THE TRUTH

The cool wind blew across playfully. The sun had risen on another brilliant day and the darkness was withdrawing sullenly to reveal another glorious morning. MT loved to start the day with such fine weather. Rosie did not seem to notice the beauty and was staring into space lost in thought.

‘How are you doing today, Rosie?’ MT was concerned about her. It so often happens in extended families, the eldest member of the family takes an inordinate liking to the youngest one. Such was the case with MT and Rosie too. Mornings were the time when both of them talked the most. Rosie would often tell MT about her youthful angst and MT had not only lend a patient ear but also sound words of advice. But Rosie could not articulate her problem. She tried but gave up. It was her problem. Maybe she was growing up. Maybe she should talk less to MT about her fears. But MT was not one to give up easily. He decided tell Rosie the truth.

‘I was lost. It was dark all around. I was being thrown from place to place. I had nowhere to go. Life was threatening to cease and life was palpably close. My mind was in a haze. The fog was clearing only to be replaced by blindingly bright light. It was a struggle. I pulled through. I was certain that life was now near… very near. I reached out like a caged animal for freedom. I inhaled with difficulty but finally I could smell freshness. It was the freshness of earth. There was love on this planet. Yes, now I could be sure that I would be helped. The tender caress of love and the tears of concern nourished me. That was when I knew that the world was safe. I reached out to this love and I tried my best to hold on.

There was feeble light and paling darkness, both juxtaposed together, around me. I learnt to concentrate on the patches of light. I dreamed about brightness while groping in the darkness. Ah, I found a hand. It was held out to me. I grasped it gratefully. With confidence I then climbed on like a mountaineer. I felt very comfortable. Sleeping in the midst of so much love and happiness. This must be a good world indeed. And then slowly, I lifted my head and peeked. Miranda was right. It was a brave new world indeed. Although the brightness stung and the harsh breeze hurt, I enjoyed my first glimpse of the world. My world. My family. There were others then. Others that I learnt to recognize, love and respect. Under their protective canopy, I played and frolicked. I learnt to dance with the wind and sing with the birds. I would mischievously conspire with the bees and the butterflies to dance around the elders. They would sternly ask me not to interfere, sometimes mildly patting me on the head. Words and actins were not important, not significant. It was more the surroundings and my well-wishers that I got attached to. It was all a lovely age to learn the hard lessons without realizing it. But some things just cannot be learnt. The world has to teach us these things. Today, I’m an old man, and yet I fear for the same thing you fear.’

Rosie stared up at MT. How had he articulated the torment that she was feeling so accurately? Suddenly Rosie suspected that MT knew her thoughts better than she herself did. Why was she so scared? Was there something wrong? The sad smile on MT’s face confirmed it. It made MT look suddenly very old and bent. As if he had read Rosie’s thought, MT shook himself, and stretched upwards towards the sky and inhaled the morning breeze with relish.

‘Ah Rosie, we live in a brilliant world. But we live in bad times. It is worse than a war. We can all be killed by a stroke with out a war cry. But we cannot reason with our enemies because they are ignorant fools. It is our duty to enjoy the miracle of life till it is and go silently, if snatched from us.’

They had reached MT by then.

‘What a lovely mango tree!’

‘And there is a rose sapling too.’

‘Come on, let’s get to work. This place has to be cleared by evening. Construction work is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Another building would replace another patch of greenery. Just another day.