Mother

It has been more than a year since my mother left for heavenly abode. Every single day I miss her. I remember the dark night when my sisters including me were sitting around mother. Her condition was deteriorating. The family doctor was feeling helpless. It was the peak of Covid second wave. Though my mother had not been infected with corona virus but the critical operation of brain tumor had left her paralyzed and vulnerable. At around 4:30 she breathed her last.

Now let’s come to the matter that I wish to bring before the readers. I was enrolled in class eleventh when my father’s business toppled down. Since then our family underwent huge financial crisis. The struggle for existence ensued. My sisters and brother started teaching village boys and girls at nominal fee. Our family could somehow manage two meals a day. We never expressed our distress to anyone and kept struggling silently. I remember that dearth of money was so deep that I avoided hair cutting and shaving in a saloon. Such was the importance of a single penny. My mother would always encourage me to further my studies. She was my guiding force and on every difficult circumstance that life threw on us I took advice from her.

It was the month of March I was ousted from school for not depositing the fee since last three months. I came to home. I was terrified from within about my future prospects. A strong will to stand upon my own feet seemed a very distant possibility. However I never let know my mother about the incident of my ouster from school. For three days I remained at home feigning smile. On third day I decided to go to school just to take a chance of pleading to school principal for providing me some time so that I could arrange for my fee. I was walking on the road towards school when I saw my mother coming from the opposite side of the road. She beckoned me. As I came near she put some money upon my hands. I couldn’t control my tears as my eyes fell upon her ears, and neck from where her miniature earring and Magalshutra had disappeared. I knew that she has pawned her jewelry to some gold merchant in lieu of money just to sustain my education.