Red Road

A few of us traveled about two hours on a red road lined with coconut trees to a hospital affiliated with Care Health Center. The first case we encountered brought me a strange relief. The woman was lying on a table, very sickly, but would live. An hour before she had drunk insecticide in attempt to end her life. She had just arrived at the hospital. The sister of the patient held her sister's hand and cried. The relief: that was the first time I had ever seen tears at an Indian hospital. It can be frightening when you see people stroll around what can look like refugee camps as if everything were just normal. Her tears gave some sort of hope.