The Surprise

Zahida got up from her armchair. All day long she had been busy with crochet embroideries. Zahida always lost the passage of time whenever she was fiddling with crochet, needles and threads. And why ever not, crochet was such a magical material to work on. One could spin wonders out of it and transform mundane pieces of clothes into beautiful table clothes, cushion and pillow covers.

Zahida felt her waist cramped due to the long hours of bending over her embroidery. Age had caught up on her. She would grow exhausted faster these days, her eyesight having been weakened as well. Zahida sighed as she looked out of the window adjacent to her chair on its right.

 It had been 5 years since Aamer’s father had passed away suddenly due to a cerebral attack. The old neighbourhood had changed so much - food from every end of the world welcomed guests in the numerous restaurants and high-end technology made things previously only imagined possible. The ways of life itself had undergone massive alterations. It was almost a culture shock, living even in the place where people as old as her had lived for the remainder of their lives.

The doorbell rang. Aamer must have returned from the office. Zahida hobbled to the door. If only the lad had gotten a wife for himself! - Thought Zahida bitterly. How many an argument had occurred between the mother and the son regarding this. “Ammi, with your temperament, I doubt if the poor girl would last even a year.”- Aamer had joked. Zahida definitely liked girls who did not ignore tradition completely. But she was never against girls who strived for knowledge or sought financial independence. Why were children so stubborn?-Thought Zahida ruefully.

Aamer entered, flinging his bag at a sofa.

“I have repeated again and again not to throw things just about anywhere!”- Zahida retorted.

“Ammi, why must you nitpick about irrelevant matters every day? Boss at office, you at home…Oh so exhausting!” – Aamer slammed the door to his room.

Such unpleasant exchanges had become a wont now. Zahida would often recall the days of Aamer’s childhood fondly. The distant golden past would bring smile to her face, when the present troubled her so. She could remember the times when the little Aamer had parted reluctantly on his first day to school or had clung close to her during one of those mystery cave rides offered by the local amusement park or had shouted with glee at spotting a sleepy bear during a visit to the zoo or had worn a proud and glad look during his convocation ceremony. Aamer’s father, though a caring and affectionate guardian, was a tad bit stricter than his mother. Zahida, though she did censure the boy from time to time was the one who pampered him as well. Zahida wondered if Aamer too could recollect these memories or had stacked them away in a forgotten corner of his mind.

Following a quiet dinner that night, Zahida happened to pass Aamer’s room. She could hear Aamer’s voice floating out.

“Yes, yes… you do understand that she is a picky woman. She cannot adjust easily anywhere. You must take care of that…Old people you see…”

Zahida was wracked by a sudden bout of anxiety. A few days ago, she had heard of a neighbour’s children sending her off to an old age home. They were too busy to have time for the old woman. What was this that Aamer talked of? Was she also…? No, surely Aamer couldn’t be doing that. Zahida retired to bed. She had begun feeling dizzy.

A postman rang the doorbell next day when Aamer was away. A heavy piece of envelope was delivered. Zahida could figure out a Government seal on the envelope. Not trusting her fingers to tear open the envelope without harming the contents within and deeming it as important, she placed it on the centre table in the drawing room. Aamer could check what was inside when he returned.

Aamer, upon returning, spotted the envelope and grabbing it swiftly, began tearing it open, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Ammi here…Look what I got!”- Aamer beamed like a child.

“What is it Beta? Some sort of good news is it?”- Zahida looked up from the crochet she had been working on.

“Well…look and understand for yourself. It’s a surprise!”- Aamer shrugged.

Zahida took the contents from her son’s hands. It contained air tickets bearing her and Aamer’s names and some other sort of documents which she could not comprehend. She looked up questioningly.

“Oh silly Ammi…If you could only understand! Those are the Visas. We are going on a trip to Egypt. Remember how you used to tell me bed time tales of the ancient Pharaos? Let’s meet them for real this time. Don’t worry; I know you are one finicky old woman. I have taken care to get good lodgings in Cairo and…”- Aamer went on and on while his mother only smiled, a prickling sensation in her eyes threatening to overwhelm her.