The Comet

It was 4 o'clock in the morning when the alarm went off and Anil woke from a deep sleep. He was still tired. He needed some more sleep, but he had to get up and be ready for work. He was a twelve-year-old boy. After the death of his father about two years ago, he and his grandmother were alone and struggling to make both ends meet. His grandmother was not able to do a job due to old age and was dependent on Anil.

Anil was a waiter and helper to a chef in a restaurant.

His grandmother, too, awoke hearing the alarm. He got out of bed and went out to relieve himself. When he returned, he found his grandmother boiling water for making tea.

After having tea, he headed to the restaurant. It took him about half an hour by his old bicycle. When he reached the restaurant, he found Chef Arun busy praying to God Shiva. He was a religious person and started his day by prayer to God. Anil, too, folded his hands and lowered his head and began to chant a prayer to God Shiva.

After prayer, Anil and Chef Arun began their work. Anil gathered the vegetables and began to wash them, while Arun began to brew coffee. Arun had a habit of taking coffee in the morning before starting cooking, and he used to share coffee with Anil. When he prepared coffee, he called Anil and switched on the radio. He is fond of listening to the radio. He was a far relative of the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Ramsingh, and so had some privileges, such as listening to the radio or staying at the restaurant at night, and so on.

After coffee, they got busy cooking dishes. The radio was on and the news was being broadcast. Anil was busy peeling and cutting vegetables. The news was about a comet, and it drew Anil's attention and he began

to listen to the news. The news reader was telling about a comet. Anil knew what a comet is. Anil had read about comets in school books. After the death of his father, he had to drop out of school. He had no money to pay fees and buy books.

Life had gotten very hard for him after the death of his father.

The news anchor was saying that the comet was coming from another solar system. It was an interstellar comet and it would help us in understanding the chemical composition of the other solar system. Listening to the news, Anil was chopping onions. Now it was a time of commercial break in the news. He had no interest in commercial breaks. He began to think what he would get at lunch.

The owner of the restaurant used to provide Anil with free lunch at the restaurant. 

When Anil returned home at night, he found his grandmothe lying in bed. She was coughing severely. He looked at her with worry and fear in his eyes. She said to him, "Don't worry, son. It's just a cold and cough. I will get well within a few days."

But he knew his father used to cough the same way during his illness as his grandmother was coughing. He said, "Grandma." His eyes got wet.

"I will consult the doctor," Grandmother replied. There was a lot unspoken between grandmother and son.

Next morning, as always, Arun switched on the radio while preparing the food. A program on the comet was being broadcast. Someone was telling that the comet was changing its color and its speed was more than the speed of other comets. Later, it was claimed that the comet could be an artificial object. This broadcast took the fancy of Anil and Arun. Arun was an educated person. He was a graduate from the local college.

"Now the media will create a hype for this comet," Arun remarked. But Anil had nothing to do with hype and media. He had his own fancies.

Days were passing. Anil and Arun used to listen to the broadcast daily about that comet. Reporters had always something new to tell about the comet.

One day, Anil's grandmother fell seriously ill. Anil took her to the hospital where a doctor checked her and prescribed some costly medicines. Anil and his grandmother had no money to buy the medicines. Anil was unhappy.

"Don't be unhappy. I will consult a village doctor who prescribes affordable medicines," his grandmother said to him. But he knew the matter was serious and the village doctor couldn't cure it. He was afraid.

"Don't worry, God will make your grandmother well," his friend Raju tried to console Anil when Anil told him about his grandmother's illness in the evening.

Hearing this, Anil looked at the sky and said, "God didn't save my parents." His friend had nothing to say to this. Anil was staring at the sky. His friend asked, "What are you looking at in the sky?"

Anil replied, "Grandmother says that people turn into stars after death." Like Anil, his friend, too, had lost his parents in an accident. They were gazing at the sky, feeling alone in that cool and silent night.

At night, while they were having a meal, Anil's grandmother noticed that he was sad. She said to him, "Why are you so sad? God will help us. Believe in God."

Anil said, "God has not helped us so far."

The next day, a reporter on the radio reported that the comet might be a spaceship made by aliens. He gave some evidence and logic for it. This news was just a thing of entertainment and a way to escape from the realities of life for both Arun and Anil. Anil asked Arun, "Who are aliens?"

Arun replied, "Whatever the aliens may be, one thing is certain: these aliens will run away from Earth after seeing the violence, hunger, pain and poverty on Earth."

One morning, when Anil was on the way to the restaurant, he saw a procession in which people were singing psalms and chanting that God was coming. He got impressed with the psalms and chanting and began to think where God was coming from. When he was sipping coffee in the restaurant, he told Arun about the procession and asked, "Where is God coming from?"

Arun replied, "I don't know much about this matter, but I feel the presence of God everywhere. If you pray to God with belief, he will hear you."

Later, at night, when Anil asked his friend the same question, his friend replied, "Once my granny told me that God lives in heaven."

Anil asked him, "How will God come to us?" His friend replied, "My granny says that God is omnipotent; he can come to us in any form and in any way."

Hearing this, all of a sudden it came to Anil that God is coming as a comet to relieve us humans from pain, disease, and other problems. And now Anil felt confident and strong.

Days were passing, and the comet was a hot topic among society. One day, grandmother's condition got seriousand she had been admitted to a hospital.

When a doctor asked Anil, "Where are your parents? We will have to perform a surgery on the patient. Call them to pay the fee and other bills."

Anil replied, "My parents passed away years ago. My grandmother and I will pay the fee and other bills after treatment."

Hearing this, the doctor got annoyed and said, "But, you will..." But he could not complete his sentence and began to look at Anil. After a short while, he said to Anil, "Ok, fine. I will consider the matter."

Anil didn't know how he would pay the bills. Neither did he try to think about it.

Fortunately, the next day, the same doctor came to the restaurant to have snacks and tea. He was surprised when he saw Anil working there. The doctor began to think about something. After paying the bill, the doctor asked some questions to the owner of the restaurant Mr. Ramsingh about Anil.

When the doctor was gone, the owner Ramsingh called Anil and asked him, "Is your grandmother ill and admitted to the hospital?"

Anil gave a brief reply, "Yes."

"Why did you not tell me about it?" The owner asked him. And he told him, "Go and stay with your grandmother till she gets well. God will make everything well. I will pray to God."

Ramsingh was a man of about fifty years of age. He was a sensitive person and was feeling sorry for Anil. Ramsingh's childhood, too, was full of troubles. He knew what poverty, hunger, and pain are. He began to recall his childhood. 

Here, reporters were reporting on media that the comet would be nearest to earth the next day.

The next day, when Anil reached the hospital to see his grandmother, the head nurse informed him that the doctor was ready to perform surgery on his grandmother. Anil was happy to hear this.

The comet came nearest to the earth. Scientists and media were excited and busying themselves with their work. The doctor was performing surgery on Anil's grandmother, and Anil was thankful to God for helping them.

The surgery was successful. The comet was going away from earth. Anil was looking at sky in search of the comet.

And when Anil's grandmother got well, she met with the doctor and gave him thanks for curing her of disease. When she requested him, "l Sorry doctor, I am not able to pay the bills on time. I need some days to pay the bills."

Hearing this, the doctor said to her, "The bills have already been paid. You don't need to pay the bills."

Hearing this she got surprised and asked, "Who paid the bills?"

Doctor smiled and said, "Ramsingh, the owner of the restaurant, paid the bills."

Doctor paused for a little and then said, "And please, keep it secret from Anil."

After being discharged from the hospital,  when Anil's grandmother went to Ramsingh to give him thanks, Ramsingh said to her, "It's God who help you and I am just God's instrument."