With the swooshing sound of the freshly cut onion in the
pan, the phone rang. I was preparing the dinner. It was his friend on the other
end. The phone took a little longer, onions turned black from golden. I
returned and emptied the pan, where my younger one unlocked the front gate and
entered. I told him to pick his sister from the tuitions as I was running late
on the arrangements and informed him; bhai (brother) is coming. I gathered my belongings and left in a hurry. Something flickered
in my mind that made me go faint where a man nearby helped me coiling myself up.
Meanwhile, my brother-in-law called me and asked about the preparations and
ordered me to stay at home. I lied. He informed me about the dinner arrangements.
I was moving hastily shop to shop, and my mobile kept ringing, I turned it off
eventually. Once I returned, there was a flock. I asked all of them to settle
as he was about to arrive any moment. I arranged all the things I bought and
called my daughter, she must be sobbing, her eyes said that all. I asked her
the reason, but she ran away. It must be the younger one, I called him, and he
had some eye bags too. I ignored and asked him to help settling the relatives
and neighbors, his brothers’ friends and their families. It was very noisy in
the hallway as it was in the drawing room. But when I entered, they all go
quite. The usual embracing started and I sat there in between recalling all the
deeds and acts of my elder one. Everyone was very proud of him. I felt proud. The
next moment my daughter entered the room and asked me to turn my cell phone on,
as everyone is calling and there is no other way to reach me. I went to my
room, unpacked my bag and turned it on. It rang the same moment. It was his
friend again, he told he took my number from my brother-in-law and informed that
they are arriving in ten minutes. I cut the call. Standing next to the mirror,
I touched my face, I felt as if the number of wrinkles and laughing lines increased
compared to the morning. I took off my spectacles and cleaned my eyes. I tried
to comb my hair, but someone knocked. He never liked me disturbed or stressed.
I tried to keep myself calm. It was my younger one, asked me to check the
garlands and flowers. I went to the kitchen, they were fresh. My palm touched
the softness of the roses, a thorn prickled in my finger and the blood dropped
on my shirt. I moved to the washbasin and cleaned it. The bell rang. I hurried
to the door, passing the hallway. I stopped to the portrait of my late husband,
he was smiling, and he was contented. Somebody unlocked the door, and he along
with his friends and my brother-in-law entered. Guests stood up and went to
meet him. The noises rose. My younger one and the daughter came to me and asked
to come greet him; I said ‘I am coming.’ My voice broke. I broke. I saw my
elder one coming this big. He was there in between everyone, praised one. The one
everyone was proud of. They were embracing him. I stared at my husband’s
photograph and now him; there was a curl around their lips. His friend settled
him in the drawing room and rushed towards me; he gripped my hand and said he
was sorry. I look into his eyes and then stared in the drawing room; he was
there, I tried to listen if he calls me, but I keep on failing. He dressed
handsomely in the blue shirt he bought last week, but now lying silently in a
white shroud. There was nothing common between us except for the blood stain
near his chest and the stain of blood on my shirt from the rose I was going to
put over his dead body. He was gone forever, my elder one was gone. My husband
is happy to have his shoulder back. He left us at the age of twenty. I started
moving to him, my steps were uncertain, I fell down.
mere sheher me meri nasl lootnay walon,
pata hay kis tarhan beta jawan hota hay?
