Grandpa took Mama home

He looked through the window,

The magpie came swooping down.

perched itself on the ridge

He caught his old breath!

But the bird was free!!

He looked at the ridge,

The magpie looked up and down,

walked tenderly over the ridge,

He caught his old breath

But the bird was free

He looked at the chimney,

The magpie looked up at the sky

Danced around the ridge

He caught his old breath

But the bird was free

He looked at the roof

The magpie was ready to fly

Spread its wings on the ridge

He let go of his young breath

And the bird was finally free!!

Grandpa looked like a character out of a western classic. He had that “I could not care less” look of what others thought nor said. There was a cigarette sticking out from the corner of his mouth. The man had never been able to fathom what he wanted in youth nor adult life. He could have been a rock-star with a fan following. His body looked well-toned, lean muscle and sinew and those strong arms one could tell had worked hard somewhere. For all of what he looked, it could be anyone’s conjecture at what he would have worked as in the past. His hair was silvery white, shiny and thick, well-kempt he was.

He looked at the small dock and out into the vast sea that were swelling up and down in tiresome egos. The waves mimicked his own inner contradictions. As he was flummoxed with emotions. One moment they would swell up to swallow everything in its flow and the very next moment would become subdued and recede.  He dragged his eyes away from those waves and tilted his head ever so slightly at an angle. He saw the man at a distance working on the tiny ship’s ropes  – must be a Captain of that small vessel he assumed.

Every single day in that month, he had come to this dock to gaze at the vessels of different size. He longingly gazed at a couple of them which had docked but could not make up his mind for the millionth time if he wanted to leave this place, the land where he had come to berth. His home was someplace else. He had always felt out of place ever since he had his first own memory thread. Always feeling that his body was not his. It was a container that he was housed in. Another strange fact about him was that his mother did not know when he was born. That was amusement to him when he was young. But now he felt he knew……

Yes, she couldn’t have known.

He was married to a beautiful woman – young and vulnerable yet strong. They had two children – an older daughter and a son after.

Now when he watched the fleet of small and big fleet of ship in the dock, his thoughts wandered to his little daughter’s face. There was a clueless innocence coupled with a sense of longing for some inner peace. The corner of his eyes felt moist. That was surprising and remotely strange. How can he the strong man succumb to tears. His mind admonished him for thinking of leaving this young and tender human. For he was about to leave this earthly clime.

He felt stifled and suffocated, wanting to get out of here immediately. He had wanted to do so for many years now. But this time…. there was almost a calling from yonder.

His feet took him to now where he stood looking out at those vessels. So he could go home – his real home of which only he knew. He had not revealed this to a single soul out here. This vessel could never take him to his home. He felt stifled and suffocated, wanting to get out of here immediately. He had wanted to do so for many years now. But this time…. there was almost a calling from yonder.

His mother had called.  She was the single star, an omnipresent force. In his original home everyone seemed to call her “Mother”. She held a constant smile even when chaos reigned around her. Grandpa was one of the many other people who had to leave this beautiful home for he was assigned the task.

He had argued and threw tantrums refusing to leave the side of the mother. However she gently reminded him that everyone have to take turns to complete their duties at the time they ought to. It was time to return. There was no promise of riches and life in splendour but he hadn’t even imagined that his life was to be mundane and the creative brilliance did not hold any value at all. He had been doing his daily grind – a routine that had stifled all of his creativity.

And now he was leaving on the very vessel he had eyed. He had spoken to the captain of the vessel and was offered a job in the galley. From somewhere to nowhere but he would be out on his long journey home. He had only a small bag for he had always thought there was no need to carry baggage and burden himself forever. It was easy to walk away with a small bag so he did not have explain anything to his wife nor children. He was taking nothing but at the same time he was. A lot of those feelings and emotions that made him do what he was about to do.

Leave his young family and responsibility which he had never wanted in the first instance. He approached the vessel and embarked on his journey which he thought would take him to his “Mother” or so he imagined at the time.

Years passed and then he closed his eyes to go home to his Mother. But now, he had to protect his daughter. She needed him. Her soul was at torment, devoid of peace. She was scared and he needed to protect… For her long way home… just as he had got there after crossing seas and skies. The magpie had arrived at the nest.