Toyesh,Lord of Water

Toyesh, the lord of water

My Son Toyesh asked me: Mama “why are we so far from people? Where is Grandma? why did we leave her all alone? Why do we have to live like this with no friends?

Because we love Grandma, because we love the people of our village, Gandhy, was all I can answer. It was a very difficult decision but we did not have any choice.

It is just a few weeks we are thriving to survive on this isolated Island with the mere source of livelihood. I still remembered people in the village who called us a heartless couple for leaving an 80-year-old lady alone at home. They don’t know the pain we are carrying. They will not understand how much we loved them.

Couples of years back, Poor Reman's body was found with only an arm by the villagers near a paddy field. His dead body was covered with blood and claw marks in every inch of his body parts. It looks like his body was tried to tear into pieces. His crying wife told the villagers, he went to a nearby village was supposed to be back by late evening. This was not the first case. Villagers believed that the man-eater has come back again. And so Reman was killed by some big man-eater Cat from the jungle closed to the village.

All the children were warned not to play near the jungle and not to step out of the house after sunset. The entire village was horrified. Mothers started saying "Big Cat will come" to calm their babies. Parents started scaring kids if they don’t listen to them, they will let them stay outside of the house the entire night. Toyesh and his friends aged between 3 to 7 wanted to save the village from the man-eater. The smallest among them said “if I meet the big Cat, I will poison the big cat and kill him. The biggest among them 7-year-old said, I will kill with my father big hammerstones. Toyesh said I want him to be bitten by a very poisonous snake while he is drinking water from the river.

 In a couple of days, villagers found a dead big Cat next to the river. The happy vultures enjoying their big meal. The villagers were relieved with no fear and happy not to be rushed home before the sunset. The entire Gandhy residents were happier than the vultures.

Human problems can,t get over, year after Reman's death. The farmers in the village were so worried as there was no rain. It will be a difficult situation for the farmers and the entire village. Crops will not grow without rain. The entire village talks only about rain. Seeing the worried faces of elders and farmers, the kids discussed rain among themselves. One of the small boys said, my grandfather, said: “God loves children if we pray God will listen. So we should ask God for rain”. They decided to pray and asked God for Rain. The Cute little boys including Toyesh jumping, dancing, shouting, RAIN RAIN, Come again! RAIN RAIN, Come again, RAIN RAIN, Come again! RAIN RAIN, Come again! RAIN RAIN, Come again! RAIN RAIN, Come againRAIN RAIN, Come againRAIN RAIN, Come again! The small boy was right, God listens to children. The entire village was crying with tempestuous ecstasy. It was a miracle. The boys were so happy and proud of themselves.

One sunny summer evening my big built 5-year-old son wanted to visit the nearby amusement park. Unfortunately, I and my husband were already committed to something else. He did not utter a word, but his eyes were all swollen and sparkling dews around his cheeks. In no time the entire village was strike by a heavy storm. The storm did not calm down. People started losing hopes and starting to wish for fulfilling their last wishes. The storm did not stop until one day, I told Toyesh, if we are alive, we will take you to the amusement park. The entire village is messed up, people died, people lost their valuables. There were lots of chaos in the whole village. Most of the people lost almost everything there was nothing left. People were struggling for food, clothing, drinking water. The entire village did not have money to buy the required necessities from the neighbouring town.

My 6 years old son Toyesh lived in his fantasy world, he murmured to me, “Mama I wish the entire village finds the treasures which are deep under the sea hidden by pirates. Me and my husband giggles and went to sleep. Early morning people are shouting, jumping one among them yelled: "we will not die of hunger". God good saved us. We came to know that the boxful of treasure was found in front of the church. I and my husband looked at each other with no words and look back at Toyesh who was running with his friends to see the treasures.

We remembered the moment when my mother-in-law re-alive after she died. It was all good until the tsunami hit the village when he was 3 years old as he was beaten by his classmate. It was all good until the drought occurs when he was 4 years old when he was denied juice by his friend. It was all good till the hailstorm destroy the crops when he turned 5 when he was scolded badly for destroying the neighbor’s cornfield with his friends.

Thank you, Good God, thank you so much for blessing me with a big smile handsome boy. He is among the cutest baby born in the village. That was the blessing I got 6 years back. After 10 years of marriage, I was blessed with Toyesh. The happiest moment of my life after several pilgrimage visits and prayers when Doctors have already given up and advised for an adoption. Once our visit to India, we met a monk who bless us and told us: “you will have a son who will rule the world and shake the world”. I could not understand what he meant, now I got it.

I realized when he turned 6 after the whole city enjoyed finding the treasure. My big built boy, my obedient son does not belong here where human life is controlled by emotion. Controlling emotions is not possible for human all the time. Our emotions are controlled by our environments. Emotions are inseparable from the human being. Emotions control our life It was not human when my mother-in-law gets up from the death bed after my son sprinkled water on her. He always helped the poor and needy but unfortunately destroy when he is sad and harms all around.

“ Toyesh!You ruled the world but your tendency to destroy the world is greater than ruling”.