I signed the papers. ‘Do the surgery, bring her back to me, please.’ The doctor shook my hand and left the room.

‘You might as well go home,’ I said to Rishi. ‘There is no point in neither of us being at work tomorrow.’

Rishi nodded. ‘I’ll tell Vihaan what happened,’ he said, giving me a hug and patting me on my back.

In the room alone, scenarios played over and over in my head. I would need to make sure everything was moved to the new apartment before Maa was discharged. I didn’t even know how long recovery for this kind of surgery took, but I knew that when she was discharged from the hospital, getting her up a flight of stairs would be impossible. I looked at the clock, two hours had passed since we had left home in the back of an ambulance. I opened the overnight bag Rishi had packed; he knew me so well already. I took out my laptop and switched it on to distract myself from watching the clock. The portfolio was almost done when a nurse popped in, asking me if I would like a cup of coffee.

I nodded and then asked, ‘How long do these kind of things take?’

‘It depends,’ she said. ‘If it is a complicated case with a large amount of damage, it can take hours.’

‘Do you know anything about how the surgery is going?’

‘No,’ she said, adding, ‘One of the doctors will come see you if there is any news.’

I looked at the clock; three-and-a-half hours. Clicking the multi-coloured circle on my screen, the internet browser opened up. I wanted to see what would be needed for Maa’s recovery. Articles popped up, and I took down details. The prognosis seemed good, and I allowed myself to relax a little. I closed my eyes, allowing sleep to take hold of me.

A knock on the door startled me awake. I sat up, disorientated. The doctor who had come by earlier walked into the waiting room, urging me to remain seated. He sat next to me, no files in his hand this time.

‘The damage to your mother’s heart was extensive,’ he began. ‘When we opened her chest up, it became apparent exactly how bad the initial heart attack was.’ What was he trying to tell me?

‘Her heart was beating when she went in for surgery …’

‘She had severe tachycardia, Ashray.’

‘What is that?’ I asked.

‘It’s when the heart starts beating again at a rate that is too fast.’ He paused for a moment. ‘A heart that has tachycardia after a massive cardiac event cannot be repaired.’

‘I don’t understand.’ I stood up, unable to control my reaction to what was happening.

‘We tried, really we did, but we couldn’t bring her back.’