Parts of life

Here it is, Siddharth forwards the letter to his boss.

Boss skims the letter and says, Okay, no problem. Take care of your mother until she gets well. We pray for her health.

Thank you so much, sir, Siddharth concluded with a smile.

He is very happy inside because after 2 years of working in a different state, finally, he is going to meet with his family again. Though this meeting is not for pleasure, his mother is ill and has recently got admitted to the hospital. He tried to change his office but they don’t have any branch where they live and another thing is he gets all the facilities here. His brother takes care of all the familial matter. He never forgot to ask for her mother who is a patient of sugar, arthritis. It is known to all that blood sugar is a dangerous disease. If the patient doesn’t take insulin or medicine, he/she can be at great peril. So, the same thing happened with his mother also.

He has already got out of his office and taken the regular way. His inner happiness is blushing on his face but also tension because of his mother’s illness. The road is filled with vehicles, shops and hustling and bustling of ongoing people. It is 12:30 in the afternoon and the sun was on his head. As it is winter, there is not so much gasping in people. He had to book a flight. Checking for a few minutes, he finally gets one which shows the departure time at 10 pm. As he was passing through the market he remembers, his mother told him to bring something for her. So, he puts the phone in his pocket and enters the market. Nothing is interesting there for him. He enters a gully where he suddenly gets stuck. A very familiar smell attracts him. Turning his head, he sees a bookshop behind him. He can identify the smell that instigated him once to buy a lot of books in childhood. This is the only one bookshop here in this market. He remembers his addiction to books. There was an old bookshop in his locality where he used to go very frequently with his father. After getting a job, it has been difficult to read books very frequently. He feels the same smell what he once felt in his local bookshop. He looks here and there if anything interesting he could buy. Suddenly, he gets attracted by one.

May I check that book, he asked the shopkeeper.

Yeah sure, the shopkeeper brings him the exact book he points, “Crime and punishment” written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

He had a strange habit in his childhood. Whenever he went to the library or any bookshop, he took the book first and smelled it. He couldn’t do the same thing here. He knew his mother would like the book because she is also a book-nerd. What else can be a better gift than a book like this? Dostoyevsky is one of her favourites.

So, how much? He asks.

He has already checked the price, though he bargained.

Fixed, the shopkeeper replies firmly.

So, there is no scope for bargaining. The price of the book is really cheaper. He thought if it can be cheaper. He remembered he used to bargain with everyone. The characteristic is still inside him. He paid the money, left the shop and enters another one. He buys a painting frame there. His mother has always been an art lover. He finds a painting “Young woman at a window” by Salvador Dali. As he is very much aware of his mother’s choice, he buys that immediately. He remembers his mother’s room is filled with paintings and books. It was too difficult for him to understand those works in childhood. As he grew mature, he felt a profound love for those arts. Now he understands the real value of those works. Rambling here and there in the market, he decides to return his apartment. He has to pack his things. It is already 4 pm when he finishes his lunch. He goes straight to his place. In the meantime, he has already informed his brother about his departure. He stays here with a room partner. They have made a good relationship over two years. Both are from the same state. As he has been assigned for only one week of leaves there is not so much to carry. At 6 pm, he leaves his apartment bidding his friend.

Here, on the other side in his family, brother, Manas has been too busy these days because of juggling between his office and mother. No one else is here. He lives with his mother. Their father has been died 4 years ago because of a heart attack. Then, both the sons had to grip the family’s financial condition. There has been very frequent communication between Siddharth and Manas. So, he can expect the time of his arrival.

Siddharth had already texted about his boarding. Within a few hours, the plane will land. His mother was also informed about her son’s coming. It is already 10:30 pm when he sees that there is no connection with his brother because he has already inside the plane. As his mother is not there, he has to live alone. Doing all the household task, he goes to his bed but can’t sleep because anytime he could be called by his brother. Turning the page of a book, he checks his phone. It is 1:30 in the morning. His eyes are cramming now. It was a tough day in his office, though he left early because of the daily visit to his mother. He checks that his brother’s phone is still switched off. 

Why is it delaying so much? He spoke to himself.

After some time, he fell asleep. It is already 4 in the morning when he wakes up. There is no trace of his brother yet. He tries to call but no connection. It’s still switched off. He receives a notification in his phone and according to that, checks the status of that flight. There is no updated data. The flight had to arrive at 1:00 am, till then, there is no latest information. It still shows “En-route”. He gets up from the bed and paces up and down on the floor. There is no response from his brother’s side. He feels worried. The first rays of the dawn have just started to bloom. He turned on the T.V.

As the T.V. is on, he came across a tremendous shock which he never thought in his life would happen.

Over the T.V. -

This is the breaking news from XYZ channel. Flight 903 has just crashed. We just received more information on the accident. As the plane was going to land, it suddenly lost its breaks due to fog and skidded on the quarry next to the highway. According to our correspondent, still now, all the passengers have been died. We will come back with the latest information further.

There is a grave silence in the room.