HIS PROMISE

His face was murky due to the ters swirling in her eyes. The time they both wanted to avoid had fimally met them. It was not the first time he was leaving for his duty but she did not know why her heart crept with the fear of bidding adieu to him forever. But he had promised to return, and she was struggling to keep up the smile on her face, trying her best to have profound faith on his promise.

"Come back soon", was all she could manage to speak out, her throat choked and it seemed dry and heavy.

"I will", said he and walked away.

Such dignified was the young man's gait. As he walked he made sure that he did enough justice to the uniform he had put on. She quietlt watched him until he disappeared from her sight into the thin air. Buit she could no longer control herself anymore and broke into tears. she just coped herself with the faint hope of him coming back and keeping his words true. she felt really proud as she saw him merge into the foggy air.

As she turned back and moved into the house, her tearyeyes rested upon the antique framew which had proudly kept encased in it one of the most precious memories of their past life. He was a fair, young twelve-year old boy feeding her with his little hands. It must have been the most luscoius morsel of food she took into her mouth. How young and pretty she too had been those days. She gently held up the picture, looked at it intensely and smiled as a teardrop rolled down her cheek. Tears revisited her eyes as she stepped down the memory lane.

She went upstairs, to her room and opened the cupboard that had cased some albums which had carressed more of such priceless moments from their life. Not missing even a single photograph, she went through all of them. Some brought smile to her lips while others just released the tears from the bondage of her eyes. And flipping through the pages of those albums had become a habit, a part and parcel of her daily life. How difficult it was for her to go back to her pleasant past and then come back to the harsh reality. Whenever an air plane flew over the roof of her house, she would imagine as if he is coming down to see her, but in vain. Then, she would just sadly smile at her silly imaginations.

Days, weeks, months went by, seasons have passed wet and dry but he hasn't yet shown up to fulfill his words. Smile has betrayed her lips leaving them dry and chapped forever but tears seemed to have fallen in love with her eyes and they faithfully nurtured her wet eyes. Her tresses shone pure white in the bright daylight and the wrinkly folds in her skin were as many as the number of days that had passed.

She had become old. He had promised to take care of her every minute but then she was growing old and pale day by day, just without him by her side. He had made another promise to come back and get married. And how could she just miss seeing him fulfill this promise of his. She too had been dreaming of this day, of his wedding. As a young lad he had been very charming and perhaps the most efficient among all other bachelors at his age. Many young ladies had secret hopes of marrying him but he had turned down quite a number of proposals. She had feared that she might lose him if he got into wrong hands. But he was not that gullible and could very well maintain his attitude.

That day she was sitting on her arm chair in front of the doorwhen she saw a young man pass by with his newly-wed wife. They walked together hand-in-hand. She felt a bit impulsive on seeing them. She felt the urge to go to them and bless them for their good luck a happy married married life, TOGETHER, with their family. they walked away with their new dreams, fresh hopes of their upcoming future and she quietly returned to her sordid present. She really felt melancholic and agonized by the absence of something that she had really desired to be present with her.

Another day, she happened to see some young kids playing together. She was again dragged behimd to her past. she was trying to trace out his child-like face among those kids. How jolly and jovial he had been during his childhood. Although a prankster, his cute little mischiefs never were avoidable. He was playful, but never mischievous and this was why she had loved him all the more. Whenever caught, the innocence in his eyes and the chuckle on his lips could melt away anyone's heart. Even she could not fret upon him for more than a while. Again, realizing that these saccharine memories were just fragments of her past, she cursed her loneliness that accompanied her at the present.

She had already received the news of him that she had dreaded the most but was very reluctant on accepting it. And of course, her reluctance served as evidence to the fact that it is impossible to admit any misfortune striking the dear ones. Though she had given up on the hopes of living her life with him, she still wants to see him once before she retires to her eternal sleep. her long, slender but fragile arms longed to embrace him.

Somehow, she had just managed to spend her life in utter loneliness. She had kind of been used to it. It seemed she was just sitting behind, waiting to welcome the end of her life. She gave up on all wishes, hopes and drerams of being alive.

However, that day was quite different from daily. She had a gut feeling that he would come down to her. As usual she sat on her arm-chair in front of the door. after a while or so, the door flung open in front of her and the light that came in was so bright that it almost blinded her tired eyesight. She got up and stood on her frail legs and slowly walked towards the door. Yes, he was standing right before her eyes. There was he, as young and handsome as ever. Their happiness knew no bounds, he threw his arms around her and said, "I have come back. you have spent many long years alone but now it is time to leave this place and set up our new home, in a brighter and a serene place. I kept all my words, Mom, but one that I couldn't marry and have my own family as you had wished. Forgive me."

She just held to his long, strong arms and smiled the way she had when he depaarted. She took a long, deep breath and sighing heavily, closed her eyes, for perpetuity.