RASPBERRY - A Short Story

Chapter 5: To nature

Twenty years have passed since then. Now I am a well-settled, well-off man, married to a beautiful wife, and have a four-year-old daughter. I sometimes feel miserable that my daughter cannot live in the world in which I was nourished. Every child in town lacks the fitness and activeness that were found profoundly in every second child from a village. She spends her entire day engrossed in her homework and my wife's mobile phone. When we moved to our new world, my parents got me admitted to a government school. I was no longer a village boy. Now, I am a teacher in a government school, and I am also multitalented. I like photography, I'm fond of traveling, and after learning horseback riding, I'm an equestrian. Mom and dad died in a train accident two months ago. The situation in our house settled with time.

One day, a letter came to me in the morning. I was having my tea. The letter instructed me to go to the bank and retrieve the documents for our village land, which I own, from my dad's locker in order to sell it. I had no remembrance about the village land, no memories of my childhood, and no love for those 'pinkus'.

Next Sunday, I dressed myself well and went to the village. The broker had not arrived yet, so I decided to roam and bring back some memories. Nothing has changed since then. The village seemed evergreen, and the spring season was going on. The greenery of the village had captivated me.

First of all, I met some villagers there. On introducing me to them, they were shocked and encircled me to talk to me as if I were a celebrity. They were not ready to leave me, but I got rid of them anyway. Then suddenly, a man of my age rushed towards me when he got to know that I had returned to the village. He introduced himself, and I was shocked to see his face. He was Monu. He had thick muscles and a muscular body. He was wearing a turban on his head, which I never saw him wearing in my life. I began to regain my memories. He was on his own personal bicycle. I recalled some bits of events from my memory. Then he handed me raspberries and said, "My son hangs around the village the whole day. He brought me this today. He likes them very much." I tasted them and recalled everything.

I decided where to go first and rushed for that. After running about three miles, I reached my destination. It was the old lady's garden, which was running wild with carnivorous plants. The tree trunks had turned dark brown. I thought that the spring season had cursed that land, but actually the land was left untouched for ten years, and very soon the government was going to buy it for some farming purposes. On interrogating the villagers about the lady, I learned that she passed away ten years ago. There was one more death news story for my close ones. She had been waiting for me and was gifted a silent death. I could neither see the raspberry tree through the woods nor the hut.

I returned, asking everyone the way to my house. "Listen, can you tell me the way to this address?"

"Are you Yash?"

"Yes, I am, but I didn't recognize you."

"You don't know me! I am Lallan Kaka."

"Oh yes! I know. How are your oxen?" I still remember that incident. He was still very active, but his hair had turned white. He pointed at the piece of land covered with greenery. It was my house.

I moved further and started to recall all of my memories. Some children were running from the courtyard with their hands and clothes filled with raspberries-yes, 'raspberries'.

There was a huge raspberry tree at the center of the courtyard, loaded with raspberries. It seemed that there were more raspberries than leaves. Believe it or not, surely that tree had grown from the seeds I had fallen on the ground when we were leaving the village. I did nothing, ploughing or watering, and the fruitful result of my deed (which I didn't even remember) was standing erect in front of me. I had never seen it grow, but then I saw it-grown and much stronger and taller than me. I was stunned at the sight. After twenty years, I finally have the freedom to have the things I value most in life.

I forgot all my restrictions, threw my tie in the air, threw my suit on the ground, and started running around the raspberry tree with quick steps and shaking bumps.

I stuffed my mouth with raspberries and revived that taste of my life, which was buried years ago. That sight enthralled me. Then I lay under the tree, enjoying the shed, feeling the cool breeze, and listening to the chirping of the birds nesting on the tree. The lush and lusty grass served as my bed and was tickling my ears. 'End of Beginning' by Djo was being played in my mind.

The End