Tired of the monotony of the city life Arianna thought to spend time in the countryside in her granny’s house. She applied for a one month leave. She knew her boss was rather a snob, who would disgrace her initially and then grant her only twenty days leave. She has been working day and night to achieve the promotion that was given to the boss’s niece. And she was derived by the fact that at least nepotism was not prevalent there. And the idea of her boyfriend and her working in the same workspace was also foolish. He has grown jealous and issues between them have been escalating lately. She has lost the peace of mind she had earlier when she joined. All her colleagues went to the party on the weekends and she wondered what was there to be happy every weekend. In the initial days out of the fear of being left out, she had joined them occasionally. Later on, fatigue led her to cancel all parties. She went to the doctor to get her regular checkup where she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Everything around her was telling her to halt and all she was doing was messing it.
All she was yearning was the warmth she felt in the cozy cottage of granny and the way it made her feel loved. Those childhood memories have all been hidden there in small things from her first drawing hanging in her room to her first photograph. She was brought up by her granny after her parent’s demise. And a recent call from her has left her restless to pay a visit and see how her smile spreads over that wrinkled face. After convincing her boss and working overtime on the cost of her health she managed to afford three weeks off from her work.
Packing all her necessities and breathing a sigh of relief she was already feeling better on the thought of going back to where she grew. She wanted granny to be flabbergasted and hug her and keep her warm in her skinny arms and those eyes filled with love. She took her first flight and reached there by the end of the day. She was crossing through her street when she noticed how much she missed the ambiance of the setting sun. Standing in front of the gate gave her a shiver. She rang the bell and it was still the handmade bell she made in 8th grade.
An old lady with a stoop came to open the door. It felt like she hasn’t aged a day like a winter fog white and cold. Her face widened into a curve giving a stupendous smile overwhelming my heart with joy. I kept my entire luggage in my room and went to the kitchen. Granny was making cookies for me and the aroma escaping from the oven reeled a flashback of childhood. I remember how she used to oil my hair and she used to narrate my stories of her childhood. At night we had a scrumptious meal and went to bed early. The next morning I woke up with the sunlight on my eyes from the window and the birds chirping. I woke up in awe that granny was still sleeping. I was hoping I would wake up to her humming in the kitchen. I went to her room and to my amazement, I saw her lying on the floor unconscious. All the dreadful thoughts hit my mind and I called my neighbors to contact a doctor. I was sitting outside the room numb and paralyzed with fear imagining all the worse things that could happen to her. I have seen my mom in that situation when dad left and I needed granny more than anyone in the world right then. The doctor came to me and said she had a tumor as well as it was her last stage. I was down in the dumps hearing that she was left with just a few days. I went inside and watching her smiling tears rolled down my cheeks and she said she knew that she was close to her death and finding peace. “Now I can die at peace looking at a gorgeous, independent lady following her dreams as I kept my promise to your mother to nurture you into a warrior like you’’ granny said and got breathless. I gave her medicines and she went back to a profound slumber. Sitting there watching her sleep was the most alluring thing I have seen since days. I took care of her and took her to places where we used to go together when I was young. She found her peace after a week and after all the ceremonies I paid her a last visit to the cemetery and on her tombstone, it was engraved that “Don’t weep when you come here, feel me in the breeze and I am not there I did not die.’’