Hello baba how are you feeling? oh yes im pretty good my love just the usual complaints associated with old age, my daughter Nargis always came at the exact time every single day before going to work, as she had to give me my daily shot of some vitamin B12 injectable medicine which the doctor prescribed, as according to him it was mandatory for my flimsy body at this age but on the whole I was thankful that there was enough mobility in me to do my basic chores and it maybe of this B12 thing? Who knows? Sit baba she instructed me with an assertive tone, funny how the very offspring’s you raise from a helpless little soul is now incharge of matters and now calling the shots, it’s the other way round, ahh the bewilderment of nature, I sat in my very old rocking chair that I used to rock this very same girl at her tender age now standing in front of me who had now become a practicing doctor, rolling up my sleeve my cuff button broke, >flashback/ WHY does this button have to break now when you have to rush to school son my mother yelled at the top of her voice, always at the eleventh hour! mother give me another shirt please I just have 20 minutes left to reach school, okay okay just let me take the kettle off the stove, she hurriedly multitasked and found me a new shirt from the closet, but it’s not ironed! I pleaded angrily, its ok your cardigan will help in hiding that now hurry to school your already getting late, I briskly walked my way through the park which was a shortcut to school luckily I reached just in time when the bell rung.>present/ oh baba why does the doorbell have to ring at the wrong time who can it be at this early hour? it’s probably the newspaper boy, collect the newspaper and pay him 50/- rupees it’s in the broken vase behind the sofa, okay baba>flashback/ Today was our newspaper assignment our class teacher sir Samuel had been guiding us about this for weeks as we had to pick similar stories from various tabloids and point out what is different about the same event reported by various reporters it’s what you call the inaccuracy of recording history which can never be precise, it was a very exciting task so we all gathered in the hall after our two initial classes to become the wise one out , the only reward was that a photograph alongwith a certificate will be plastered on the main school notice board which was a huge achievement of getting noticed and patted on the back by pals and teachers alike >present/ it wasn’t Rs.50/- rupees it was Rs.150/= rupees baba, oh well I must have fallen 100 rupees short. Nargis ripped the polythene packing off the disposable syringe> flashback/ yes rip it harder man this rubber dingy inflator will never open if you carry on like this , well this is the thing with new stuff it’s so tightly wrapped, but nonetheless I finally managed to open the thing , it was always fun going camping with the lads it was the snowcapped mountains of naran this time, normally we would go to the deosai plains in baltistan, but we wanted a little change this time , we just reached early this morning after catching a jeep from balakot, it was certainly paradise , from what we heard going deeper into the mountains was pure magical delight , it was about seven of us each going through their assigned tasks of setting up camp, we brought everything except for the most basic utensil “a kettle” yes I wonder how we forgot that so me and JJ I always called him JJ short for Jalees Jadoon we both strolled to the nearest market which was about two km away the stroll was so soothing all we could listen to was the gale sweeping down from the peaks and the various exotic chirping of extraordinary species of aves which we never saw in the city, we finally reached the market place which was a nice cosy place such an amazing sight these places are usually crowded, but the only people we saw here were some locals and campers like us it was a market suspended in time, small wooden shops with wrinkled old faces gleaming at us, there were shops full of nuts , tea , and staple food mostly, but we couldn’t find any shops that sold kettles or kitchen utensils so we finally asked a local as he beckoned seeing the looks on our faces and kindly guided us into a place that we couldn’t have found by ourselves , he literally squeezed himself between two wooden shops that opened up into a market square, covered by the expanse of pine trees making it a natural green ceiling, it was certainly a wonder, there were more people here and the variety that the shops sold was much larger , we immediately noticed a shop of pots and kettles which were hung outside , we thanked the man and made our way towards the shop and selected a large copper kettle which he sold us for 450/- rupees it was enough to provide tea for seven , we walked around a little munching on freshly hot roasted corn being sold right in the market place, twenty minutes later we were back at camp and the lads had all done a wonderful job, the camp was all set up , sleeping bags lined up inside , a place for cooking near the river bank , yes it was immaculately done , so who wants hot steaming tea , their faces lit up and cheered , I washed up the kettle in the river water which was freezing >present/ baba the water is freezing how do you wash up? is the geyser faulty? I heard my daughter shout from the washroom, do you have to wash your hands before administering this injection I asked, well papa it’s just precautionary hygiene , well something must have happened the water was hot last night I said , nargis returned and took out a glass vial from her bag it was the usual brown glass vial from which she always broke the top off she held the vial in her left hand and the disposable syringe in her right sinking the needle into the vial she started to extract the medicine sucking it in >flashback/ suck it harder , I can’t she giggled and coughed at the same time , it was the first time I told my wife to try a cigarette , what’s the fun she always exclaimed , fun I don’t smoke for fun it’s relaxing and soothing , but maybe you won’t understand only a smoker will know what I mean, but hey im not forcing you I just always thought that women who smoke look sexier and sort of erotic , she gave me a glare, okay okay I said withdrawing so do you want to go shopping I said, her face lit up instantly why not , so we got ready and made our way to sadder a busy place with lots of hustle and bustle where one could get almost everything from a needle to an elephant! we started with the basic groceries and worked our way up to more unneeded stuff but certainly more tempting especially for her , we entered this new departmental store a new flashy one which just recently opened I was initially reluctant but I always gave into her desires , these new stores always scared me due to their price tags because I thought that they will certainly rip off customers to fill in the massive expenses they put into decoration and marketing , it’s the glossy image and not real value I thought , she headed straight to the jewelry section which was on the ground floor so obviously it was easily noticed , her eyes shone like polished marbles , she pointed to a set of ear rings aww aren’t these just lovely , hmm yes they certainly are , but don’t get carried away I said ,it’s okay we aren’t in a hurry you might find something much better , she kept on choosing and discarding for almost an hour , beautiful things are hard to choose from aren’t they I said looking at her , aghh yes she said angrily they are I just can’t decide which earrings I should buy,? but I chose the most beautiful thing with utmost ease and surety I said putting my face directly in front of hers , she turned red and blushed, oh really then you choose if your choice is so perfect , so I brought her a pair of earrings a maroon colored set fixed with some precious stone, at least they claimed that it was precious , but gifts aren’t given because of their price tag , it’s the emotion and sincere love behind it , thanks love thanks it will go just right with my new dress , hey suddenly im all thirsty I said are you? oh yes I certainly am , so we turned towards the food court and grabbed two popsicles , we sucked on it like two school children giggling and devouring it at the same time, drips made way and dribbled from our lip sides> present/ the medicine dripped as the syringe was almost full, she took it out from the vial and let it flow out a little thrusting her thumb upwards and carefully measuring the liquid on the printed scale, she rubbed my upper arm just below the shoulder with a cotton ball and pressed the sharp needle to tear my skin tissues that make way to the nerves, she slowly released the medicine into my body which was slowly reducing in the syringe and entering my body and provide it with its B12 needs science said that it gives life to new blood cells.> flashback/ a new life was given to us , blessed upon us in the shape of a beautiful girl, we had finally become parents after three long years, she was conceived by a C-section surgery, when they brought my wife back to her room from the operation theater she was partially unconscious because of the anesthesia, I had already been handed over the baby by the doctor and slowly whispered in her ear , it’s a girl , she exhaustedly smiled , after about twenty five minutes she was conscious and stable , it was the most glorifying moment of our lives we were on top of the world , making all sorts of plans already , just like making plans before her upcoming first birthday, before her first day at school, before entering college , just before her graduation ceremony , before completion of her MBBS degree , and before marrying her off , nargis wept that night like never before , cuddled up with me , at least she could cry , I couldn’t even show my tears which were locked up inside me as it would make her loose hope , I assured her that the life your about to lead will be a marvelous one , even better than the life I gave you, you’re gonna have much more fun then you had with me , Nargis cried like a baby her tears dribbled down my cheeks while kissing me and not letting go.> present/ a drop of medicine dribbled down from my arm when she withdrew the needle alongwith a tear from my wet eyes, Oh baba not again , you know that you were right that I will be immensely happy after I get married and I am, I’ve told you again and again, Oh I know my love that’s the only blessing that keeps me going, to see you happy, the only benefit I get from your medicine is that I get a chance to relive my most cherished days and a comfort engulfing me by gusts of happiness blowing at me from a window of my past caressing my soul for all time.
