The lights of the drawing room were off as the room was lit with the natural light which entered from outside through the open door of the balcony. The speed of the fan was slow as the cold was creeping in to signal the winter following.
Aryash sat placing the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together. It was a 1000 piece puzzle of a famous city along the banks of river Ganges. He had been at it for quite a while.
Aryash’s parents had gone out of station to attend a wedding of one of their mutual friends. They intended to take Aryash with them as well, although not very strongly yet Aryash decided to stay with his grandmother. He saw it as an opportunity to do anything he wanted, as most fifteen-year-olds do who think they are capable of doing almost anything in the world.
But little had Aryash expected his grandmother to keep a close eye on him. While he sat unsuccessfully trying to make sense of the pieces of the puzzle, his grandmother sat on another chair knitting a sweater and keeping an eye on him.
“You know grandma, I think you are the only grandmother who knits sweater, I don’t know of anyone who wears a sweater knitted by their grandmother,” said Aryash to wave off the boredom he had started to feel
Aryash’s grandmother, Mrs Maraj turned her vision toward television. She never liked that piece of electronics and she tried to dissuade others from falling in its ‘supposed’ trap.
“That thing has destroyed people in many ways and also the very life they live. I was a school teacher and yet I found time for all sorts of things to do and during that time many were the same. The television had already started taking over the world and I knew this day would come,” said Mrs Maraj and she then stopped knitting and looked seriously at Aryash, “it is not like their grandmothers cannot do it, it’s just that they are under the illusion of having found something more fulfilling”
The doorbell rang and Aryash ran to open it.
“Look through the peephole first before opening the door,” Mrs Maraj said
Aryash looked through the peephole and opened the door. It was Mrs Saikia, the housekeeper.
“You are late,” said Mrs Maraj
“My daughter was not feeling well hence I had gone to bring her back home from her dancing classes,” responded Mrs Saikia
“Did you take her to a doctor?” asked Mrs Maraj
“Yes, he prescribed some medicines. She needs some rest. She has been spending a lot of time studying late at night. My sister has come by to look after her while I am gone”
Mrs Saikia walked to the kitchen to wash the utensils. The room suddenly darkened; the sunlight was gone.
“Switch on a light dear,” said Mrs Maraj and Aryash switched on a light.
“Is it going to rain?” asked Aryash
“Maybe, although no such thing was mentioned in the newspaper about the weather,” replied Mr Maraj
There was a sudden sound of lightning and Mrs Saikia came out of the kitchen alarmed.
“Are you at it again?” asked Mrs Marak to Mrs Saikia
“At what?” asked Aryash
“She thinks sound of lightning can bring misfortune”
“What? Really?” asked Aryash
“Nonsense, it is just the effect of a horror film she had seen,” replied Mrs Maraj
“Well I know what happened in my last rented apartment and I know what the reason is behind it no matter what anyone says” said Mrs Saikia
“What happened?” Aryash asked his grandmother with a tone of excitement
“About seven years back from now, you mother was watching a horror movie one day and asked Mrs Saikia to watch along since she looked interested. Mrs Saikia was left thoroughly horrified after watching the movie. Now, Mrs Saikia must have gone home and thought about it and a few days later she had this nightmare which had a lot of lightening in it, and god knows what she saw she decided to leave her rented apartment and shifted to another one despite her husband’s insistence on not going through with it. Now the family which came to live there next had two elder people, both of whom passed away next year, few months apart. So, our dear Mrs Saikia believes that she saved herself and her family from a severe problem,” explained Mrs Maraj and then she drank water from a bottle beside her
Aryash looked at Mrs Saikia who went back into the kitchen without saying anything and then he looked at his grandmother.
“You are having quite the fun aren’t you?” said Mrs Maraj, “Don’t you dare start believing in superstitions, or I will have to find that stick which I used during my teaching days.”
Aryash hid his excitement sensing trouble, but asked in a low tone, “Was it true though? I don’t understand.”
Mrs Maraj sighed and then started speaking, “Of course it wasn’t true Aryash, old people die, you will realise that one day too. People need to give themselves more time to understand their thoughts before jumping to conclusions and making a misunderstanding a part of who they are.”
The Mistaken Truth
Early Morning Memories 