Price

His eyes remained open,

With a ceaseless gleam;

Some hopes, Some desires,

Some unfinished dreams.

The agonized face,

Could say a thousand words;

He was dead for hours,

In a clotted pool of blood.

His pocket had a picture,

Of his wife and little son;

He thought he would see them,

Once the war was done.

He was one of the many dead,

Their stories are never told;

For their families and children,

It is the end of their world.

We live our life in selfish ways,

But have we ever thought;

What price the soldiers pay,

For the life that we have got?

THE WAIT-II

As Abbas passed his higher secondary exams his parents wanted him to go abroad for higher studies.Abbas protested,he didnot want to go leave the city fearing that he would miss meeting his baba.But his protests were ignored and he was sent to study.On the day he left he went to meet his baba.They hugged each other and cried.Abbas promised to write letters to Abdul every month and promised to take him back once he finished his studies.Abbas left and with him the world seem to come to a stop for Abdul.He kept waiting for him every saturday as he used to but Abbas never came.Abdul recieved letters from Abbas every month which he was unable to read.He asked the care taker of Sahara to read it for him.Once the letters were read,Abdul stored it safely.He took the letters out every night and smelled them wishing for Abbas.Tears rolled down his cheeks as he slept.He woke up dreaming of Abbas and cried for the rest of the night.
In all these years,Mushtaque never came to see Abdul.His health started to detoriate and he emaciated.He could barely walk but that never stopped him to lie down on the hammock staring at the gateway on saturdays.5 years has passed since Abbas left but Abdul waited for himfor he believed that one day hewould surely come.
It was monsoon time and Abdul felt as if this was the last monsoon of his life.He not keeping well since months but with the onset of monsoon his problems aggravated.The lack of proper care at Sahara added fuel to the fire and left Abdul bedridden.He was too weak to get out of his bed so his saturdays were spent waiting,lying on the bed staring at the door.


It rained heavily that day.Abdul lied on the couch in his room and watched out of the window.The water droplets dancing on the leaves of the trees.He seemed to be in a never ending reverie.He himself couldnot figure it whether he was asleep or awake.He could hear the ticking of clock in the room still time seemed to have stopped for him.He prayed to God for mercy,for his death,for relieving him of this pain.He wept silently and prayed.Abdul didnt know what time of the day it was when he heard a soft whisper in his ears........'BABA'. He made no effort to turn around as he thought it as just a dream.'Baba' the voice called again.Abdul didnot move.He kept lying with eyes closed when he felt a hand touching his shoulder.The touch was familiar.The touch infused such energy within Abdul that he immediately turned around.With his blurred vision he saw a young handsome man smiling.The man said again.'Baba,its me Abbas.' Abdul couldnot believe his eyes and ears.He thought its another prank that the old age is playing.He thought he was hallucinating.The man said again 'Baba,your Abbas is back.You dont worry at all.I am here to take you with me.' It was not a dream,neither a reverie nor hallucination.Abbas has kept his promise to come back.When Abdul realised this he threw his rickety arms around Abbas.He wanted to say something but his voice chocked.Struggling to stop his teras Abdul stared at Abbas who has grown up into a young man in these years.He kissed Abbas on his forehead and broke down into a loud cry.Both of them hugged each other and cried.The tears washed away all the pains of this long wait which finally got over.

THE WAIT-I

It was a humid saturday afternoon.Abdul was lying restlessly in the hammock which was netted at the portico of the building.His trembling hand wiped drops of sweat from his face.He could feel the heat,his skin burning but Abdul lied over there.It has been years since Abdul first entered this place.For him life has changed ever since except for the saturdays.Over the years this is one day Abdul waits for.Restless and impatient like a child he refuses to leave the portico staring at the gateway.The scorching sun,the violent rains and the biting cold has failed Abdul retreat into his room.This is the day he waits for all the week,the day when he would meet his grandson Abbas.
Abdul,a widower was old.His face was worn out with wrinkles.His hands trembled.His back was hunched and he walked with a with the support of a stick.His brown eyes were pale,his vision was blurred.His memory had started to fade but Abdul still remembers the day when he first stepped into this place.The day when his wait had begun.The wait to go back,the wait to live in his own house which he had bought,the wait to live a happy life with a loving family.21 years has passed since the day but Abdul is still waiting.His friends in the building tell him to stop waiting and hoping for something which is never going to happen.But Abdul never listens to them.His life in this buliding is woven around hope and he says that his wait will end with his life.

The building is an old age home named as 'SAHARA' where many old and helpless people like Abdul live.Each of them had their own reasons for turning up to this place.Some were dumped by their families and some had no families to live with.Though they themselves had formed a family and managed to live their life between sheer penury,they had one thing in common.All of them were unwanted.Years back when Abdul was left here by his son he had problem adapting himself to the austere lifestyle.He consoled himself

thinking that it was a matter of just six months and his son would take him back once he returns from his business trip.The official trip required Mushtaque (Abdul's son) to go to the US for six months.Fatima(Abdul's daughter in law) and Abbas was also to accompany him.Abdul was quite old to take care of himself if he stayed back.So it was decided that he would shift to the old age home for this six months and Mushtaque would collect him once he returned.Months passed,years passed,Mushtaque returned from his trip but he never mentioned anything about taking Abdul back.Every saturday Mushtaque would come to Sahara with Abbas and Fatima to meet Abdul. Any mentioning of Abdul's return was always ignored by Mushtaque.Initially he cooked up lame excuses but as days passed Mushtaque made it very clear to Abdul that he has to stay at Sahara.With passing days their visits to Sahara to meet Abdul declined.It was in 2-3 months that Mushtaque paid the visits.He blamed it on the work pressure.Abdul could do nothing but wait each saturday for their arrival which was met with sheer disappointment most of the times.
His heart ached for Abbas,his grandson.He missed him every moment.He missed the joy of seeing Abbas grow up in front of his eyes.His cried silently every night as his heart longed for Abbas.It was only on some fateful saturdays that Abdul could meet him.

As Abbas grew up his bonding with his grandpa grew stronger.He would wait impatiently for the saturdays when he could meet Abdul whom he called as baba.On saturdays,he didnot wait for Mushtaque or Fatima to accompany him to Sahara.After school he drove his cycle to Sahara and spent entire evening with his baba.Once he took his walkman for Abdul so that his baba could listen to music.He read him stories,told him about the world.They discussed about stars,moons and galaxies.Abdul told Abbas about his childhood days,how he grew up,how he went to college,got married.He told him about his wife Sahiba and how she died delivering Mushtaque.He told him about his hardships in bringing up Mushtaque alone,without a mother and the love that he showered on Mushtaque for which he never missed his mother.

Abdul told the same stories to Abbas over and over again and everytime he heard these stories he could see the pain in Abdul's pale brown eyes,his longing to be with his son,his family.Many a times Abbas requested his parents to bring Abdul back to their house but all his pleas were rejected.With each passing day Abbas got more and more closer to his baba.He found a friend,a companion in him who loved him selflessly.His cravings to be with his parents who were too busy in their professional lives was fulfilled on the saturdays when he sat with his baba and chatted.

to be contd......