Turn over to the last page... it's time to read

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Posted by Trioenix - - 25 Scribbles on the last page

The night was getting darker. Neera finished her household work and headed towards her bedroom. She was a young lady in her late twenties, but she seemed like she was a middle aged lady, her hair turning grey, seeming very weak tired and as if her weak shoulders were unable to bear the load put on them. As soon as she entered her bedroom, someone pounced on her; she acted as scared but indeed she knew who it was. It was her own five-year-old son, Kabir. He hung around her shoulders (as if adding to the already unbearable load and said, "Mom it's story time." She looked at the clock- it was quarter to eleven; she was very fatigued with the whole day long work. She was reminded of the yet-to-complete next day's presentation for the office and her preparation for the client meeting. Though she was dead tired, she managed to smile, took her son in her arms and said, "Okay, so let's start."

She took him in her lap on the bed near the window, looked out, it was a full moon night. She started, "Tonight I'll tell you a story of how a brave prince saved a beautiful fairy who was trapped by a witch..." Before she could proceed, he said, "No mommy, I want to hear the story of the young boy, who lost his father when he was a mere child and how he grew up and fought against all the odds of his life, with the support and backing of his mother" This was his all time favorite story. He demanded for the same story almost every other night. This was a story that Neera herself narrated to him to make him aware of how brutal the world might be and how to fight for oneself. This story connected him to his past and showed him a way to follow in future.

Neera started- "There was once a young couple, who had a sweet and brave son. The couple loved their son more than their own lives. The child's father was in Army, he fought for the country. One night, the neighboring country attacked their nation. His father was on the border, he fought like a brave warrior defending his countrymen, to let them live in peace, even if it cost his life. Their nation won the battle, but the poor three year old kid lost his father. Now the child's responsibility was on his mother. His mother worked hard day and night in order to fulfill the each and every demand of his. She tried all possible ways that the son should not miss his father. She taught him, she loved him, she cared for him, she provided him with all the facilities that other parents would offer their children..."

She found that by this time, Kabir was fast asleep and nobody was actually hearing her story. She lay down next to Kabir; her eyes went out of the window to the dark blue sky. The full moon night made her sad. She remembered how she lost her husband, fighting bravely for his country, on a similar full moon night. Sunk in all these thoughts, she never realised when she fell asleep.

The alarm clock, next morning, woke her up. She got up, did preparations for the day, cooked food, sent Kabir to school, had her breakfast, went to the office... worked hard the whole day long... picked up Kabir from his school... helped him finish his homework... prepared dinner... had it with Kabir... finished the household work... back to the bedroom... same pounce... same demand by Kabir... she narrated the same old story to him... he slept... she slept... same alarm clock next morning... life moved on... day by day, year by year... a monotony. Only thing changing, was that Kabir was growing younger and Neera older... with the same burden on the shoulders, getting heavier with the increasing inflation and increasing demands of Kabir...

School days were over and Kabir was now a manager in a decent MNC, married to the finest girl he ever met- a young, beautiful, efficient, intelligent girl... a girl of every man's dream. The burden on Neera's shoulder had now vanished and she was now prepared to spend and enjoy the rest of her life in peace and happiness.

She desperately waited at the door of her house, her eyes eager to see Kabir and Tanya, her daughter-in-law, after five years. Kabir's company had sent him to Canada on a project for five years, just after his marriage. With the passage of every second, Neera was getting more and more impatient to see her three year old grand-son Ankur. She wondered how he would be looking, how he would react on seeing his grandmother for the first time... the wait was just unbearable for her. Just the next moment a taxi halted before her house and Kabir along with Tanya and Ankur stepped down...

Neera welcomed them with the traditional rituals. Her happiness knew no bounds when she saw all of them together after such a long wait, and was assured that all of them would be living together here on. They dined together that night and after the dinner when she reached her bedroom, she felt the similar pounce, the one she felt many years back... She saw Ankur demanding for a story... but his hanging around her shoulders was no more a burden for her, she enjoyed it... She smiled, took him in her arms and took him to the bed... Putting his head on her lap, she started narrating a fairy tale to him... She was happier than ever...

~Few months later~

Neera and Ankur were waiting for Kabir and Tanya at home... They had planned to watch a movie together that evening... Just when the phone rang,

"Hello?"

"Is it Mrs. Neera?"

"Yeah"

"Ma'am, I'm Dr. Mahesh from the City Hospital, can you please reach the hospital quickly? It's an emergency."

"Okay... But Dr. what’s the matter?"

"No time to explain things ma'am... Please reach the hospital as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll be there" and Neera hung up the phone.

She took Ankur along and headed towards the City Hospital... During all that time different thoughts- both good and bad, ran through her mind... She just wished that every thing was quite okay with her children... She reached the hospital and entered Dr. Mahesh's cabin. She was very worried, and before she could say anything, the Doctor asked her to have a seat. As she sat, he said, "Will you please hand over the child to the nurse?"

"No. I'm okay with that"

"Ma'am, though you are okay with that, we are not! What ever I'm going to tell you is not good for the child's tender heart... if you are not aware, let me tell you, what ever you speak in front of the kids, leaves an impact on their heart... so I request you to please give the child to the nurse"

Neera handed over Ankur to the nurse.

The doctor with an even more serious look on his face said, "I think you are the mother of Mr. Kabir"

Neera nodded in affirmation.

"Your son met an accident while driving on the highway... A truck struck his car at a very high speed. The truck driver didn't even wait to see the condition of the people inside. A nice man tried saving them. He immediately brought them to the hospital, but I am sorry to say that your son Mr. Kabir, died on the spot and the lady with him..." he paused and looked at Neera

"Yeah, she must be my daughter-in-law, Tanya!"

"... Yeah, she was alive when she reached the hospital and we tried our best to save her life, but we failed" he continued with grief in his voice.

Tears rolled down Neera's eyes. She felt as if her life had no purpose any more. She had no reason to live.

The doctor inquired, "That little boy you had with you?"

"Is their son" Neera murmered

"Poor thing! We are sorry for your loss, but we tried our best... I pray to the Almighty to provide you with the required strength to bear the irrecoverable loss!", he said in a helpless tone.

Neera stood up dispassionately and walked out of the cabin... her rolling tears dried as soon as she saw her grand son with the nurse innocently smiling at her, spreading his arms to hug her. She found the lost purpose of her life; her tears dried, she ran to him and hugged him.

"Grandma! What are we doing here? Mom and dad must be waiting for us at home, we must leave soon or they will get worried for us. And what did that uncle say to you while I was away?" Ankur fired random innocent questions at her.

And Neera just kept on looking at him helplessly.

"Grandma! Tell me, what did that uncle tell you? What were you people talking about?" Ankur asked again and again.

Neera sleepishly said, "He just said that mom and dad have gone to visit God's place, because God needed them, and they have left a message for you that while they are away, you should take care of your old and weak grandmother... okay?" her eyes were filled with tears again and she smiled feebly.

"Don't worry grandma, until mom and dad are not around, I'll take care of you" and he wiped Neera's tears.

Days passed by, Neera took Ankur's responsibility; he was growing with passage of time, but he still waited for his mom and dad to return from God's place and live with them. He pounced on his grandmother every night just like his Dad did when he was a child, and demanded for a story. The heavy load on Neera's shoulder resumed it's position but this time making her life even more miserable...

"Grandma I want to hear the story of the boy who lost his father at a very young age and his mother took his care... Dad told me that this was his favorite story when he was young... Please tell me that story..."

When Ankur demanded for that story, Neera's throat choked, because Ankur's life was worse than his father's. Ankur had lost, not only his father but also his mother, and that too at a much younger age. She somehow narrated the story to him until he was asleep.

One day it was time for Ankur to return from school, when she heard a screech of brakes before her house... she ran out of the house and discovered a school bus turning over and over again... her heart sank... she ran towards the bus and found Ankur's head hanging out from one of the window... he was hurt on the head. By the time people rescued the children, it was too late for Neera... God had even snatched away the last hope of her life... God took away Ankur from her. She had lost the battle of life; she was left with nothing.

The night was getting darker. Neera finished her household work and headed towards her bedroom. She was an old lady with all hair gray, lots of grief on the face. The wrinkles on her face seemed to question life that where did she go wrong, to live such a painful and motiveless life, her weak shoulders now even denied to bear their own burden. She was tired, tired of living. She entered the bedroom, but did not feel any pounce. It was quarter to eleven, it was story time, but there was no one to hear or even demand it. She looked at the medal of her martyr husband and a photo frame on the table next to her bed. She somehow smiled lacking emotion. The photograph had her son, Kabir, her daughter-in-law, Tanya and her grandson Ankur sitting in her own lap... That was the last memory she had with her, that was the family she was left with, that was all the priced possession she had, only on that basis she lived her life. She took the medal and the photo frame in her hands, sat near the window on the bed, placed those on her lap, moved her hands over them softly, with lots of love and care and said, "It's story time! Won't you demand for a story tonight? I'll tell you a story tonight, a story of a lady- all alone, who fought against all odds in her life very bravely... but still lost!"

***The end***

25 Responses so far.

  1. Gaya3 says:

    heyyy,great work man....you just took me into their world... ^ _ ^

    God....

    I couldn't feel it as a story....

    What a painful life neera has yaar....

    I just started considering a real lady....

    God...never ever i dream of such a life in existence for anyone in this whole world.

  2. As usual, beautiful flow of writing to perfectly present the character before the readers...
    This post rekindles hidden tales of life of another lady who braved through a similar tragedies in life. Life is truly more than living only !!
    Again, thanks for sharing another powerful piece !
    Regards,

  3. All along as i read the story, at every turn i expected things to turn into the "happily ever after" mode. Probably the title "story time" lured me into believing that this story like all other stories i heard at my story time as a kid, would end on a fairy tale note.
    But things are not so rosy in real life and the story made me realise that i am fortunate to have parents whose love and care has shielded me from such story times.
    Great work prajwala!

  4. Trioenix says:

    @ gaya3

    thanks for the comment... I wish the same as u do

    Saibal Barman

    thanks :)

    @Rohit

    thanks mate :) glad to know that some how this work made to realise the worth of parents, in ur life...
    yup, not every time life has a happy ending :(

  5. Unknown says:

    Great work Prajwala....you have a great skill to express fealings through stories.....really story take me in another world of emotions.

    Good luck

  6. Anonymous says:

    a really sad story !! i was almost choked myself :(

  7. Trioenix says:

    @ Vaibhav

    thanks :)
    keep visiting to read more

    @ Pretty Prats

    :(

    thanks for reading

  8. Tina says:

    I can't help but appriciate the quality in ur writing...very few ppl have the capability to take the readers in to thier world of art and thru ur story i saw neera's world

    Beautifully wriiten n narrated

    Love
    Tee

  9. L. Young says:

    what a tragedy!

    a stroy time without listener

  10. Anonymous says:

    The story is an honest description of Neera's miserable life. I liked the flow of story. A few suggestions from my end:
    I guess that in para2-line1 you wanted to say "her lap" instead of "his lap".
    In the para where Ankur demands for story, word "tonight" will make it more emphatic.

  11. Trioenix says:

    @ Tina

    thanks
    keep visiting

    @ Sopher Young

    yeah! a tragedy that is :(
    keep visiting

    @ Siddharth

    thanks... corrections made
    keep visiting

  12. Anonymous says:

    beaufitul
    Loved the flow!
    Smooth as Vodka

  13. Anonymous says:

    god....that was such a wonderful story. just so damn sad....y did u make it so sad for her? anyway, i was hooked from start to finish...great writing! im putting u on my blogroll :-)

    btw, about u not understanding the end....there's a legen in the old town that an old man sits by the bridge and offers tea to a stranger . after drinking the tea, the stranger dies exactly after a week. so when Raman overhears the lodge owner and the guy in th red cap talking, he realizes that he was th guy who hd had tea with the old man the earlier night and would be dying in a week.

  14. Trioenix says:

    @Lepture

    am honoured! :)
    keep visiting

    @Sorcerer

    thanks... keep visiting

    @harshad
    thanks for commenting and putting me on the blog role... and am honoured again! :)

    I wanted the readers to realise, what a comfortable life we live and still keep om complaining that life is rude with us!

    and yeah thanks for telling me the end of ur story, I liked it too :)
    keep visiting

  15. Eraj says:

    i have no words....it ws simply amazing....
    sad indeed!!

    full of emotions..moved me to tears

    keep writing!!

  16. you have a distinctive voice as a writer.
    but the story is a little too tragic don't you think? i liked the way you ended it....but the fact that everything goes wrong with neera, is a little contrived.

  17. curve says:

    flow had a continuity of the tragedy that lasted till end.you are right.we keep complaining of our shortcomings and woes everytime.we should learn atleast after reading this story to be thankful to GOD for his heapfuls of blessings he showered on us.
    good story.keep going,,,,,,,,

  18. spv says:

    the emotional aspects of being a grandmother who raises a kid all by herself was expressed well.
    in fact, i was almost moved to tears.
    but so many accidents/deaths seem beyond reality.
    nevertheless, the climax makes up for it.. :)
    keep writing.

    cheers
    Vijay.

  19. Life has purpose, however sad it may seem. Tests are for everyone, for some its harder, for some lighter... but tests are talior made so that the person purpose is achieved. Its never sad... life... its full of purpose.

  20. Presented in the best way possible. The solidarity shown by the woman is awesome. Also, the events happen at a frenetic pace that it makes the story lively to read. nice work. Good new year delight.. :)

  21. Unknown says:

    the story is good..a good flow indeed..but y do u write such saddy stories yaar..?? :(

  22. Trioenix says:

    @E!$|-|@L

    thanks...
    keep visiting

    @Nidhi

    yeah it was indeed to tragic but then as I said earlier "not every thing in life has a happy ending"

    some times we have to digest the "sad" part as well :(

    @ Curve

    thanks for agreeing :) keep visiting

  23. Trioenix says:

    @Vijay

    thanks, keep visiting :)

    @CruiserDeep
    I agree and then I think that even if life tastes hard (bitter to be precise) it will be better if we still live it with a smile 'cause a smile make it simpler. don't u think so?

    @Gopala Krishnan

    thanks :) keep visiting for more

  24. Trioenix says:

    @ Rashi

    thanks for reading dear... ok next time I'll TRY not to be sad :)