17/07/2025
He was 103.Lived through more than a centuryā¦ and somehow still had the heart of a child.Soft. Gentle. Tired.For three years, I kept going to his house to help him recover every time he declined.Within 10ā15 days, Iād have him walking again, doing little things himself.But the people around himā¦ they werenāt really taking care of him.So the same thing kept happening.Heād recover, then slowly fade again.And Iād return. Again. And again. And again.Then came our last meetingā¦ though I didnāt know it at the time.It was just a few days before Ramadan.I showed up, ready for another session.And he smiled ā weakly ā and said,āNo exercise today, Doctor sahabā¦ just sit with me. Talk to me.āSomething in the way he said itā¦The way he looked at meā¦I could feel how alone he was.Likeā¦ really alone.He had given all his property to his wife āShe had Alzheimerās and was paralyzed for years.After she passed away, his daughters and their husbands didnāt even wait.They started pressuring him about the rest of what was left.He was grieving a woman he loved.They were focused on what they could gain.That day, as we sat drinking tea, a butcher showed up.He turned to me and said,āBeta, bring a goat in the morning and do sadaqahā¦Someone threw a goatās head into our courtyard ā probably black magic.āIt hit meā¦ how much fear he carried.Even at that age.Even after living a full life.And stillā¦ no one to sit with.No one to listen.Usually, I donāt spend more than an hour with my patients.But with him, Iād end up staying 3ā4 hours without realizing.Because he had no one else.A few days into Ramadanā¦His driver came to get one of his relatives checked.And just before leaving, he casually mentioned:āDoc sahabā¦ Shah G passed away. In his sleep.āThat momentā¦I just sat there, silent.Didnāt even know what to say.Nowā¦Thereās just this strange silence.Some memories.And a little bit of guilt āThat I wish I couldāve done more for someone who quietly treated me like his own.
