The Door – Family Short Story
Photo credit: simonfilm from morguefile.com
Billy looked at it again . The door was closed. It had a shiny surface. The wood colored polish and the doorknob gleamed reflecting light. Holding his soldier doll in one hand he wondered what he was doing here in his night suit. The last thing he remembered was hearing mother’s soft voice , holding his soldier doll tightly in bed. And then, he was before the door. Billy didn’t know whether he should open it. Usually when such a situation arose he would ask mommy.He could have asked Badi maa, but then that would require a phone call. Billy never remembered the number. Mommy would call Badi maa and then Billy would talk to her. Next time when she would call he would ask Badi maa about the door. Billy wondered if he should talk to dad about it.
He didn’t talk much with dad. Dad was always busy smoking or reading news paper. He remembered kissing Dad good night, and Dad’s remarks on his report card. Dad was quiet particular about his studies. But he won’t be interested in the door. What if he asks where the door is? Billy did not know where it was. Dad may think he was doing some mischief .Billy sat down holding the soldier doll on his side and continued staring at the door.
Badi maa expired after a long illness. Towards end she had been reduced to a living skeleton. Billy was scared of her. Mommy said she was in pain. Dad would always be on Badi maa’s side. Sometimes she would call Billy , sometimes dad , sometimes mom. Sometimes she would call people whom Billy didn’t know .Then one day Mommy started crying loudly and Dad lay still holding Badi maa’s hand. Everyone said that she was liberated from pain. Billy only knew that Badi maa would no more talk to him. He did not cry when they took her away, nor did he cry when Dad lit the pyre. It was only when he remembered that he had never asked her about the door that he cried.
Sid was Billy’s best friend. He knew it because they used to have ice –cream together during recess. Sid also shared his lunch with Billy. Sid came over to Billy’s house and they played He-Man until their arms started to ache. Billy even showed Sid his ultra secret diary , one with the superman sticker on cover page. But he was not sure if Sid saw the door .If Sid would have seen the door he would have told him. Billy decided not to tell Sid about the door. He didn’t write about it in his diary.
Billy saw her first time walking along the pavement in front of school. He did not know why, but he stopped to look at her. That was it, he just stopped. Billy had never felt like this before. He thought he would talk about this to his friends. But what if they laughed. Boys are strong and hard they used to say. Was he being weak , Billy thought. Maybe he would talk to Sid. He again looked towards her, and then wondered, did she too see the door???
Dad was shouting at Billy. “You are wasting your life son, do you have any idea about your future. Time once gone will never come. Why don’t you seem to understand?” . Lately everybody seemed to be giving advice to Billy. Everyone from his dad to the milkman had an idea about what Billy should do. All except Billy. He was confused. College had ended and suddenly life was strange. World was not like Billy had imagined it to be. It was really different and hard .Dad was still saying something. Billy wanted to ask him, that was it so necessary to be sure about oneself. Was it so necessary to be successful. Would he stop being his son if he was not a winner. Billy wanted to ask him about the door he still saw. Instead he walked out of the room
“So parental pressure?”,she said sipping her coffee. Billy blushed a little, but managed to smile. She was not breathtakingly beautiful, but Billy could feel her charm. Somewhere his perception of beauty had changed. Mom had asked him to see this girl. There was no pressure she said, but Billy had learnt to listen to her silence. It went like, settle down son, life will slip away and you will never know. They talked about various things that day. She smiled sometimes and Billy noticed it. As she left , Billy wondered…would she be behind the door??
Billy held the baby in his arms. It was so small and the eyes were closed. He slowly opened his eyes , and Billy saw his face in those small crystals. The baby yawned and Bill laughed. He looked at her. She was lying on the bed, smiling looking at them both. Billy looked at the baby. He touched his nose and the baby let out a cry. Billy thought, would he too see the door.
Anirudh and Billy never seemed to be on common front. He was a teenager now .Billy tried to be as patient as possible, but it seemed to him that Anirudh took a pleasure in annoying him. Billy was worried, perhaps scared would be a better word. At night he would sleep thinking about Anirudh, and then he would find himself in front of the door.
Yash was just like Anirudh had been in childhood. Always curious and asking questions. Billy was always following him. He didn’t talk much with Anirudh now. Sometimes they talked with each other through Yash. Billy would tell him stories about magic carpets, wizards, brave princes, beautiful princesses. Billy told him about a kid who would see a door but never opened it.”But Grandpa why does not the kid open the door??” Yash would ask. Billy never replied. He didn’t know the answer.
Anirudh held Billy’s hand. Anirudh was saying something to him, but he couldn’t listen. His eyes were glued to Anirudh’s face. Billy saw wrinkles on his face.”He was born yesterday “Billy thought,” I held him in my arms, he was so tiny”. Billy felt a dark cloud slowly covering him. It blacked out the hospital ceiling, window panes and finally Anirudh’s face. The grasp of Anirudh’s hand too faded away. Billy found himself in front of the door. He had a feeling that now there was nowhere to go. Billy looked around .He saw his soldier doll lying there. Billy walked up to it and picked it up .He held the door knob and pulled open the door…………….
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