A walk through love

A 70 year old lady would often say to me, love is to sacrifice. If one isn’t missing out on anything for their love, they probably don’t love that person enough. Missing out on sleep for her partner was one of her favourite things! Love, could sometimes appear as selfish too, she warned, because when death visits, none of us can deny its entry. Yet, the greatest lesson love teaches us, is that of patience. She realized this when she could see glimpses of her love in her children. She soon discovered that her love truly never died, it just widened its horizons. She then, understood the reason why she was never able to say a goodbye to her husband for the final time. She did not ever shed tears all night, longing for her love because she knew that her love lied deep within her own soul; so how could they be ever separated.

Stitching clothes for a living whilst singing hymns, she could feel her love grow even deeper. She did all she could to give the best of everything to her kids. She was content for all that she achieved, for all she didn’t, she never complained. She was proud to see a bit of her love instilled in her children. Time passed, her eyes grew weaker to sew clothes, her house got bigger as her kids started to earn, but the sad part was that the hearts grew smaller. The most important thing in the old lady’s life became the least significant in her kids. ‘Times have changed, mother. And so should you’, her kids would say. Turning deaf to her kids, she would go inside her room and think what went wrong on her part.

An era of selfless love took a break and a slightly more selfish love splashed in. Her kids got married to the women they loved, bore two children. The kids found solace in their grandma’s company. Her continuous blabber became words of wisdom for them. The grandkids would often turn their backs to the grandma in the evenings when the parents drove home. ‘Did your granny say something about me?’ was what the mum would ask her kids. The little kid would always wonder why her mother finds the old lady so much of a pain.

She could now pretty much see the end nearing, not because of physical illness but because at this phase of life all she needed was a bit of love from those who were too busy living their dreams of lavish lifestyles. She could now feel the emptiness within her. There were cars in the house yet she had to walk down the road all by herself to get her medicines. Then, the evening would be followed by arguments on why the laundry wasn’t done properly when the widow had nothing else to do for the whole time. During those nights she would cry herself to sleep, thinking of her lost love. One rainy day when she was shedding tears whilst cooking, her grandson came running, wiped away the tears and hugged her. That was love, in the form of protection and care.

Then came one sunny morning, when the old lady slept and never woke up. Her kids cried at her funeral, people prayed to Almighty for the soul of an empowered woman. Her grandson stood at a corner, watching his granny lie in peace, he smiled looking at the sky. Not always does a disease kill people, sometimes it is just the pain accumulated within that makes the heart stop functioning.