It is entirely possible that the Brahmin doctor in the ICU, having lost her patient, is out to kill you, take your life for his. Hallucinations clamour inside the head, the heady mix of final chemicals flooding the brain is enough to render you delusional. You are unable to rationalise your exit, the nurses are discussing your options, now the ward team are voting on life or death. You figure at least three of these bastards want you dead. You hear them conspiring in the ward, you are too weak to move. One nurse pleads on your behalf, this man is too young to die, he is from a poor family, his parents can't afford to bury him. The Brahmin doctor is preparing to administer a lethal injection to stop the heart. You feel utterly alone. Now there is nothing left but to force the brain to stay awake till daylight comes, watch the vultures close up, as if in a dream. The peewits are in full voice outside the ICU —

they're calling on you
to pass, as if to steal
your soul for themselves.