Unusual Bell

Unusual Bell

Maa ji, how many friends are coming to meet you? ‘ Ah! Yes, Chabeli, boil a full kettle of water and give it to me. Bela was well-known in her society, and they loved the tea she prepared. On his official visit to Paris, her son bought a lovely tea set for his mother. Whenever her friends came Bela took them out and decorated the table. She had a huge collection of Coffee Mugs too.  

Bela’s friends were all senior citizens, and she served them the best tea followed by lovely ‘Nimki,’ a salty or savoury snack made at home. Two were her childhood friends and the others she met in Lucknow. Bela had three sons and two daughters, and all got married outside Lucknow except the youngest one. She lived with her youngest son and family.

Two years ago was a sad day for her when Mr. Mitra passed away, leaving her alone. Her husband was a retired government officer, and Bela had a good pension. When Mr. Mitra was around, he used to jokingly tell his wife, 'Bela, even if something happens to me, you will be safe and never depend on your children. This house too is in your name.

She used to shiver with fear and put her finger on Mr Mitra’s lips. 'Dear, you are only 60, and nothing will happen to you. We will have a good retired life.’ The other day, Bela's eldest son, who was in the Army, invited his parents to be with him and his family in Dehradun. Mr. Mitra was in a jovial mood. ‘Now, now, Bela, please prepare a hot cup of tea for me,’ Mr. Mitra requested. The days were passing smoothly, and Mr. Mitra who had a handful of friends, looked forward to his evening walks. However, fate took a cruel twist one evening when he returned from his walk and complained of chest pain. Bela and others took it lightly, but his son took him to the doctor, who advised him to rest and change his diet. His food was then prepared with less oil and no spices. However, one morning, Mr Mitra had a severe attack, and while

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he was being taken to the hospital, he succumbed on the way. Bela's life was shattered, and for months she couldn't get over the loss. She couldn't find happiness in anything, but life had to go on. Slowly, she tried to forget her sorrow by spending time with her friends and being together.

Like any other day in the morning, when she was cooking, Bela heard an unusually pressed bell. ‘Who could it be at this hour? She mumbled to herself, and washing her hands quickly, she went to open the main door. There were a group of people who brought her son home after he met with a serious accident. The new motorcycle was fully damaged. Ritesh’s office friends and Bela took him to the nearest hospital, but nothing went well. A few days later, the hard truth came out: he would be in a wheelchair, but slowly he would recover. Ritesh wiped his mother’s tears and said, ‘I will get up.’.

Now let us see what his wife had to say. There was a huge change in her behaviour. She used to slam doors on her mother-in-law and took no responsibility. When Ritesh had a good job, she was all around, but now she took her daughter and walked away.

Bela looked at her husband’s photo, cupped her fingers, closed her eyes with tears streaming, and said, 'Dear, you left me with financial support, and I have enough money, but today I am facing and going through a different pain.’

The office people and her friends were loyal to Bela, and they helped her when she was going through difficult days. After two long years of hard work, Ritesh got on his feet, and being intelligent, his boss called him to join back his office. His wife had no face to be with him. Ritesh kept in touch with his beloved daughter.

Epilogue: The Mitras had a happy life, so what went wrong? When Ritesh needed his wife, she walked away. Despite this, everything ended up going well, except for Ritesh's wife, who, due to her sheer foolishness, lost her happy married life.