On your own…[short-story]
“I’m also getting old, can’t you come and help me in the household chores?” yelled Aradhiya’s amma (Latha) from the kitchen.
Lying in her bedroom, Aradhiya continued watching movies without minding what her mother just said. This remained typical within the daughter and the mom and it never had an end in their days together.
Latha kept worrying most of the time about how her daughter will handle everything solely one day. Little did her mom know that day was approaching shortly.
Aradhiya had to move away from home to chase her dreams. She was brimful of excitement. When the day arrived, the house was full of bustle. Aradhiya had a roster of errands for Latha.
“Amma did you iron and pack my clothes? Where did you keep my charger Amma? Is the food ready? I am getting late”
“Kanna, everything is arranged don’t worry. We will be on time to the airport” said Latha.
Surprisingly, Latha did not yell or complain that day and patiently helped her daughter get set. Time flew by and, it was already a couple of weeks since Aradhiya left. One fine evening Latha’s phone started ringing. It was her daughter on the other end.
“Hello kanna, how are you doing? Did you eat?”, Latha asked.
For a minute there was utter silence at the other end. After a few moments, Latha heard a weeping sound on the other side. She became clueless about what had befallen.
“Aradhiya what happened ma? Why are you crying? Is there a problem?”
Not hearing anything from her daughter made the mom more nervous. The hapless mother didn’t know how to support her daughter. After a couple of minutes, Aradhiya began speaking.
“I am very sorry Amma. There are no words to explain how much you have toiled for our family every day to have it running round the clock. I feel guilty and I deeply regret not supporting you whenever you needed me the most.”
“Amma, I feel like I took you for granted all these days. Living alone has made me realize a lot of things. I was focused only on my career aspirations and never cared about how I got food on time every day throughout my life. Never did I know the amount of work that goes into a house to make it a home”
Like Aradhiya, how many of us would have realized this at some point in our life? I did it too.
Be it a boy or a girl, there would be a phase in your life when you are dependent on someone. It can be your mother, husband, sister, or anyone else. Without these selfless poor souls who work for us every day, we would have never been who we are today. Instead of realizing it later in life, let us be mindful of all that they do for us.
By this time if your heart reminded you of someone or a memory, I would love to hear it from you!
