Years had gone by since they first met. If I remember correctly, they met in College. Or High School. Either way, in the bigger picture, it only adds to how much they loved each other. Years had gone by and they were going to get married to each other.
He was on his way to College, one day; the last days of his College life. Him and his friend were riding a bike. From what I remember, he loved those bike rides with his friend. I don't know what happened, exactly. I don't know if his friend was riding the bike at rash speeds. Or if he was. Or if neither of them were. I don't know how the weather was. I don't know where exactly they were. All I know is that a truck hit them. He took a serious blow to his head. I don't know what happened to his friend. He didn't survive the accident.
Three grief-stricken hearts stood next to his photo, at home- The mother, the father and her. Tears left their eyes, one after another. There was silence in the house. Everyone who had come to offer condolences were silent, too. He was loved and cherished by all. Nobody had any words to offer. People came and people left. Nobody left anything but their tears. Hours later, a kid walked in with his mother.
If I remember correctly, my English teacher from 9th grade once told us that kids don't really understand the gravity of the situation. They are always lost in themselves and reality doesn't quite bother them as it bothers grown-ups. It is true. I think it makes them lanterns of joy.
The kid walked into his aunt's house. He didn't know why he was there. He didn't know why there were so many people there. He barely knew the person in the photograph. His mother instructed him to behave properly. He had to. But, it was getting late. His patience was wearing thin. He wasn't able to watch his favourite cartoons, all day. He wasn't allowed to play with the toys he usually played with at his aunt's place. He couldn't talk to the aunt or the uncle. He didn't know her, the third Woman sitting there. But, he was sure he couldn't talk to her, either. Or was it so?
She went to the kitchen to make something for all the "guests." He stood by the door and peeped into the kitchen, curiously. He stared at her and what she was doing. A spoon of this from one dabba and two of that from another. His gaze shifted onto her, entirely. "Who is this?" As he kept asking himself that question, she turned towards the door and saw an innocent, curious face staring at her. In the few hours that he had been there, that was the first time he had seen someone smile. She was still crying. But, she smiled and knelt down. "Hello," she said. He replied with a childish, "hello!" She asked him his name. He replied. He asked her what her name was. She replied. She asked him who he was. He gestured towards his mother. But, before she could tell him who she was, she went to answer a call. Their brief meeting ended. The kid, who didn't understand things entirely, went back and sat next to his mother. He thought he saw a friend in her. "The only fun person, here."
Towards the end of the day, as the people in the room lessened in number, he started insisting that they left, too. The mother, obviously, wouldn't do that. It was a time for her to think about somebody else and not the kid. She noticed this. And so, the fun person walked to the kid and asked him if he wanted to play. Why would he refuse? They went to the terrace and thought about what they could play in an open area filled with incomplete pillars poking out of the ground. He decided to play Hide and Seek.
She turned towards the wall and waited for him to hide. And so he did. She looked everywhere for him before she walked to the pillar she already knew he was hiding behind. He let out a hearty giggle. Probably the first giggle that house heard in some time. This time, he counted and she went to hide. She willingly let her leg slip out into the open so that he could find her. And so he did. More giggles and more laughter. It was a silent house no more. She laughed. He laughed. I really don't know how the aunt, uncle, mother or father felt about the kid laughing that way.
As the sun set and the mosquitoes came out, the kid and her went back into the house. He no longer saw a friend in her. He made friends with her. The kid and the woman were friends! So, he decided to do something for her. Standing before the Aunt, Uncle and his parents, he told her, "I will sing you a song." She smiled and asked him to sing. It was a song he had only started learning at Kindergarten. He turned to his left to look at her and started:
He was on his way to College, one day; the last days of his College life. Him and his friend were riding a bike. From what I remember, he loved those bike rides with his friend. I don't know what happened, exactly. I don't know if his friend was riding the bike at rash speeds. Or if he was. Or if neither of them were. I don't know how the weather was. I don't know where exactly they were. All I know is that a truck hit them. He took a serious blow to his head. I don't know what happened to his friend. He didn't survive the accident.
Three grief-stricken hearts stood next to his photo, at home- The mother, the father and her. Tears left their eyes, one after another. There was silence in the house. Everyone who had come to offer condolences were silent, too. He was loved and cherished by all. Nobody had any words to offer. People came and people left. Nobody left anything but their tears. Hours later, a kid walked in with his mother.
If I remember correctly, my English teacher from 9th grade once told us that kids don't really understand the gravity of the situation. They are always lost in themselves and reality doesn't quite bother them as it bothers grown-ups. It is true. I think it makes them lanterns of joy.
The kid walked into his aunt's house. He didn't know why he was there. He didn't know why there were so many people there. He barely knew the person in the photograph. His mother instructed him to behave properly. He had to. But, it was getting late. His patience was wearing thin. He wasn't able to watch his favourite cartoons, all day. He wasn't allowed to play with the toys he usually played with at his aunt's place. He couldn't talk to the aunt or the uncle. He didn't know her, the third Woman sitting there. But, he was sure he couldn't talk to her, either. Or was it so?
She went to the kitchen to make something for all the "guests." He stood by the door and peeped into the kitchen, curiously. He stared at her and what she was doing. A spoon of this from one dabba and two of that from another. His gaze shifted onto her, entirely. "Who is this?" As he kept asking himself that question, she turned towards the door and saw an innocent, curious face staring at her. In the few hours that he had been there, that was the first time he had seen someone smile. She was still crying. But, she smiled and knelt down. "Hello," she said. He replied with a childish, "hello!" She asked him his name. He replied. He asked her what her name was. She replied. She asked him who he was. He gestured towards his mother. But, before she could tell him who she was, she went to answer a call. Their brief meeting ended. The kid, who didn't understand things entirely, went back and sat next to his mother. He thought he saw a friend in her. "The only fun person, here."
Towards the end of the day, as the people in the room lessened in number, he started insisting that they left, too. The mother, obviously, wouldn't do that. It was a time for her to think about somebody else and not the kid. She noticed this. And so, the fun person walked to the kid and asked him if he wanted to play. Why would he refuse? They went to the terrace and thought about what they could play in an open area filled with incomplete pillars poking out of the ground. He decided to play Hide and Seek.
She turned towards the wall and waited for him to hide. And so he did. She looked everywhere for him before she walked to the pillar she already knew he was hiding behind. He let out a hearty giggle. Probably the first giggle that house heard in some time. This time, he counted and she went to hide. She willingly let her leg slip out into the open so that he could find her. And so he did. More giggles and more laughter. It was a silent house no more. She laughed. He laughed. I really don't know how the aunt, uncle, mother or father felt about the kid laughing that way.
As the sun set and the mosquitoes came out, the kid and her went back into the house. He no longer saw a friend in her. He made friends with her. The kid and the woman were friends! So, he decided to do something for her. Standing before the Aunt, Uncle and his parents, he told her, "I will sing you a song." She smiled and asked him to sing. It was a song he had only started learning at Kindergarten. He turned to his left to look at her and started:
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy,
If you will only say the same."
If you will only say the same."
It has been 15 years since that happened. Everybody who was there in the room remembers that. The Aunt always believed that her son's spirit was in the kid. I don't know what it meant to the woman. But, even today, she remembers it exactly like how he sang it that day. She recollects it with the widest grin. The kidman, however, did not remember that he once sang a song that might have made somebody's day until he was told about it when he grew up. He only remembers the Hide and Seek he played and the friend he made, that day.
He told me that a few months ago that when he last met her, he wasn't in a very good mental state; what with being overworked, stressed and burnt up, physically, mentally and emotionally. He felt confused, lost and cluttered about what his life should be. He then said that her daughter, barely around the same age as him when he had first met her, told him that she would sing him a song. She sang:
"Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life."
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life."
Kids really do have some magic in their ability to understand things just sufficiently.
