That Aunt from my childhood

Today,  I just opened the book of my life and went to the page which dates back 13 years.

A weird incident of my childhood caught my attention and gave me goosebumps as it gave me 13 years ago.I belong to a middle-class family.My family consists of four members including my father, mother, elder brother and myself. In my childhood, I was a bit mischievous, naughty(don't take other senses ya Tharkis :) ), joyful kinda boy who wouldn't care about right or wrong, who loved playing pranks, who would jump into other's gardens and stole fruits, who loved going to school, who used to play games like hide and seek, thief-police( (the raja mantri chor sipahi ), typical Indian games :) ) , the one who would quietly puncture the tyres, one for whom friendship was being punished together.

The city to which I belong wasn't so developed at that time (believe me, it hasn't changed a bit since then). Single floored houses, small lawns, congested lanes, a lot of mosquitoes and hand pump being the source of water for most of the people were the pride of my city. As per I remember, there were many houses in my colony. Most of my neighbors knew me if not my family.

Everyone ignored me and my friend's mischiefs, for we were little, stupid children. There lived a sweet family near to my house.   Only two people,  an Aunt, and an Uncle lived in that house. They hadn't any child or say they couldn't have any child. Both of them used to love children a lot.  I remember how we contiguously banged Aunty's door whenever we wanted to eat something delicious. Aunty would tell us stories and would play with us. I was a  very special to her. Whenever I felt bored in my home, I went to her and we would watch T.V together(having a T.V at your home that time was too expensive ). I loved sleeping in her lap. She was so caring and lovely. In simple, words  She was like my mother to me and I was like a son to her.

 But destiny had decided something else.

My family had to shift to another location of the city due to some financial reasons. Beloved persons, friends, school, are the things which are a treasure for a small child. And all these things were separated from me due to this. I started missing Aunt and my friends a lot.  I got admitted into a new school,  I was able to make new friends but couldn't find a sweet Aunt like her.
In the beginning, I would visit her once in a  week. But slowly-slowly as time passed, frequencies of my visit to her kept on decreasing. From once a week, it changed to once a month.

 I  were adapting in the new society. I made new friends. There was no more mischievous me.  Rather, there was a sincere and self-centered me with an understanding of what was good and what was bad. Gone were the days when the elders would neglect the odds of mine and the mistakes made by me. They expected me to be a  responsible boy so  I  was trying to become one.  During this French revolution phase of my childhood, I  had almost forgotten my once beloved  Aunt. Approximately,  almost one and a half years have passed since my family had shifted to the new locality. I had not visited since six months.

One  Saturday evening( yes,  I remember it was Saturday),  I and my friends were playing outside our society, near the main and busy road of the city.  Suddenly, I saw a lady passing by the road. She was carrying a plastic bag with her. I was surprised to recognize that the lady was that same Aunt. She was looking depressed, tensed and unhealthy.  All of a sudden She turned and after crossing the road came towards me and greeted me. She asked me how my mom was and warned me not to play near the road. She talked to me for almost 2 minutes and then left. I again got myself involved in my game.

Later that evening when  I  returned home,  I  told my mom about how I suddenly met with Aunt. After few hours a relative of Aunt visited our house. We all got shocked and horrified after hearing what that relative said. He said that Aunt had died on Friday night. We came to know that she killed herself by burning herself alive.She committed suicide due to her personal family reasons with her husband. Her husband got married to another woman as Aunt couldn't be a mother. I remember I was horrified and got goosebumps.How was it possible that She died just one day before I met her ??

Even till today,  I haven't found the answer, neither did I  see her again. My family believes that I would have met her few days before her death and being a 7-year-old child, would have confused myself and had been making stories since then. But I know, I never lied about that. I am sure it was Saturday as I had watched a Bollywood movie on that day at noon. A Bollywood movie was premiered every Saturday on Nepal(I live near Nepal) Channel at 1'O clock in afternoon.

 I think it was her final goodbye for me.

Today all  I remember about her is that how lovable she was and how  much she cared for  the children.

I wish her soul is resting in peace somewhere.


Thanks Readers for your precious time. Hope this post entertained you.