"Mr. Flake, how are you feeling now?" the nurse, Shilla, asked as she checked on Flake after he came out of his coma.
Flake, still unable to comprehend what had happened to him, asked the nurse, "Madam, what happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?"
The nurse replied in a polite tone, "Sir, the mountain rangers found your frozen body near Mount Kailash. You were suffering from severe hypothermia and were immediately admitted to the hospital. You were very lucky to have been brought in so quickly—otherwise it would have been too late, and you might have lost your life."
"What? Mount Kailash? Why would I go there? But I was…" He stopped talking mid-way and thought, "How could it be possible? I certainly didn't feel any cold or heat, and there are no mountains there. Was that all a dream? No—that can't be a dream. It all felt too real. He suddenly realized something and asked the nurse, "How long have I been in a coma-like state?"
"It's only been a day, sir, in fact..." As she was about to tell him more, a man of about twenty-five, accompanied by a young woman carrying a ten-year-old child, followed by a teenage girl of fifteen and an old woman, entered the room. Seeing Mr. Flake's family, the nurse stepped out to give them privacy.
Before he could register those words from the nurse's mouth, an old lady hugged him while tears rolled down her cheeks. After zoning out in his thoughts for some time, Flake snapped back to his senses—fortunately, he didn't forget her.
Now that Flake was fully present, he realized his memories of leaving the house for some "important project" were gone. Apart from that gap, all earlier memories were intact; whenever he tried to recall what happened after that, he got a very strong migraine. Therefore, he stopped trying to remember those moments.
He then slowly caressed his wife's head and looked at his family. His son, seeing his father's gaze, asked in a worried tone, "Father, what has happened to you? Weren't you on some government expedition? Isn't the security of the clients the top priority of those expeditions? Did the Indian government shirk its duties professionally? Should I sue them, Father?"
One question after another spewed from his son's mouth in just a few seconds. Flake gave him a weak smile and said, "No, son, it's not their fault. I don't remember what happened, but I can guarantee they were not involved."
Flake lied about the government expedition; he only remembered signing a shady deal, but what kind of deal he didn't recall. Seeing stress lines appear on Flake's forehead, his daughter-in-law gave her husband a slight shoulder nudge and said, "We can discuss these things later. First, let's go home, Father-in-law. All the other things can wait. Honey, please complete the discharge papers and other formalities."
Time passed, and Flake and his family arrived at the house they had rented in Uttarakhand. He told them this house was their temporary spot, sponsored by the government, since he had supposedly gone on that expedition.
"I'll go and open the door. Kids, follow me and help me arrange Grandpa's room," his daughter-in-law said as she and the children got out of the car.
After that, Flake entered the house with the help of his son and wife. As he was being led to his room, he encountered a snake terrarium. Keeping snakes was one of his son's habits—his son was an ophiologist. Suddenly, Flake's eyes met those of the mangrove pit viper inside the terrarium.
Flake could see those same pillars reflected in the eyes of the viper. His entire body tensed, sweat formed on his brow, and his breathing increased rapidly. The mangrove pit viper, making eye contact with Flake, suddenly slammed its head against the terrarium glass, as if trying to break free and launch itself at him. Small cracks started to appear in the glass, as if it would shatter with a few more hits.
But before it could happen, a voice rang in Flake's ear: "Father... FATHER!" Suddenly, Flake's attention was drawn away by his son's voice. He looked toward his son, who gazed at him with concern. "Are you all right, Father?"
Flake then looked at his family members, who were watching him with worried eyes. He turned back to the terrarium and found the viper sleeping peacefully with no motion and no cracks in the glass.
Flake calmed down and said in a weak tone, "It's nothing—just tiredness. Can you please take me to bed? I want to rest."
His family, seeing his condition, became even more concerned, but they did as he asked. After Flake lay down, he looked at his daughter-in-law and said, "Can I get some hot soup? I'm feeling hungry."
"Of course, Father," she replied, rising to go to the kitchen. "I'll go help prepare dinner, too," his wife added as she followed her daughter-in-law, leaving Flake alone with his son and the two small kids.
Seeing his son's uneasy face, Flake knew what questions he wanted to ask. Frankly, Flake wanted answers, too—but he was really tired and needed time to process everything that had happened. So, he looked at his son and said, "Son, can we talk later? I know you have many questions—and frankly, I do too—but all of this is too much to take in at once. Please give me time to think and gather my thoughts."
Seeing his father plead, his son took the two kids and left the room, saying, "Rest well, Father."