It’s been a week I was not getting enough earnings. Though I didn’t feel that much gloomy as I have seen many cries till this young twenty-ninth of age. Thank God! that I get satisfied by my shelter surrounded by decorative natural beauty. The green trees and grasses in all four directions, the cool atmosphere, peace environment and the sound of stream were really a sight worth calling wonderful. No any other shelters could be seen up to miles away; only one in that area, which was mine. I was like a caretaker of interior and exterior of entire area.
My interior was so plain to memorize. A mud stove in the corner and two aluminium tools on it; some old newspaper pictures were pasted on wooden walls; an out dated calendar and a noisy radio; a plastic water bottle and a glass; some candles and a matchbox; a pair of cloths hanged behind the door; and a medium piece of rug on the floor.
It was a full moon. As usual I was lying alone on a rug wearing a white rough vest and a gray color half pieced jeans. And a pair of cloths were my pillow. My fingers were busy holding a low-priced cigarette. I was just blowing smokes following the beats of a folk song listening on my old radio. Likewise, I was trying to observe the stars from the holes in a rusted metal roof. And when the stars were getting visible, I was fading those away in the smoke of cigarette which I assumed as a cloud. But I was out of stock so after a last puff, I burnt down the cigarette on the floor.
The glow of the candle and the in flowing beams of the stars were somehow meant to be the reasons for my dazzling space. The cool air passing through the crevices of wooden wall was defecting my drink (a glass of local alcohol) which I had a moment earlier.
Suddenly my old radio started tuning noisy waves and then stopped. I looked at my wrist but I was unable to guess the time because instead of a watch my wrist was full of some sort of religious yellow threads. Then I stood up from the rug, went near to the stove, looked into aluminium utensils if it had something to eat. I was confused for those some grain s of rice remain from this morning. Then I left the tool in its place and drank a full litre of water from a plastic bottle placed beside the mud stove. The moment I just put down the bottle, I heard like someone’s calling me which frightened and irritated me once. I stayed still and silent for a while; someone shouted again, “Is any one inside? Hello! Is anyone inside?”
Thinking who could be outside in this lonely place in this late night, I hold a burning candle in my hand and irritatingly I opened the door and shouted, “What are you? Who are you to shout like this in this late night?”
He was an old man around in his sixties. His wrinkled face seems to be full of worries. His head was covered by Dhaka Topi (A traditional Nepalese cap) and he was wearing Daura-Suruwal (Male Nepalese dress). And I couldn’t ask why he is bare-footed because I was feeling sorry for shouting on an old man. It was my temper which ruined my life and I was still not controlling myself. I was busy blaming myself for everything happened.
An old man asked to me, his lines were like “Do you have some firewood, son?”
I get shocked hearing what he asked for. I stared his face for a while, talked to myself “Why he is here at this time just for firewood?”
He was repeating the line “Give me some firewood if you have son, I’m really freezing here”?
Now I get double shocked because it’s the month of June and I was wearing half-pant and a vest only, how could he get so cold? My reply was bit harsh but when I saw the old man shivering from cold, I got surprised.
If I had a grandfather then he would be of similar age. But unfortunately I have none. Out of respect I placed some firewood on the ground and lit the fire. As soon as I lit, he rushed to get near the fire and said “God bless son”. He had a long sigh and started to get busy warming himself.
Though I had nothing to feed, I asked him if he would like to eat something. But he stayed silent as if he didn’t hear me. I asked him again and this time he shook his head gesturing “NO”. I got the answer and assuming he will not speak to me anymore, I stretched my neck and sneaked on his wrist watch. It was 9 o’ clock which I couldn’t believe easily because the night seemed so late and I was also feeling sleepy. Thinking not to stay with the silent old man, I decided to go to sleep. So I said to him, “OK sir I’m going to sleep, I will leave the door open so whenever you get enough warmth, come and sleep inside if you want”. Same again. He didn’t answer anything; he just looked at my face and smiled. Oh! I got irritated again and without caring about him I went inside whispering “whether I could be able to sleep or not?”
And I lie down on my rug. I didn’t know how quick I went into a deep sleep. I was feeling like I slept just a moment ago when I heard the voice again, “Do you have firewood? Hello son, do you have firewood?” I felt like my morning came soon. I got up and rubbed my eyes. Around 40-50 years aged man was sitting in front of me wearing white shirt, black cotton pant and a simple slipper. His neck was covered by the white towel. His face looked like he had a terrible loss and his eyes looked like he cried for a whole night.
Suddenly I remembered, the old man from last night was neither inside the room nor outside. Where might he go? Who was he? Why did he leave like this? I was questioning myself. But immediately my mind was diverted when a man in front of me asked again “Son, will you provide me some firewood soon please?”
I answered him “Yes, It’s in right passage beside the hut, fifty rupees per bundle.” Immediately after then he went outside, called his fellows and started to move those dried woods.
I stretched my body and went outside to my chores. But when I saw those unexpected sight I was stunned. I was motionless. The old man from last night was being prepared for cremation.I sat on the floor near his dead body and shouted like I got crazy.
“Who is he? Who are you? How and when did this happen?”
The same man standing near me wiped his tears by his towel and replied shortly, “He was my father who died yesterday night at 9 o' clock.
Immediately after I heard his reply, I stood up and went to see the area where the fire was lit up yesterday night. But the area was totally clean, no burning marks, no ashes nothing. I then got back near to the dead body, looked at his wrist watch, it was still 9 o’ clock and those switches were totally frozen.
