"Drifting Thoughts- A Shocking Sunday"

Drifting Thoughts- A Shocking Sunday
7th July 2013  04.10 PM

   I was very tired for the day and didn't mind sleeping bit early last night. I always knew that Saturday night's always had some or the other Parties or Sneak Outs, but tiredness provoked me to stay home and have a rejuvenating weekend sleep. So I turned down all my plans, had a warm shower and directly headed to my comfortable couch. 

The next morning, around 9.30 am, as far as I remember, mom told me that someone from our neighbor has expired. I know it’s not always what you want to hear on Sunday mornings, so I forced myself up to inquire more about the happenings. On a sad note my mom said,

'The old Aunt in the neighbor has expired.' 

'Karan, I want you to be up at the earliest, your dad is out for some work.'

'I'll be keeping busy handing water and tea to the visitors, and I want you to be awake in case someone wants to come here to sit' she said.

I gathered my consciousness from semi sleep and tried making myself up from the bed. All I needed was some 'Good Morning Bed Tea' (Usually on Sundays) and some peaceful time with my newspaper. My mind took a jerk start and began working while I was still rubbing my eyes.

'I knew why she is no more', said my mind and all sorts of questions ran through my heart.

I knew she had two sons, the elder one was drunkard, younger one unemployed and in his mid thirties. Also she had two daughter, both were graduate from my own college and were in mid forties. Her husband expired a long time ago even before we came here to live. All I had heard from the people around my society was that, his husband was a serene gentle man, a man of etiquette's and a son of god himself. Sadly an untimely heart attack took him away. All of her children were unmarried and were staying together with her after hers husband’s death. 

I tried to stay calm as my mind further inquired, 'I haven't seen her in a long time, almost more than 5 years. How can someone stay inside the house for such a long time?'

She never came into her balcony, never came down (except when she was not well). Whenever she used to come down for medicines, she was always accompanied by one of her daughter who never did let her speak to anyone else in the society or outside.

'Who might have heard her last word, all her sufferings and all what she had in her heart?’ my mind wandered as I sat on my couch. I went to get fresh, brushed and washed my face. All this time my semi-conscious mind was still wondering about the old lady.

Before 3-4 years, I remembered that everyone from the family, including the lady were mildly obese and healthy. What came as shock to me before few months was what I saw when I was coming home back from my college. The elder sister was down going to market with some bag in her hand. She was shrunken like someone had gone though a drastic famine. Her eyes were low; I could clearly see her ankle and shoulder bones piercing her skin. Her over-sized clothes were too large for her as she walked passed me. 

I never gave it any of the importance that time as we hardly spoke to them, and also I was busy with my college affairs and plans.

'What must have been the problem? How did she turn so scarce?', as I sat on my desktop. I opened my mailbox to check for fresh mails and was scrolling down and I was lost again in my thoughts.

The lady's husband owned a big steel processing factory at outskirts of town, he was a rich man and money was never an issues. After he passed away, giving everything and all his property to her wife, the children made her sell the factory and put all the money in bank. Still, they would have had enough money just from the annual interest to go on for a lifetime living luxuriously. After all, there were only 4 adults and one old lady staying together. No children, no extra expenses, and never they went out for a trip.

"Will she be starved till death? How can these happen?’ popped my brain.

All of the Old Lady's children were underweight when I last saw them. It looked almost as if they never had a bite food from past 6 months. Suddenly I remembered mom saying me something, which gave my thoughts a new turn.

'Karan, ground floor aunt told me that she was not given food by her children', said my mom.

'How do you know?’ I inquired.

'The Old Lady once had said to the Ground floor aunt, and she in-turn told it to me as we are their neighbors’, said she.

My mind ached as I remembered my mom's word. 'How cruel this can be?’ I have never heard of something sort of this. A mother, who raised all her children and made them intelligent and strong to face the world, doesn't give food to her own mother. I got a brain freeze. Suddenly mom interrupted, 'sorry I couldn't make you tea earlier, do u want it now?’ I nodded.

I am feeling almost numb going thinking deeper about it. I slowly sipped warm tea from my favorite coffee mug and already felt better with every sip. I tried getting myself engaged in some other work and I ended up reading few blogs on the internet. Suddenly, I got an internal feeling to pen my thoughts down and share this weird and shocking Sunday morning.

-Epilogue-

What could be a possible reason for death of an Old Lady in her late sixties? Was it her children wishing for her money, or they got bankrupt to the extent that they didn't even have money to feed themselves. Was it the lust for the money which the old women would have saved for her old age? Why didn't anyone from the family worked? Why did they never let old woman out of the house? What was that the old woman really wanted to share and talk? This thing will always stay a mystery in my heart. Life indeed has many questions which are better left unanswered.

-Karan Kapuria