At the hour of dawn

It was a typically late Saturday night. Sanjib and I had gone across to Someplace Else for some music and a beer. As usual, I bumped into half the world at the Park Hotel. Where else would they land up on a Saturday night!

I came back home at about 2 in the morning. Not at all unusual. I chatted with Mum about all the people I had chanced upon there. By the time I wrapped up, it was about 3:30, and as usual, without a bit of reading, it becomes nigh impossible for me to sleep!

I don't know what hour it was. I just heard Dad calling me in a calm voice, with a slight hint of urgency, asking me to wake up. I asked him what the matter was... and he told me, in a matter-of-fact manner, that I needed to come downstairs, as Mum had died. I sat up with a jolt. This could not be true. I looked out of the verandah door towards the sky. It wasn't dawn yet. 

I went bounding down the staircase. As I entered the hall, I realised that none of the dogs were to be seen. May be Dad had removed them to some other room, for Mum's body was there on the floor, covered with a sheet. There were strange arcs of things which looked like mustard seeds around her, and little heaps of the same between the arcs. In spite of everything, I kept on wondering what it was all about. Somehow, everything seemed unreal.

Then my sister, Dyuti, walked in. She had been in Delhi till the previous evening- I thought that either this had to be a very surreal dream, or else she had flown down almost immediately on getting the news. As organised as she is, Dyuti had a list of people in her hands, whose names she was calling out to find out from me whether they should be called at the mourning or not.

I remember not paying any heed to her and staring outside a window onto our driveway. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a girl appeared- a very familiar face, yet I can't place her- clad in a saree. Short, plump, with short hair and a dimpling smile. Right next to her, yet again out of nowhere appeared a man in black clothes, with, of all the things on earth in this beastly weather, a black leather jacket! This man's face I knew- my friend Rocky. As soon as I saw them I realised they were no longer bodied mortals. I asked my sister to look at them, but she saw nothing, and got back to her list. Rocky just looked at me and smiled, and said, 'Yes, I am dead... it's a long story.... will tell you some other time.... actually we are here to take Aunty with us.'

I walked up to the window, and I pointed towards Mum's body and said, 'but you can't.. she is dead.'

The girl just said, 'we know....we will wait for her'.

In all this while I could not cry... everything was too bewildering. I started wandering around... still uncertain of what was going on around me. For some reason, Dad was nowhere to be seen. I presumed he had gone off to call some of our close friends and relations.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard Mum's voice. She was standing outside the window where a little while back Rocky and the girl had been standing. She was calling out to me. I ran upto the window, and, smiling, more out of incredulity than joy, and burst out saying 'Mummy! What are you doing there? You are dead!'

There she was.... outside the window...typically in her house attire.. her long loose printed cotton nighties....her short hair dishevelled... her spectacles were not there though. She merely said, 'I know....'

I tried to reach out to touch her hand- it was resting on the window- when suddenly out of the blue Dad screamed out, 'No! Don't! If you do, she won't be able to go to heaven.. you need to let go of her... she is here because you are not letting go.'

I looked at her, and saw Rocky and the girl had come up to flank her. They too told me to let go, for it was time to take her away.

I looked away, and when I turned around again, she was nowhere to be seen, nor were the other two. I realised my Mummy was gone. How I longed to hug her and hold her and tell her I loved her... and suddenly my eyes opened, still heavy due to the distressed sleep.

I kept on lying in the bed, trying to reason out with myself, whether anything had happened at all. My first reasoning was that my Dad could not have called me so many hours after Mummy's death to actually let Dyuti fly in from Delhi. In the mean time I could hear all the dogs crying to be let out for their morning rituals. I laid in a little more- unsure of what I would see after going downstairs. Had it happened? Wasn't it too surreal to have happened? How could Rocky have died? Naa.. it was merely a nightmare.. yet I was afraid to go down and face the truth.

I got up.. decided enough was enough. I had to go downstairs and convince myself that everything was all right.

I went downstairs. The puppies were at it again. It was bright and sunny outside.... and Mummy walked out of her bedroom. I rushed up and hugged her... I did not know how else to react. I did not want to tell her of what I saw in my nightmare. Yet as I am writing this, she happened to come up behind, and read a few lines- so I told her... all of it... including the bits I have left out here. I hope I have enough time with her to let her know how much I love her... I can only hope.