Family Short Story – MY FATHER’S DEATH: ACTION REWIND
MY FATHER’S DEATH: ACTION REWIND
Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com
Date- 7 January 2013
My age- 19 years
Time- 03:43 am
I woke up with the same dream today. My eyes are wet and I struggle to breathe. A sudden stroke chokes my chest. My mouth is wide open and I lie shivering.
Though its cold, but I had slept with proper warm clothes and blankets; but I still shiver. It was the same dream again. It horrors me every time.
I regret it, regret it every now and then. Why was I so stupid in my childhood? No one could have been so idiotic like me. Today, I am a 19 year-old no-non-sense guy, but 12 years back, I was a no-sense kid. I regret it every moment of my life, every time I see my mother. I could have spent more time with my father when he was dying, but I wasted it watching cartoon. I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
My age- 07 years
Time- 09:00 pm
My head feels so heavy! I think I was sleeping. Something happened here. Right?
It takes me few minutes to stabilise again as its very crowded here. I guess I am at my father’s place. I get out of the room and come to the verandah. I see my father, probably dead. My mother is half-dead too, I guess. Everyone is asking her to cry, but she refuses to. She is in a shock. My three year-old sister is sleeping in her lap.
I see a white sheet covering my father’s body. His nose has cotton buds and few incense sticks lighted close to his head. My mother looks pale; my little sister looks weak and my father dead. Is this what we call orphan? I go blank and faint.
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 06:45 pm
I enter my father’s house and feel cursed. Since last few days, I have been living at my maternal uncle’s place. They had colour TV with a cable connection.
But here, its nothing available. Here’s just a black and white TV without a cable connection. Damn! I will miss my Disney Hour. Sony, Channel No. 26, shows an hour of Disney cartoons. Today it’s Thursday ,they will show Gummy- The bears from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm. I don’t want to miss it.
I ask my one of my aunts, ‘Can you please drop me back to my naani-ghar? I am missing my cartoon today’.
I try being innocent and give her a sad expression, but she doesn’t get affected. She passes her hands over my hairs, kissed me and made me sleep. I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 05:50 pm
Wow! I am in a car again! I love cars. When I grow big, I will buy a very big car. Well, I think I should ask my mother to buy me a car. She buys me everything I ask for. I know papa will object as always, but my mother will surely buy me one.
I just pray we get into traffic and I get more time to enjoy the cozy seats. My cousin brother is driving and four of my aunts are sitting quietly. No one is saying anything, so I guess I should be quite and not ask for a candy.
Luckily I got the window seat. I am moving the window-mirror up and down.
Wow! That store is selling Shaktimaan dress, but I cannot ask anyone to buy it for me. Everyone is so quite today, even my youngest aunt. I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 05:10 pm
This hospital is bigger than the earlier one, but it stinks. I heard my uncles talking that it is a government hospital. Last one was a lavish private hospital. If last one was nice, then why did we change it?
I walk into the room. My mother is holding my father’s hand and crying. I hate seeing her cry. Everyone else is either quite or crying. Papa has been hospitalised for many months, but I never saw everyone so serious. I used to visit him every noon, after my school. I have missed visiting him last few days, but I don’t know what’s happening.
I go close to papa. He looks at me. He is having a lot of pain; I can see it in his eyes. He is a strong man, but today his eyes have tears. He tries to speak something. In breaking words he speaks, ‘Beta, you are a good boy. Grow up good. Take care of your mother and sister’. I try to cheer him up and give a good news, ‘Papa, I passed my First Term examinations and came second in the class’.
He looks up. I guess he is seeing the untidy fan. Everyone rushes out and brings a doctor in. I am taken out by my uncle. My mother comes out after few minutes. She is crying loudly. I step ahead to ask her the reason, but her cry discouraged me. I felt a sudden pain inside my stomach. I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 04:50 pm
Wow! I am in a car. It so cozy. I feel like a king. My cousin brother and her mummy, my aunt, came to my maternal uncle’s place to take me to the hospital. I will go to meet my father today. He is living in hospital for many days. I haven’t visited him this month, but that’s not a big deal. Every noon, someone used to take me to meet him. Initially, I used to enjoy, but later it became boring. There was no TV, so I started skipping to meet him.
But today, I am going to meet him again. I will ask for a new video game cassette. I will ask him to have a game with me. Its been very long since we played together. He lives in hospital now, I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 04:25 pm
I am struggling to watch my cartoon. Damn! I will miss the ending of Scooby Doo. I want to see how they catch the ghost of the old factory this time. But my aunt is putting the clothes on me forcefully. They forcefully want to send me to the hospital. I wonder why!
Date- 7 September 2000
Time- 03:30 pm
As I was enjoying my cartoon at my maternal place, my cousin brother and aunt came in. They immediately asked me to get ready and go with him. I refused initially but agreed later. But I have a plan, I won’t get ready. I will fake having a stomach ache and enjoy my cartoon, they don’t come very often, but they came today, I wonder why!
Date- 7 January 2013
My age- 19 years again
Time- 04:00 am
As my alarm rings, I regain my senses. It was horrible, its always horrible. I can never forget that. I can never forgive myself for being so stupid. With teary eyes, I remember how I used to play with his stomach. I remember how he used to feed me. He used to fold the chapattis like a shell and feed me then. I miss how he used to take morning walks with me. I miss him. I miss him very badly.
I could have spent more time with him, but I skipped it. Why? Because my cartoon was at stake. That was the last day I enjoyed cartoons. Later, a hatred developed inside me, against cartoons and I stopped watching them. I still don’t watch them. Because of it, I missed the moments that could have been priceless for my whole life. I could have treasured it. But … …
I see my friends having fear of their father. I miss that fear in my life. I wish I could get scolded by him sometimes. I wish he could teach me about life. I wish he could pass his morals and ethics to me. I wish … …
I see everyone, most of people around, having a different attitude towards their parents. Some are fed up of their caring nature, some are fed up of their constant naggings, and some are fed up of their lectures. I just want to say them, “Respect your parents more. You are lucky to have them in your life, not everyone is so lucky” L
___ THE END ___
