A short story taken from the annals of my memory
Why does it rain?
They say God is crying then.
Rajesh could feel the rain on his face despite having the windows shut. He closed his eyes to imagine the wet air stroking his face. The heavy drops fell on the roof of the car. The vehicle still aced straight, splitting the rain and darkness with its headlight. The sun had not come out to greet them. The roads were still dark and soaked, mourning silently with the passengers.
There is something special about the rains in Kerala. You could feel the gods within them. Skies would be filled with clouds, black and dark. Even the sun would bow down before its might. The whole place would be covered in the petrichor with a cool breeze announcing the arrival of rain. The birds would chirp their way into their nests. The cows and goats cried for the owners to take them to the shed. The frogs would sit by the paddy fields crying aloud to rejoice at the arrival of the rains. The trees and plants would dance to the breeze, waiting for the first drop of rain to fall and bless them. It is a ceremony of a kind: all of nature welcomes the rain; the whole of nature joins the rain. All of them know when it is about to start. They could feel it right inside themselves.
Rajesh had left Kerala with his new family at the age of five. His father had died from a heart attack. That left his mother, Rima with a young child and a bleak future. She found it difficult to raise her child alone as a single mother in a conservative society, so she accepted a second marriage. She married Devendran, a manager at a pharmaceutical company in Singapore. He had gladly accepted Rima and Rajesh and moved them abroad with him.
The rain had turned gentle with its drops, caressing the earth. It did not make much noise upon hitting the roof of the car anymore. Like a leaf in autumn, the tender drops rained down gently.
Devendran sat in the front, trying to catch up with the sleep he had missed during the four-hour flight. He was in his late fifties and had a bypass surgery the year before. Rima was scared and worried that she might lose him like her first husband. When the doctor had suggested the surgery as a solution for the possible heart failure he might face, she acceded to it. She did not want death to wipe away their smiles again. They were having a perfect life that any family would dream of. Devendran loved Rima and Rajesh more than anyone else. He had put in extra effort to build a strong bond with little Rajesh in the early days. More than a stepfather, he has become a great friend to Rajesh.
Rima sat at the back with her son. Her eyes were wet and it got wetter with time. Her cheeks turned red and her face looked tired. It was the day before that they received a call from India. It was unusual for the family to receive such a call past dinner time in Singapore. Rima attended the call with caution and worry. She heard the piece of news from the person on the other side and it sliced her heart apart.
{to be continued}
