The Incomplete Candlelight Dinner
The Silence Between Flames
I was at a dinner with my soul daughter Tanvi and her daughter. The phone buzzed. It was from my neighbor. “What are you doing tonight?”
“I am having a candlelight dinner with my soul daughter Tanvi and her daughter at a nearby restaurant,” I said.
“Send me a picture,” she said. I got this picture taken especially with the candle and sent it to her.
I had befriended the lady and her name means Emerald in English. She was a courageous lady. Three years ago she had a stroke and survived. When she came home from the hospital I went to see her. Her helper was packing her things.
“Where are you going?” I asked. “My daughter wants to take me to her home,” she answered.
I asked her if she would stay with her for good but she replied in the negative. She said that it would be temporary till she recovered.
She was very incoherent and I could hardly understand her words. I could see that she had willpower but like the other neighbors, I did not quite believe her. However, from that day we sort of became a friend and we shared a bond.
True to her word, I saw her back in three months. She asked her help to call me on the phone and ask when I would be free to meet her.
