His wife, even today, may blame him for being good for nothing. Even if he wanted to prove himself to her, There was no turning back now, and something was gnawing painfully inside his head. He decides to return with his mother and confront his wife. His wife's harsh words echoed in his mind, "How many times have I asked you to dump this old hag?"
As he glanced back at his mother in the back seat, he saw her leaning completely to the right, lost in a daze. Her eyes, cloudy with age and eye mucus, were open but vacant, staring into an abyss as the car moved on. Maybe she understood that her son was about to abandon her, and unable to bear the thought, she chose to leave this world quietly, bothering nobody.
The son, not realizing that his passenger was just bones and flesh now, drove towards their home, not stopping anywhere.
His throat tightened with a lump of unshed tears, and a pang of guilt stabbed at his heart. "Why don't you close your pale and discolored eyes when you sleep, Mother?" he thought, not realizing that he had already lost his only gem that night. The silence in the car was deafening, a cruel testament to the love and care he had taken for granted.
When they finally reached home, he parked the car and hurriedly got out, ready to face his wife's wrath. But first, he turned to help his mother out of the car. "Come on, Mother, we're here," he said softly, opening the back door.
She didn't move.
"Mother?" he repeated, a hint of urgency creeping into his voice. He reached out and gently touched her hand. It was cold with no pulse. A chill ran down his spine as he shook her shoulder, panic rising.
"Mother!"
The reality hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest. She was gone. The woman who had loved him unconditionally, who had endured so much for him, had left him forever. The tears he had been holding back burst forth, streaming down his face as he cradled her lifeless body.
"I'm so sorry, Mother," he sobbed, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."
The weight of his regret and sorrow crushed him, and he realized too late the true value of the gem he had lost that night.
YOU ARE READING
Mother's Cradle
Short StoryA short story inspired by the poem "Ammathottil" by Rafeeq Ahammed Discover the heart-wrenching tale of a devoted mother who triumphed over countless obstacles to raise her son, only to be left alone by the very person she held dear. Inspired by the...
