The Inevitable Epoch

It was past midnight on the 4th of August 2019, I was wide awake, tossing and turning. I could hear the chirping of crickets in the otherwise noiseless neighbourhood. And my thoughts were creating an undefined yet a bleak Vibration in my otherwise composed mind. Just when I decided to close my eyes, I could faintly hear my phone ring. 

The call was from my aunt serena, why is she calling me at this time of the night, I thought to myself before answering, "uhm Christabel can I speak to beryl", she said. I could sense tension emanating through her voice. I asked her what had come to pass but she refused to respond and continued to ask for Dad. The sense of tension which was felt through her voice and the ceaseless neglection that my enquiry received prompted me to shed tears. I rushed across my room to the drawing area and found my dad working.

His Mobile was missing beside his laptop which explained why aunt serena couldn't reach him. Seeing me in tears, he got up the chair and motioned towards me in shock. He hugged me and needed to know why I was sobbing. I handed my mobile and motioned him to speak. As the conversation proceeded further, I could perceive an immediate shift of expression, on my dad's face. After a noticeable period of silence, he said "Okay we'll be there in an hour" before disconnecting the call. 

Throughout the journey, the absence of conversation surprisingly restrained from triggering the feeling of void-ness. For the three of us, Dad, Mom and I, individually played inside our heads, the conversations which we shared and the memories that we made with a certain Gentleman who lived a life filled with Joy, struggles, accolades and most importantly Love. He was Dr.John, My beloved Dad's Old Man.

When we reached aunt serena's place, it was past 2am. I could witness the wailing of an assemblage filled with friends and family alike at the Porch. We made our way to the drawing area and found him taking his Eternal rest inside a brown coffin. He was a stocky man with a melanin rich skin, fit and healthy as a horse till his final breath. Yet a destructive cardiac arrest took him away in minutes. On Seeing Dad, aunt serena paced towards him hugged him and could not stop herself from balling her eyes out.

Together we stood facing the coffin and As I watched him rest wearing his favourite coral blue suit, it choked me up. As the heaviness gradually receded, I began to look out for my mumma (Grandmother).

She was inside their bedroom, sitting on his side of the cot with her back facing towards me. As I walked in, she turned around and smiled at me. I sat beside her. Her eyes weren't wet, she remained still and after a moment of silence she said, "I waited for 5 long years to marry your puppa (Grandfather) but he left me in 5 minutes". I hugged her tight and could feel the pain spilled through her words

A year has passed since his demise, the overwhelming emotion from the past made me play this melancholic memory on my mind today. And as I stand here looking at his resting place adorned with garlands of flowers, I ruefully acknowledge the fragility of life and of time's ruthlessness through the saying "An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold."