A Message of End

Mr Desai stared at the visiting card. He adjusted his specs, his brows
strained. This later part of life had not been very good for his
vision.. it can be said that it had aged along with the rest of his
existence.

However, he was able to focus enough to read the letters and numbers
printed in small font. He looked at the young woman who was looking
for the address. She looked like she had travelled a long way.

Mr Desai had been sitting on a bench, feeding pigeons, when this woman
interrupted his moment of peace, handing him what looked like an old
visiting card. Mr Desai was not pleased at this interference, but as
he momentarily observed the woman’s tired expression, he forgot his
own displeasure.

“I know the address…. It’s not very far from here…,” spoke Mr Desai.

Slight signs of relief began appearing on the young woman’s face.

“But.. this person, he doesn’t live there anymore, you are 3 years too
late. The family moved to another city,” added Mr Desai quickly for
the woman to have the grasp of the entire scenario.

It goes without saying, the signs of relief were no more.

“You look tired, have a seat before you move on..,” said the old man
looking at the card again before returning it.

The woman kept the card carefully in her purse and sat down.

“If it is any help, I know him… the gentleman whose name is on the
card. We may not have been in contact over the years, but I can get
the words to him. We have mutual friends,” Mr Desai spoke.

The woman took some time to maybe frame the words in her mind and then
she spoke, “My father passed away last month, I thought I would inform
some of his childhood friends who were not in contact anymore… he
always fondly remembered them.”

Mr Desai sat silent. The woman felt a bit confused from the lack of
response, then she asked, “Would you like to know the name of my
father?”

“I don’t think I would like to,” Mr Desai responded this time, “I am
afraid that he might be someone I know.. I am an old man.. the last
thing I want to know is that someone I knew died.”

Silence flowed in. Whether the words should reach their destination or
not was a thought that circled in both minds.