# 8 Honesty....

What I saw the next moment soaked up my blood. I felt as if lightening struck me. I had always heard of or read about such circumstances. My body became numb. It just stopped getting any sensation. The crowd. The noise. The environment. Everybody vanished out of my sight. My eyes searched for my mom. She was sitting in the left corner of the room. Bundled up like an old woman. Suddenly she looked double her age. Hair undone. Face swollen. Mouth tight lipped. 

Putting a single step at once I slowly moved towards her. Sat near her and watched her face. It lacked the radiance she spreads around in our home and our lives. Her eyes were closed. Palms crossed together and rested on her knees. She was sitting on the ground. On the bare ground. Something she usually didn’t allow any body to do. Not even the servants. 

“Mom” I called out. She didn’t reply. “Mom” I called out again. She didn’t respond. “Mom” I said and shook her a bit, to which she burst out like a little girl. It stopped, only when her eyes were too tired for shedding tears any more. I didn’t cry. Not a single drop. May be I was too shocked to cry. A list of responsibilities awaited me that didn’t even give me a moment to mourn. From giving shoulder to my father’s body,  to answering the media’s random questions. I had to handle it all. My mom had to be admitted to the hospital owing to dehydration. “Anwesha” my kid sister was too small to understand anything. She just hugged me and cried because mom was also crying for something. 

With a shaved head I went to receive my board exam results. This time the result sheet wasn’t successful in kindling the old happiness inside me. Everybody showed sympathy and spoke too gently with me. Though I didn’t like that but I couldn’t complain either. That is how the society behaves with a young boy who loses his father suddenly. But the same society doesn’t come to the rescue of an honest official who strives day and night for them. And one day even leaves his beloved for their cause. 

My dad had gone for a morning walk that day. But little did he know that it would be his final walk. He went out to breath fresh air. Instead breathed his last. Some said it was an accident. Others said it was a homicide. The govt said whatever it was the inquiry committee will find it out.

I wasn’t bothered about what it was. As nothing would bring my father back. Nothing would bring a good human being back. And nothing would bring an honest officer back. I just knew one thing. Honesty is the best policy. And that best policy gifted me the worst gift ever. A gift that snatched away my innocence. My dreams. My plans. My happiness. My security. And my beloved dad. 

                                               

Linking the post with A-Z Challenge 

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