Chapter 25: chapter 25

That night was a night to remember. I wish that night never come into our lives again. The loud hoarse blood chilling sounds of the street dogs appeared scary more than ever. They howled on top of their voices to wake Yama, the God of death and justice. The silence of the deathly night seemed extreme and killing. The memory of my father-in-law disturbed me tremendously. I was not able to distinguish between life and death. I had lost count of the time and date. I heard him talking to me standing near my door. I felt his presence around me. My heart palpitated faster than ever. The medical potions affected me making me drowsy but just for a second, in the wink of an eye, I woke with jitters visualising my father-in-law's face. The pain of bleeding didn't allow me to think better. All wild thoughts encumbered my mind. I waited for the day to break soon, to take me out of the maze of hell. I glanced at my son sleeping peacefully in his bed. His presence provided me with assurances of being alive. His mild snoring offered me great company to get rid of my loneliness. My younger son slept in the common hall to assist us on call. I longed for the comfort of my room and my husband's presence beside me which gave me strength in the cruellest of hours.The shrill sound of the cockerel announcing the daybreak sounded more pleasant than ever before. At other times I had despised it wanting to sleep more. The buzzing of my alarm cheered my spirits. I was happy when my room brightened up with the first speck of daylight. The long hours of darkness had made me blind to worldly affairs, and the arrival of the sun rays in my room brought a ray of hope within me. The tittle-tattle of the neighbours, and the sound of tap water while they bathe and washed reduced my loneliness. I forced myself to close my eyes and sleep but again the disturbing thoughts prevented me to enter into a deep slumber. My younger son enlightened me, "Mother, the grandmother said that father entered her room at midnight in search of grandfather. He was calling, Papa..... Papa...." I was baffled. I knew the day's fatigue and extra indulgences the whole day had made him walk in sleep looking for his father. Mentally he was also suffering a lot. He had spent sleepless nights since the day we all tested positive. The lab attended and reported taking our samples again. He wore his gloves and mask and produced the kit from his bag. He checked me first. I warned him, "Please prick the swab slowly, it hurts."His manner was easy and polite this time. He assured me, "Yes, yes, I will insert it inside the mouth, it will not hurt, rest assured." It was a relief, I tested negative. I didn't know how to react, all mixed feelings started welling up in my mind. Then it was my son's turn. He tested positive again which meant another fourteen days of quarantine. It pricked my senses. My boy hated to eat green vegetables, rice, dal and pulses. His immunity proved to be the weakest among us all. Undoubtedly, my husband tested positive this time. On the twenty-third of April when my father-in-law left this Earth, the government declared a complete lockdown. All the activities came to a halt. This was the second wave of the coronavirus. My school was still functioning online. The teachers managed everything at my behest. They enquired about our health from time to time. I also received condolence calls from some of them.