Oh Mother! Come back from moon!

Children's Literature
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Sebastian lifted himself from the dining and slapped little Arnie, a seven-year-old son of his. It was a cold Sunday evening in December.

‘Disappear from my life and don't come back,' Mr. Sebastian held little Arnie by the arm and pushed him away from the main door, out of their one-room flat. Little Arnie, a fair-skinned young boy with rosy cheeks, thin lips, black hair, and black eyes could hardly believe it. He was known as little Arnie. Arnie was small and little but he would grow. His father had been very caring ever since his mother left and Sebastian hardly laid a hand on him.

‘Please Daddy, where would I go?' Little Arnie pleaded with tears in his dark black eyes.

‘Do you want some more? Wasn’t it enough? I don't care where you go. It doesn't matter to me. I have enough things to deal with,' Sebastian warned little Arnie flashing his big red eyes.

Once the handsome face of Sebastian, his Daddy, had now grown pale and wrinkled. A pleasant gentleman was now indifferent to the friendly smile. Sebastian married for love but he had a very unhappy marriage after Arnie was born. His wife left him for reasons unknown to little Arnie. He was only four when she left Sebastian for financial reasons. They shifted to the cheap rented one-room flat in the poor neighborhood.

‘No, please. Don't throw me out, Daddy. I will be a good son. I promise. I will eat whatever you will make,' little Arnie promised obedience as he cried. He was a sensitive and imaginative child. He always felt lonely without his mother.

‘You can't. How could you be? Even your mother wasn't. You look like her and talk like her. She fancied luxury and delicious food all the time.' Sebastian taunted. Little Arnie had only asked for a roll in the lunch after a piece of bread.

Little Arnie had no clear memory of his mother. He believed that she did exist somewhere? Her face had faded in all these years. But he was curious to know how she looks. Was she like Ritu's mother or Rahul's mother? Maybe she was prettier than their immediate neighbor Mrs. Khan. He had no idea.

It was getting darker as he walked a few steps to the secluded lane of colony C3A. Not a soul to be seen on the lane, little Arnie tried to comfort himself on the dark staircase of Ritu's house. He sat there lowering his head. Arnie, a seven-year-old boy was afraid of the dark. Young boys are afraid of the dark. He was frightened. He was afraid of creepy faces he had seen in the mystery comics. Did they really exist? Would they find him here sitting alone and hungry? He wondered. He was worried about his safety. He only had a piece of bread for the lunch. He did not care about it. Where could he go? He thought. He loved his Daddu and Dadi. But they were away. They would have never left him alone. He was cold and hungry as the clock touched nine. He missed the kindness of a mother. She would not have let him go hungry for hours.

Little Arnie did not like sweaters and he never had a jacket. He wore a light-knitted full-sleeve shirt with track pants. Few neighbors began to pass him for their routine walk but they did not speak to him. Nobody was interested in little Arnie. Who cares for a seven-year-old boy who has been abandoned by his mother and is now thrown out by his Daddy!

‘Any trouble Arnie?' He heard a familiar voice as he lifted his face. It was Mrs. Sharma, the mother of Radhey, his best friend. Her fingers rolled into his curly hair as she asked. Arnie cried and embraced her. She was thin, fair, of middle age and her face was bright and kind. She always looked after little Arnie when his Daddy was away for work, late at night. God comes in all forms!

‘Daddy asked me to leave the house. He is furious,' Arnie said in a low voice.

‘Did you annoy him?'

‘No. I asked for a roll. I was hungry. I only had a piece of bread in the lunch,'

‘Don't worry. You can stay here. I'll be back in a moment.' She went hurriedly and came back within a minute. She was not able to find Mister Sebastian.

‘Your Daddy is not there. Maybe he will be back in a few minutes. You can come inside.' Mrs. Sharma said as Arnie followed her.

She fed him good food and said kind words like a mother. Without food, he would have fallen sick.

‘Have no fear Arnie? You are a good boy. Maybe your Daddy was upset for some reason,' Mrs. Sharma comforted him.

‘Where is my mother, aunty? Why is she away? I know she lives somewhere,' asked little Arnie.

Mrs. Sharma looked at little Arnie. She had been kind to him. She did not want to upset the little boy. She cooked up the childish reason to comfort little Arnie.

‘Your mother is alive. She is there. She lives there and she watches you from there,' she pointed towards the moon as she said.

‘Are you sure about the Moon? Why she is there?'

‘I don't know why she is there. It must be urgent that she had to go. But she will come back for you. You need to wait, little Arnie,'

‘Do all mothers go to the moon?' Arnie inquired.

‘Yes…all mothers go to the moon,'

‘Have you been there?' Arnie asked worriedly.

‘Yes. But I am already back,' she said as the night fell.

The moon got bigger. Maybe a lot of mothers went in the evening, he thought. Arnie expected his mother to come back soon. He stared at the moon deeply.

Mrs. Sharma comforted her kids into the warmth of the bed for a good night's sleep. Mr. Sharma was away on the tour. It was tough for Mrs. Sharma to let Arnie leave alone in the dark of night. She stood at the door in silence. However, she asked Arnie to sleep with the kids. She slept on the sofa. She had a one-room flat but her heart was much bigger.

Arnie had a tough night. With folded hands, he slept and prayed to almighty Jesus, supreme power Baba Nanak and to Lord Krishna. He had been to church a few times, had seen Mrs. Sharma pray to Baba Nanak, and saw a tiny frame of Krishna on the front board of his school bus. He prayed to all of them with the hope to take care of his mother who had gone to the moon. What if his Daddy also decides to go to the moon! He slept thinking.

‘Oh! Mother, come back from the moon. Oh! Mother, please come back,' little Arnie repeated in sleep.

The next morning his hands were still folded. Little Arnie was in the comfort of his home and the warmth of his bed. He opened his eyes to see Daddy sitting on the couch reading newspaper. He hugged him from the back with his tiny hands. He embraced him and cried for joy. He would never displease him, he promised to himself. He would readily accept whatever is offered to eat; even if his mother doesn't come back from the moon. But inside, hope floats, and his heart yearned, ‘Oh Mother! Come back from Moon!'

താങ്കൾ ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്ന കഥകൾ

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