The Drifted Clouds of The Last Half
The dilemma when the sunshine years are behind us — based on a PW prompt
She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together…
and the car zoomed off…
Still staring at the dusty road, a dog barking jolted her. She felt a drop on her hand, unsure of the source — she looked up at the overcast sky; dark clouds heavily pregnant with the rain but it wasn’t even drizzling yet. Her eyes had welled up before she knew…
Luckily, she got distracted and reflexively removed the clothes from the washing line.
The house was in a mess, with so much work to do. But she already felt the fatigue, almost sick. She wanted to feel the relief of having the house back to her, less work, and getting back to routine. Yet the calm, the quiet was killing her. After all, Arun had taken two weeks off to be with her.
3 years ago, her husband’s sudden passing was a shock that Leela wasn’t ready for. Her son Arun living in another city came & took her with him. A portion of the big house was locked & other parts were rented out.
It didn’t take long to know that this arrangement wouldn’t work out. Though the dutiful son tried his best to make her feel comfortable, it wasn’t home for her. Everything was different — the non-veg food, their schedules, TV channels, and the parenting style of her daughter-in-law. She didn’t approve of many things but couldn’t acknowledge the same. It was a mechanical existence where she had no say. She felt out of place and finally returned for good, to her native on the pretext of a casual visit.
The loneliness was killing her initially but as we often underestimate our emotional elasticity till it’s stretched to the limit, it took some time and she was back in the whirlwind of her daily chores.
Leela had her husband’s memories in that house, every small thing they had built together, familiar faces in the neighbourhood, the surge of energy by doing things on her own, a sense of belonging and freedom was worth it — that’s how she’d assure herself.
She’d settled in when her son called up to let her know that they would be visiting her soon. The news was music to her ears but with an unsettling echo from the past. An unease masked the joy, as her big resolution to live alone had ruffled many feathers. The relatives and friends were judging Arun and his wife for that. She had to explain.
Finally, Arun came and it was great to have the kids around.
The couple was insistent on her return, but accepted her decision.
The noise, the laughter, the cooking, and the chit-chat felt like the inky clouds on a sunny, arid day which dismally drifted away by the wind of reality.
Time flew, and it was the day when they left.
Leela came back inside with a pile of clothes and turned on the TV. Sipping tea in silence, her lips curved in a smile — as the armadillo on Nat Geo struck her with an uncanny semblance … a hard exterior but deep within all soft with a relieved solitude and self-respect.
Thank you for reading! The opening line is the prompt —
Thank you Dr. Casey Lawrence for a wonderful clue for this story. I often see this quandary in older people in India, where it’s normal for parents to stay with their son and family. But the adjustment is difficult.
You can check out more such interesting prompts through this link.
