Bringing cheer to a lonely heart

From the veranda of my house, I saw an old lady of the opposite house reclined on an easy chair on the front porch. The sun’s rays were seen falling directly on her face. She covered her eyes with her hand. With the summer having come, it was hot even at 8 am. It looked like she needed help to get up and move inside her house. But there seemed none nearby. I was in two minds whether to go personally and help the old woman go inside the house. But I was a newcomer here and had not met them. I do not know who lived in that rather big house. I was hesitant lest someone charged me with trespass or intrusion in their affairs.

It was then my servant maid Sathya entered. She saw me staring at the old woman in the opposite t house.

“Amma, what are you looking at?” she asked.

“I have been watching the lady in that chair for nearly 30 minutes with the sun hitting her directly on her face and it is pretty hot. The poor woman is possibly unable to get up on her own and go inside. Is there no one else in the house?” I asked her,

“Amma, the old woman has a son. His wife, who was much younger than him, was with him for less than a year and left him permanently. People say that she eloped with her lover. The son has employed a part-time cook and a full-time maid to take care of his mom. The cook comes around 9 am. The maid should be there possibly flirting with the gardener. She is a lazy woman and I think she is not taking proper care of the old woman. She is a bully and picks up a fight with the cook and even the old lady at the slightest pretext. The old woman cannot get up or walk without her assistance. Her condition is pathetic. The son goes to work early in the morning and comes late in the night leaving his mom under the care of this virago” she said. But I knew that Sathya is given to exaggeration and half-truths.

That night when I was mentioning this to my husband. He said, “You have been working in several social organizations earlier and were visiting old age homes and hospitals. After you have come here you are confined to home. Why don’t you visit the old lady and provide her the comfort that you can give”

The next day I went to her house around 9 am. She was still seated on the easy chair with the sun’s rays falling on her face. She was not very old as I suspected but she was badly affected by what seemed arthritis. She must have been charming, in her younger days but now her eyes looked distant, her face wrinkled and her speech halted. Frail in her build, she still had a smile writ constantly on her face.

I went near her and said “Aunty, I am Veena and live in the opposite house. I have moved here recently. I see you sitting here daily in the mornings. I just wished to introduce myself.”

There was a long silence before she asked “What did you say your name is?”

Surprised at her short memory, I repeated my name.

She was quiet for a long time before asking “Do you have a daughter? I wish I had one.”

“No, I have no daughter or even a son. Why do you wish you had a daughter? Not many in our parts want girl children” I said.

“Foolish people. I have no one to care of me. My son is busy with his work and has his own problems too. I am dependent on others employed to assist me. There is no lack of physical comfort as my son has provided everything I need. But I feel lonely and long for the love of a daughter. My vision is impaired and I cannot read or watch TV. I have no one to talk to, I am also having this wretched arthritis. Servants after all work for money and they do not bond even after years of association” she replied.

“Can I help you to go inside? It is hot here” I said

“Will be grateful. I am actually waiting for the maid. But she must be somewhere in the house and comes to me whenever it pleases her. My words have no effect on her” she said.

I gently put my arms around her and lifted her. I led her carefully to her bed. As I made her sit on the bed, she hugged me and would not leave me.

“You seem such a kind girl. For a moment I felt I had my dream of a daughter fulfilled” she said.

I had not thought of her as my mom. But, as she hugged me tight, unwilling to let me go, I realized that my heart was getting filled with love. “Aunty, please consider me as your daughter. I got a feeling that it was my own mother putting her arm around me. Be assured that I will come daily and spend some time with you.”

Her eyes became moist and as she rubbed her eyes with her sari, I knew I could give her what she needed most, a piece of my heart to bring some sunshine into her life, a companionship to hear her bright past, the fears of future and the concerns of the present and above all some loving care. Why should I go to a faraway old age home when I can make my neighbour’s life one of joy and peace?

“Aunty, what do you like to eat most? I can make it for you. What music do you like to hear? I can sing for you” I said. I could see a certain disbelief initially in her eyes but soon they shone brightly. I have now found a reason to be happy and busy.

"I need nothing except your company," she said with a puckered smile.

As I got up to walk back to my house I glanced inside the house, to see the old lady's maid giggling and holding the hands of the gardener near the kitchen. I felt slight remorse that I had doubted Satya's words.