Dawn at Midnight.
Book 1: Transmigration. Chapter 9: Cord snapped
ChotoMa was busy in buying gifts for my Mom and other family members. She was also happy as she has at last met what she promised my Mom. She was happy to see my smiling face. But she was unaware of my real intention.
The eventful day was approaching when I would enjoy my twenty-eighth monsoon on this Mother Earth. That day was to come in forty-five days from then.
With every passing day I asked myself the same question “When are you going to come? I am restless now. Your thoughts are killing me with every passing second. I spend sleepless night tossing on my bed. I remember each and every moment of the fighting we had on the first night, and I laugh. I remember those sweet kisses and the first night at Chitkul. Come quickly, I am waiting for you, my Unicorn. This time I want to ride with you and roam on those grasslands, over the meadows, on the valleys beneath those high pine and cedar trees. This time I won’t fly away. I just want to ride with you, walk by your side. I want to feel your strong arms around me. I want your warmth in the cold night.”
One day Debobroto called and asked that he and Teesta wants to meet me.
I asked him---“When and where?”
Teesta was by his side, I could hear her voice as she yelled out---“Now.”
I laughed at her and asked Debobroto to hand over the phone to her.
She asked me---“I am not going to wait for long. We both want to meet you.”
It was very hot and humid outside so I asked them to come to my house.
Both of them arrived after few hours. I looked at Teesta; she was dressed in a simple cotton salwar. She had her braids flowing nicely till the mid of her back. No ponytail.
I smiled at her and contracted my brows “What happened to you?”
She gave me a coy look and pointed at Debobroto ---“He doesn’t like me in those jeans and tops.”
“Oooooooo….” I looked at Debobroto and asked, “That’s nice. So how are you two going along?”
Debobroto clenched his jaws as he looked into my eyes and said---“I don’t know what type of person you are. I thought I know you very well but I failed to understand you in these two years. Since you are older to me and ….”
I looked at him and asked---“And what?”
“And nothing, I don’t have words as what to express and how to express” he looked away hiding his emotions.
Teesta rubbed his back to douse his emotions. She looked at me and said---“He is telling the truth. We both have lost our vocabulary as what to express. You are out of this world person. Can I ask you something, very personal although?”
I sensed as what would be the question so I guarded myself well and said to them---“I know very well as what you are going to ask. Don’t ask you won’t get the answer from me.”
Both of them nodded their head and said---“Our best wishes will always be with you. You will surely meet the person you are waiting for.”
I smiled at them and said to myself “I know that dear. Just I am going through a trough of time.”
Mid June, on one fine summer morning. I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for ChotoMa and Babu. ChotoMa told to me the other night that she would visit my Mom on that day.
I was very happy. The phone rang.
ChotoMa answered the phone and screamed. Her voice choked. I came running from the kitchen on hearing her shrieks.
---“WHEN, HOW. NO….”
I felt a huge tremble rattled the coast of my chest. I stood there holding the chair in my clutch. I looked into those flooding eyes of ChotoMa as she looked at me.
My eyes were hazy, my chest gurgled out.
I cried out to ChotoMa---“What happened?”
She did not answer my question.
She bit her lower lips and said to the person on the phone---“NO we are coming. Just keep her there. I don’t want my child to goto crematorium.”
I clutched the front fabric of my dress, ran to ChotoMa, and asked as what happened. Her silence was killing me.
She kept the phone and threw her arms around me, hugged me tightly. She was uncontrollable.
She called out Babu and asked him to call the cab.
I was still not sure as where I was going and what happened to whom.
Babu asked ChotoMa as what happened to whom.
She was unable to speak. She pressed my head on her bosoms and said to Babu---“My Aunt…. Call the cab.”
When I heard “My aunt” from her shaken lips, I turned into a stone. I closed my eyes. My whole life got drained on that single word from ChotoMa’s lips. The whole world shook. I dug my face on her lap and I do not remember what happened after that.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself on the bed.
Teesta and Delisha were by my side. They both took me in their arms, but I was turned into stone. I lost my speech. Both of them somehow dressed me.
For the whole journey to my home, I kept very quiet. Danish brought his brother’s car.
ChotoMa and Babu were in the cab.
I came out of the car, like a stone effigy. I looked on the courtyard. My beloved Mother’s frame was draped in a white cotton cloth, lying peacefully under the Holy Basil plant.
After few hours she was taken away from the courtyard forever. I was unable to cry or to say something. I was unable to breathe properly. I felt a huge boulder on my chest, under which all my feelings, my pains, my tears were buried. I was unable to remove that boulder to express my tears.
The whole eleven days, my youngest sister-in-law, Maithili was by my side. She nursed me, took care of my broken heart, tried to stitch that but she failed. She tried to mend those holes but those were of no use. I was turned into stone, I was unable to express my feelings. I confined myself in my room for eleven days.
Every one of my family members was present on the eleventh day of the mourning ceremony. Indrani Di and Chandrani Di said to me that I was in good hands of ChotoMa and Babu.
No one would ever know the truth. No one would believe my words that my life was like a beautiful princess living in an ivory cage.
Only I knew where I was going.
The day before, I was to return back with ChotoMa and Babu, I went to the tree he planted in the backyard. I plucked a twig and wrapped that in my handkerchief. I took a fist full of the earth from the ground beneath the tree and tied that in my handkerchief.
I kissed the trunk of that tree and then I cried out---“Abhimanyu, your beloved Paree died today.”
At least till few days ago there was a faint ray of hope. It faded away forever.
My umbilical cord, the last cord snapped away. I was then at mercy of ChotoMa and Babu. I waited to meet my fate.
======== END OF PART I ===========
Book 1: Transmigration. Chapter 9: Cord snapped
ChotoMa was busy in buying gifts for my Mom and other family members. She was also happy as she has at last met what she promised my Mom. She was happy to see my smiling face. But she was unaware of my real intention.
The eventful day was approaching when I would enjoy my twenty-eighth monsoon on this Mother Earth. That day was to come in forty-five days from then.
With every passing day I asked myself the same question “When are you going to come? I am restless now. Your thoughts are killing me with every passing second. I spend sleepless night tossing on my bed. I remember each and every moment of the fighting we had on the first night, and I laugh. I remember those sweet kisses and the first night at Chitkul. Come quickly, I am waiting for you, my Unicorn. This time I want to ride with you and roam on those grasslands, over the meadows, on the valleys beneath those high pine and cedar trees. This time I won’t fly away. I just want to ride with you, walk by your side. I want to feel your strong arms around me. I want your warmth in the cold night.”
One day Debobroto called and asked that he and Teesta wants to meet me.
I asked him---“When and where?”
Teesta was by his side, I could hear her voice as she yelled out---“Now.”
I laughed at her and asked Debobroto to hand over the phone to her.
She asked me---“I am not going to wait for long. We both want to meet you.”
It was very hot and humid outside so I asked them to come to my house.
Both of them arrived after few hours. I looked at Teesta; she was dressed in a simple cotton salwar. She had her braids flowing nicely till the mid of her back. No ponytail.
I smiled at her and contracted my brows “What happened to you?”
She gave me a coy look and pointed at Debobroto ---“He doesn’t like me in those jeans and tops.”
“Oooooooo….” I looked at Debobroto and asked, “That’s nice. So how are you two going along?”
Debobroto clenched his jaws as he looked into my eyes and said---“I don’t know what type of person you are. I thought I know you very well but I failed to understand you in these two years. Since you are older to me and ….”
I looked at him and asked---“And what?”
“And nothing, I don’t have words as what to express and how to express” he looked away hiding his emotions.
Teesta rubbed his back to douse his emotions. She looked at me and said---“He is telling the truth. We both have lost our vocabulary as what to express. You are out of this world person. Can I ask you something, very personal although?”
I sensed as what would be the question so I guarded myself well and said to them---“I know very well as what you are going to ask. Don’t ask you won’t get the answer from me.”
Both of them nodded their head and said---“Our best wishes will always be with you. You will surely meet the person you are waiting for.”
I smiled at them and said to myself “I know that dear. Just I am going through a trough of time.”
Mid June, on one fine summer morning. I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for ChotoMa and Babu. ChotoMa told to me the other night that she would visit my Mom on that day.
I was very happy. The phone rang.
ChotoMa answered the phone and screamed. Her voice choked. I came running from the kitchen on hearing her shrieks.
---“WHEN, HOW. NO….”
I felt a huge tremble rattled the coast of my chest. I stood there holding the chair in my clutch. I looked into those flooding eyes of ChotoMa as she looked at me.
My eyes were hazy, my chest gurgled out.
I cried out to ChotoMa---“What happened?”
She did not answer my question.
She bit her lower lips and said to the person on the phone---“NO we are coming. Just keep her there. I don’t want my child to goto crematorium.”
I clutched the front fabric of my dress, ran to ChotoMa, and asked as what happened. Her silence was killing me.
She kept the phone and threw her arms around me, hugged me tightly. She was uncontrollable.
She called out Babu and asked him to call the cab.
I was still not sure as where I was going and what happened to whom.
Babu asked ChotoMa as what happened to whom.
She was unable to speak. She pressed my head on her bosoms and said to Babu---“My Aunt…. Call the cab.”
When I heard “My aunt” from her shaken lips, I turned into a stone. I closed my eyes. My whole life got drained on that single word from ChotoMa’s lips. The whole world shook. I dug my face on her lap and I do not remember what happened after that.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself on the bed.
Teesta and Delisha were by my side. They both took me in their arms, but I was turned into stone. I lost my speech. Both of them somehow dressed me.
For the whole journey to my home, I kept very quiet. Danish brought his brother’s car.
ChotoMa and Babu were in the cab.
I came out of the car, like a stone effigy. I looked on the courtyard. My beloved Mother’s frame was draped in a white cotton cloth, lying peacefully under the Holy Basil plant.
After few hours she was taken away from the courtyard forever. I was unable to cry or to say something. I was unable to breathe properly. I felt a huge boulder on my chest, under which all my feelings, my pains, my tears were buried. I was unable to remove that boulder to express my tears.
The whole eleven days, my youngest sister-in-law, Maithili was by my side. She nursed me, took care of my broken heart, tried to stitch that but she failed. She tried to mend those holes but those were of no use. I was turned into stone, I was unable to express my feelings. I confined myself in my room for eleven days.
Every one of my family members was present on the eleventh day of the mourning ceremony. Indrani Di and Chandrani Di said to me that I was in good hands of ChotoMa and Babu.
No one would ever know the truth. No one would believe my words that my life was like a beautiful princess living in an ivory cage.
Only I knew where I was going.
The day before, I was to return back with ChotoMa and Babu, I went to the tree he planted in the backyard. I plucked a twig and wrapped that in my handkerchief. I took a fist full of the earth from the ground beneath the tree and tied that in my handkerchief.
I kissed the trunk of that tree and then I cried out---“Abhimanyu, your beloved Paree died today.”
At least till few days ago there was a faint ray of hope. It faded away forever.
My umbilical cord, the last cord snapped away. I was then at mercy of ChotoMa and Babu. I waited to meet my fate.
======== END OF PART I ===========