Grandma

"Grandma tried speeding up her sluggish move.

Reached to the shore and threw her upon the corpse"

The fierce wind had been striking dry driftwoods against roof throughout the night. The ocean had a violent move. Grandma was awake but trying to get asleep. The whole night she had fears in her mind. It was almost 4:00 am by then.

Grandma! Grandma!! Prajesh came yelling on a shrilly callous voice, "your son... your son..." He couldn't continue though. His presence that way had full of worries. Grandma threw over the quilt and got up from her bed. She felt the inclemency of cold outside. Soon she pulled her walking stick and dragged herself to the courtyard.

Her shivering voice didn't reach out enough to be heard, "what happened to my child? Why don't you speak out? Huh! What's wrong with him?"

"There." Prajesh, without speaking out a word, pointed to the beach where the only the movement of few torch-lights could be seen at that dawn.

Grandma tried speeding up her sluggish move. Reached to the shore and threw her upon the corpse. "Oh god, why are you this harsh to me?" she lamented on her fate, "why do you take away all my hopes every time when I convince myself to live by them?"

Grandma fainted almost every ten minutes she woke up. She couldn't convince herself a life without her only son ever left. Neighbors sympathized for the mishap and managed the funeral procession. Prajesh, who was a childhood friend of the dead couldn't control the tears in his eyes.

***

Grandma is in bed. It's almost ten at night. She still sobs with all her tears left. This time she is facing to a framed photograph of her son on the wall. Since years back she had been waiting for him who had promised to bring all the worldly joys for her. She remembers the moment when she handed him her necklace and all her ornaments for mortgage so as to buy him the degree at a renowned university. She recalls the assurance he had made on the day he returned from the US, "No worries mom, I have come back to take you to that big city. And now we can live a heavenly life there." She wished at times that it could all be just a dream. Her son who had talked to her the day before is no more in this world. Now, she has no more hope, no more strength to fight for her life. She is all alone in the crowd. She no more wants that big city, no more a university degree for her son. Now her eyes capture no more light for her. She is almost a futile body on earth.

Long after the fatigued day she has come across, she consoles herself with a single hope yet - to meet her son in the heavenly city right ahead.