The Bottom Cap : Part 1
There was a lot of noise at school — shouts and cries that forced people to run toward the building. I too ran quickly to see what had happened. When I arrived, a crowd had gathered and I couldn’t make out the situation. As I stood there, my eyes fell on Imran — he was a teacher at that school. Imran called out; when he turned toward me his face looked terrified. I ran up to him. “What happened, brother…? Are—Da…nish…Danish…” Words were not coming out of his mouth properly. I tried to encourage him, “Don’t be afraid…what’s the matter?” He managed to say, “Danish…a fifth-grade boy…a pen’s bottom cap went into his throat…how—” Suddenly I felt a jolt. The child had been playing with a pen; the pen was in his mouth and, all of a sudden, the bottom cap lodged in his throat and he lost consciousness. “Oh my God,” I said, looking at Imran, “Take the child to the hospital quickly.” “Ha…ha…” Imran replied, trembling with panic, and hurried away. I moved closer to the unconscious c...