and he lied down on the furniture as well. The chandelier that was hanged on the ceiling absorbed his attention. He slowly seeming he was talking with himself said: "I told you my wife for several times that we must sell our house and leave this damn place. We could stay with one of our children and to live with them too. But you said that you can not stay in the foreign countries. You said that all the relatives and friends are here. I know that they are here, but they do nothing for you. Only when they want to be your guests, they come here with strange complexions. This is what I’m telling you.”

Aghdas from Kitchen said loudly: "Here is our homeland too. Our ancestors and grandfathers have been born in this soil and they have been buried here too.”

Oh, yes, you said the truth, you think?

Right now that the soil of this country is wanted by many states and everyone is dreaming something for this land. We have been deprived from eating well and sleeping well in this land that is a heritage of our grandfathers. I hope that tomorrow nothing bad will happen for us. The door started to ring. The old man thought he was dreaming. The door rang for twice and trice, he was awakened. He sat in his bed. He rubbed his eyes by the backside of his hands. The door was still ringing. He removed the blanket. He came down from the bed so quickly. He tied up his slack suit and he picked up his stick. He took out the woolen overcoat and when he was going, he put it on his shoulders. He also put his woolen hat on his head. He whispered, these disturbers, they have disturbed me in the early morning!

Aghadas had also awakened and she was rubbing her eyes. She looked at the clock. It was 8:10 AM.

When he opened the gate, he felt the coldness. The light of a vehicle was illustrating red color on the walls of neighboring buildings. The old man felt the coldness completely. His body was trembling. He said: "Aghdas come here and watch what you have cooked for me. Didn’t I say that this disable man will complain? See how you have sent your husband in the dangers and troubles!”

Aghdas ran toward the gateway. She also felt the coldness under her sleep dress. She pressed her hands.

What are you saying this early morning you old man? She said.

She came to the gate of the yard and she looked at the buildings. The rotating lights were shining. The old woman started to shake.

Oh my God, I have done nothing. What humans they are! What a sin I did.

When Nosrat Khan was moving towards the door said loudly:

"These words are useless, you damaged my head, it is good for you, and I think you are a talkative old woman.”

The old woman says: "Let me go there and say that I have done that wrong work. So whatever they want to do, they should do for me not for you.”

The old man says: "That is not necessary; eventually you did what you wanted.”

The story of rasping cough sounds of a chemically injured patient:

The old man moved towards the main door slowly. Some birds were moving inside the branches of the trees. The sound of the birds could be heard in all around the house. The old man did not pay attention to this issue. They rang once again. He loudly said: "Ok, please wait, why are you rushing?”

He used his key and he opened the lock of the door. He whispered something like a prayer and then opened the door.

An 8 to 9-year old teenager came to the old man with a bunch of flower as he was shaking in the snows. He stared at the teenager for a moment.

With each breath, the teenager would make a little cloud of fogs in front of his mouth. The old man had been so surprised and he said: "ok what’s up? "

The boy offered the bunch of flower and he said: "My father is in the ambulance! He is going to hospital. He told me to inform you that he apologizes due to the annoying that he has caused during the past nights. He has promised that he won’t return home until he has not been fully fine!?”

The boy was crying in tears. Nosrat Khan looked at the ambulance. The rotating lights were moving over the ambulance. The face of someone who had a mosque on his face was appeared from the window of the ambulance. He was moving his hands for Nosrat Khan.

Nosrat Khan was looking at him so surprisingly. He also raised his hand and started waving to respond his greeting.

The ambulance started to move slowly and gradually it disappeared in the street.

When Nosrat Khan waited and thought about the issue deeply, the boy had left too.

Aghdas from the home loudly said: "Nosrat Khan Telephone is ringing. They have ranged from the trading firm; I think they have provided a customer to sell our house.”

Nosrat Khan pressed the bunch of flower on his chest. He also wiped out the tears that had covered his face with his fingers.

He also loudly said: "Say that dealer, we don’t sell our house. So they should not send anyone here to buy our house.”

Source: The Website of Tebyan, Stability Culture Section

Writer: The chemically Injured Patient Hasan Golchin