Story of Mother’s Love – The sun will come back brighter tomorrow
© Anand Vishnu Prakash, YourStoryClub.com
Devaki Ben woke up early. Today it is going to be very special. Her longtime dream is coming true.
She is excited, jumpy and for no reason smiling. She goes out, walks in and stood by window. Goes to Munna’s bed to wake him up then decided against it. “Let him sleep some more, he was up until midnight. “
Should she make some breakfast for him?” May be his favorite Aalu Poha or get him something from outside? He loves the McDonald’s big burger. First we will go to Ram temple then I will take him to that restaurant and buy him whatever he fancies. Or I will let him go out with his friends; I will give him whatever amount he asks for. Let him enjoy to his heart’s content today.”
She washed her hair and got ready, finished puja and Arti before six, woke Shyam, “Munna wake-up my child, let’s go to uncleji’s house and check the result.”
Shyam jumped out of bed and both ran to next door to check the result online.
That day the higher secondary board was announcing the twelfth grade board exam results on internet.
Uncleji was up and was happy to open and login into website for Shyam, on his laptop. Shyam entered the number and waited holding his breath.
Slowly his face lost color. He started trembling, “ma I have failed,” he looked at his mom with utterly blank look and his voice was like it was coming from inside a deep well.
Uncle grabbed the computer. “Let me check again.” “What is the number?” Shyam recited the number like a robot. Uncle entered it and was silent. “How can this be? Kiddo, you have failed in English?”
“Go get your hall ticket. May be this number is wrong” Shyam ran with unsteady steps to his room and brought the hall ticket. The number was right.
Uncleji said “I am sorry Ben, “to Devaki and turning to Shyam he said “Better luck next time my boy” and closed his computer.
It was unacceptable and unbelievable for both of them. They went back to their little room. Shyam told his mom. “Ma, I am going out.” She nodded her head in silence and he left without another word.
“Hey Ram, why not make the earth take me in? Why not this building come crashing and why not make this a dream, a bad dream. I don’t deserve this. My child does not deserve this. My poor child. How much effort he put. Is this even real?” Devaki did not know what to do.
Whatever she did not want to happen has happened.
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Right from the day Shyam was born she decided that he would never turn like his father. “My son is going to be a great engineer and he will become rich and famous,” she made up her mind.
What has she not done for that?
She has been toiling eighteen hours a day – From five in the morning to night until it really gets dark; she worked as a maid in five houses. Cleaned the houses, bathrooms, toilets for a paltry salary and she has been breaking her back from the time she could remember.
She even kicked her husband out as she did not want a bad influence on the kid. He was no good as a husband or father, neither was a decent person. So she chose to be a single mother and sole provider for two of them.
She rented a small room with a bath in a moderate locality instead of poor locality, though it was beyond her capacity, so that Shyam will not mingle with uneducated and wayward kids. Saved every single rupee she could for his future and spent every extra rupee on Shyam’s schooling. Put him in good schools which were out of her reach, as he showed lot of promise in school. Whenever he was lagging behind a little in any subject, she would arrange for private tuition, buy him books, guides whatever was needed.
She provided him with the best she could so that one day he will have better life. She would arranged for little table, a chair, better lighting, a small table fan in the corner in that single room as his study. Always kept some extra snacks at night and put hot tea in flask as he would keep studying until very late. She never put on TV and radio so as not to disturb him while studying and never complained of her hard work or any of her troubles, so that he won’t get bothered or distracted.
The only aim and purpose of her life was to give him a better life. Her only objective was to join him in a reputed engineering college and then send him abroad for higher studies, just as two of the kids in the houses where she worked. She has seen those young men go to foreign for higher studies, she has seen them on web chatting, ‘Skype’ or whatever they called it, with their moms and dads in India and showing their cars, outdoors, gardens and beautiful high raise buildings. Every Sunday the entire families gathered at the computer. Whenever Devaki saw that, she wished someday Shyam also will be able to do the same.
Besides working in five houses she also would take up other small jobs during the festivals like preparing sweets and other goodies in rich people’s houses, and she would put the extra money in bank so that it will help in paying tuition for engineering college.
She never cared how much her fingers and palms hurt and hardened like sticks, and her back ached at night with all that cooking and cleaning and other house hold chores she did all day, she would go to bed dreaming about Shyam’s future.
She never prayed god for herself, money, health or for her life. She prayed just for Shyam; whenever she went to temples, all that she asked god is his well being, his future, “God, take care of my Munna” she would pray. Whenever he was taking exams she would go to temple and offer Prasad to the deity.
The kid was bright, obedient, had a full realization of what mother is going through and worked as hard as he could. Never cared for hanging out with friends, no movies, no internet other than what is required for his classes and he was the most sincere, studious kid.
Everybody including his teachers, neighbors and even Devaki’s employers were sure that the Shyam would come out with flying colors in his board exam and they were expecting he would ace it in IIT entrance also. Shyam, failing in twelfth class board exam was unbelievable, and for Devaki is was like being struck by a thundering bolt.
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Devaki was feeling the earth moving away under her feet. What she expected and what is she seeing? It is unbearable, the feeling of insult, disappointment was hurting her like a deep raw wound. She thought she cannot take this anymore and “I don’t want to live anymore.”
She wiped her tears. Got up tidied the room, went to the bank and withdrew all the money she had and brought it home and put it in the money box. “Now you have to manage your life Munna. “
She cooked some food for Munna all the while contemplating “how? How should I end my life? If I jump of the fifteenth floor, it will be bloody and Munna cannot bear the sight, the police and onlookers make a big humbug and it is trouble for Munna. Should I drink some poison or hang myself from the window rail? Any such thing will cause distress to Munna. The poor child cannot bear it and I should not do it. What should I do then?”
“I will just walk into the sea. I will walk to the beach and drown into the water so that I will be gone forever. Even if the body floats after a few days, nobody will recognize it.”
She Looked at Shyam’s photo, kissed it and turned to god’s photo on the wall. “You take care of my little one. I cannot live any more. Give him good life, give him riches, and give him justice. “
She locked the door and gave the key to the neighbor, “Tell Munna that I had to go to the village for a long time and I can’t tell when I will be back.”
“Is everything all right Ben? You look sick.” uncleji asked her when he saw her red swollen eyes and miserable appearance.
“Oh, I am fine sir, I have to go,” She walked out fast.
She wanted to get out before Shyam comes home, so she was almost running to the beach. When she reached there, she could see the vast, dark water and thought it would be very cold inside.
As she neared the water she saw a little dark figure sitting with his hands circled around him and head bent, all alone in the sand. She saw no one nearby and the empty space and all around him looked enormous. She went closer, “Oh god, it is Munna, sitting all alone; if I too leave him now, the lonely boy, what will he do in this big wide world? “
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Shyam walked listless on the streets whole day, not knowing where he was going, what went wrong? I did so well, nineteen percent in English, did I forgot to attach the additional sheets? Or did I put wrong numbers to the answers? Whatever has happened, irreversible damage is done. My future and moms dreams are in shambles.
“Mom, what will happen to mom? “As soon as he remembered moms face when she saw the examination result, he felt a knot in stomach. The more he thought about it, felt awful and suddenly he made up his mind in that instant. “I don’t deserve to live. What is the point in my living? I let down mom. I am a disappointment and disgrace to mom and to myself. How could I do this to her? For all the sacrifices she made and hardship she went through to give me a life, a bright future, the least thing I could do was to pass if not excel. I failed! All her aspirations have come down crashing.”
Mom dearest mom! Shyam was crying “As I read it in language class, god cannot be with everybody so he created mothers. How true, she was like a god to me, the loving caring mom: Granted every single wish I ever had. What all she did for me, Can I ever repay her in this life?”
He also remembered someone reciting a poem somewhere, “if moms get Amruhth, she will save it for kids instead of drinking. It is so true with my mom: her youth, health, life every ounce of it she spent on me for my well being. “
“What did I do in return? I certainly don’t deserve this life.” Sitting on the sand in the beach he decided. “When it gets dark and everybody is gone I will just jump into the water and will be gone forever.” All the frustration, resentment, hurt, hunger and weariness were becoming unbearable.
He sat there thinking and waiting for hours so that it gets dark, he thought of his school, his friends. Everybody is happy, they have so much to be happy, they have money, good life and they all have passed and they will get good seats in colleges and their parents will be proud of their kid’s accomplishments.
“And, what about my mom? Will she ever be happy?”
“What will she do without me; will she even be able to live without me? No, she cannot, dear mom: How can I leave her alone? I should not die, I cannot die.”
He watched the sun setting at the horizon. Slowly the sun disappeared inside the water spreading darkness. It dawned on to him “The sun will come back brighter tomorrow”
At a distance on the other side of the beach he saw little kids and moms playing in the sand and laughing, he dearly wanted to hug mom.
He heard his name. “Munna—“
“Mom!” He leaped into moms open arms.
“What are you doing here my boy? “She held him in close hug. He could not talk, cried his heart out clinging to her like a baby.
“Mom I really did well in my exams, I —,” he started in between the sniffles
“It’s OK Munna, I know it very well, I know how hard you worked, and I know it more than you do. Sometimes these things happen, and this is not the end of anything. You can take the exam again and I am sure you will do it much better.” she stroked and kissed his head;” let’s go home, you must be starving.”
Hand in hand they walked away from dark cold, deep water.
—————-
When they reached home, his physics teacher Mr. Anthony was waiting at the locked door
“Where have you been Shyam?”
“Sir, I–, we—“
“It’s OK. You know what happened?”
“Morning all your classmates came to school and they were telling you failed in English. I did not believe it for a second, so I called the examination board and they verified your marks and you know, it was a mistake. Somebody entered 19 for 91 in the database. You got a 91 in English, so you stood third in school, Congratulations.” He was going on.
Both Devaki and Shyam could not hear any more words; they stood there silent in pure bliss.
“By the way how is your preparation for IIT entrance going?” The teacher was asking. “We are expecting a lot from you?”
“It is going great sir.” Both mom and son replied in unison, their faces shining like sun coming out of eclipse.
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This story is dedicated to my mom who always tells “To experience unconditional love from someone, you have to be born to that someone or that someone should be born to you”,
And to all those moms who love, cherish and pray for their kids until their last breath,
And to all those kids who craved for mothers love even after they become parents and grandparents themselves.
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