It was another cloudy night . I was by the window, relishing the light drizzles. I enjoyed night rain , the light tapping of water felt like a soothing companion, comforting to my sleep. Amma* was quite worried since Appa* was traveling the night .
I was fast asleep deeply immersed in my puerile fantasies when something unsettling disturbed, the feeling of slight waft of water on my hand.
It took me while to register that my house was knee deep in water. The rain bashing against our window didn't seem so peaceful now.
We rushed outside. " The wrath of god has come! Run child! ", crazy as it seems, I would have believed the old man seeing the unshaken sight of the roads filled with alarmingly rising water , the heavy storm heeding no mercy to it. Our entire village piled out.
We took our few belongings and hurried. Dreaded fear written on everyone's face. My uncle guided us to a van that took us to a far uphill camp . People rushing... many hurt by the rabble..shrilling cries..
Blind panic...
We had no range , no contact, no clue where Appa was. The horrendous storm terrified me to my bone! I clutched Amma harder every passing minute .
I noticed a heavily pregnant woman sitting on the floor with a small girl next to her. She was in distress, her eyes rolled up, the girl desperately trying to wake her up.
No one seemed to notice this. Feeling amiss, I tucked at Amma to look at them. She quickly caught everyone's attention and helped her up to a table nearby.
My sisterly instincts kicking in, I held the crying girl who wouldn't leave her mother's side. All I could do was cradle her up . The woman woke up as she cried in desperate agony. A training nurse in the camp exclaimed "Her water's broken, she needs to be taken to a hospital immediately !".
It wasn't long until a young boy in his twenties volunteered to drive in the torrential rain. Everyone helped the women into the van, the nurse accompanied her, took the girl from me and they drove off.
No one knew if we would see them again, no one knew the strength of the wrath outside, no one stopped them...
Just as I had no clue about Appa, everyone had their uncertainties . May it be the young boy or the nurse who didn't fail to endorse through the worse, despite their own pleas. Where humanity is the only religion left, this is our family, where we had to look out for one another.
The ideas of universal brotherhood, of boundless love that encompasses beyond all religions and beliefs had taken its true form that day, the only thrust we need to move forward no matter the falls . As the world passes through a plethora of conflicts,
71 years later, the relevance of
'The Father of the Nation' continues to grow stronger and bolder...
The rains had welcomed a baby boy to our village...
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*
Amma - mother
Appa - father
YOU ARE READING
Undaunted Darkness#BeingGandhi
Short Story"To be friends with the world and to regard the whole human family as one " As long as love goes beyond religion, cast or creed we can all hope for a better future. Love binds, love paves for oneness...
