THE LAST WISH
The wheels of the jeep moved on with a distinct speed and rhyme. The two women sat in silence .It was getting late. They had to reach the place before dusk. And it was already 6 o clock.
The Madam driving the car changed the gear. To break the silence the Madam tried to strike a conversation.
"Aren’t you excited to meet your son? You haven’t seen him for so long. ", She asked the other woman.
"I can't wait for a single second !"
"I haven’t seen him for three months, it seemed as if it were hundred long years", Lizzy said with scintillating eyes.
"Madam, today the 16th February 1997 is my son's birthday."
"You are taking this sweater as a gift for him?” asked madam, pointing at the tiny bright blue sweater she held in her hand.
"I knit it for him myself "
"And what is it inside the sweater that you are trying to hide?” the madam asked, pointing at something hidden beneath the sweater. The smile vanished from her face.
She quickly pulled the sweater over it, to hide the thing away from her sight.
"You'll know, when we get there", she said. Lizzy closed her eyes and dreamt. She thought of the times when she would lay her Sunny between my legs and massage him. He would pull her sari’s tip and laugh showing his toothless gums .She would then take him in her arms and kiss him on his nose.
He would pull her arm and then her lower lip and
Would knock her earring with his fingers, He would giggle out aloud. That sweet giggling sound still echoed in her ears....
The jeep came to a sudden halt.........
"Here we are Lizzy..”the madam said .She was as eager to see Sunny as Lizzy was. They walked down the jeep.
THE CHURCH'S GATE.....WAS WIDE OPEN..
"Call your son Lizzy , tell him that we need to hurry."
Lizzy was silent.... she walked on ...tears filled in her eyes .
The madam followed her curiously; when she reached there she stood still.
Lizzy pointed to a grave, a tiny one with a plate that shone brightly in the sun. Lizzy read it aloud,” SUNNY LOBO, BORN 16th FEBRUARY, DEAD 2nd NOVEMBER."
She took out the sweater and carefully placed in over the grave.
Then she removed a candle and lit it beside the grave.... looking at the flame, she thought of her son.... the day he was born.........that day-time had stopped..and rested on the beautiful child in her lap... that moment she felt her child with her.......she looked up and the sky far way..and felt his gaze on her face......she smiled into the void....
Wiping her tears she looked at the Madam and said, "This was what I was trying to hide, she said pointing at the candle "said Lizzy.
Then she stood up slowly and walked very straight. She headed towards another grave. She read, "Michael Lobo, BORN 21stOctober, DEAD 3rd November”. She said slowly,” People called him my husband. He was my son's father...but he was also a terrorist.” There was a long pause after which she said.” he.... he killed my son...what wrong did I do by killing him?"
Lizzy collapsed ...her weak legs couldn’t withstand her weight. She fell to the ground.
Them Madam picked her up...and steered her towards the jeep..Suddenly..Lizzy stopped .She looked back..She looked at the candle she had lit. Just then a cold zephyr blew.The flame of the candle dwindled.............but it continued to glow ....
Then in a quiet voice she said, "I have one last wish to make Madam...
On every birthday of Sunny... please light a candle on his grave..and when I die ...bury me close to my Sunny..."
Today it is 16 th February,2007.
The Madam bent down at Sunny's candles...they counted eleven in all, including the one she had lit today.
The madam was Central Jail's female warden.that is why she was called madam.
She remembered the time she came to this spot with Lizzy Lobo....the women who had been arrested for the murder of her husband..
She remembered that 10 years ago she had been given the death sentence. to be hang until dead. But she, the "madam " continued to carry out her last wish.
She roused her hood and stared looked on at the heavens.
She stared at the void and smiled into the void ...just as Lizzy had done..
Looking back at the earth she saw...A sepulchered monument that claimed"LIZZY LOBO, BORN 9th AUGUST 1972,DEAD 16th FEBRUARY, 1997.
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It is a very well written story with simple narrative and human drama itched effortlessly.
Please find time to have a look at:
Mission Accomplished
Target London
Bye Bye Bluebird
Warm Regards,
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Please find time to have a look at:
Mission Accomplished
Target London
Warm regards
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