The passing cyclone had brought in a storm. The trees were swaying violently in all directions and the rain was blowing rather than pouring. The windows rattled and the howling of the wind continued. It was the month of May, the peak of summer. But that was only what the calendar said. The view outside was anything but summery.

Sheela sat on the rattan chair in the balcony. The rain water was pelting in and she was getting soaked. But she did not feel it.

She was with her akka at the airport, “Akka please take out your passport and the ticket. Hold it in your hand please.” “yes ma, it is right here,” Kumud akka replied. “You have told me this so many times, Sheela. Why are you getting so worried? How difficult can it be to take a flight and go to Los Angeles. People do it all the time” “Yes akka, but they are not 76 years old on their first solo flight with a stopover in Germany.” Her akka smiled wistfully looking at Sheela whose agitation showed on her face. “Aare, Sheela you should be telling me all the good things about flying, not getting nervous about my trip.” “Ya ya, I know, but I don’t want you to miss your connecting flight, or lose your tickets or your dollars or worst your passport… akka, the money is safe na?” “Sheela, please stop this. I have faced bigger challenges in my life. Taking a flight is nothing. And do I look scared to you? I am looking forward to this trip, solo travel is so exciting.” Akka was not just saying that, she meant every word.   

Sheela took a few deep breaths and smiled at Kumud akka. Yes, she was right. Sheela was being apprehensive about nothing. Akka had been looking forward to this trip for almost a year. She had been counting days to the day she would finally see her ‘star’ in person That li’l munchkin who had entered their lives on the 1^st day of the nineteenth year of the twenty-first century. It was now December. Sheela gave a warm hug to her akka and kissed her soft cheek. Sheela was concerned all the while, but akka was having a wonderful time. She even managed a conversation with an old German lady at Frankfurt airport and they spent a good 2 hours sharing crochet designs. She finally reached LA, tired but pleased. She was picked up at the airport by Nikhil, his wife Neha and the gorgeous princess Miss Tara. 

Sheela had been 8 and Nikhil 6 when Kumud akka had come and taken charge of the house. Akka was her father’s younger sister. She had been widowed just 8 months after her wedding, when her husband an army man had died at the border. But she was not given much time to mourn as tragedy struck her life again. Her brother and his wife met an untimely death when a truck hit their bike when they were on their way back from some daily shopping. She had packed her few things and come immediately. She had picked up the kids from the day care and tried to do her best for them. And what a wonderful parent she had been!! She gave them security and she gave them love. But most of all she kept them together and given them a home.

Sheela often wondered how Kumud akka had managed it all. But she had. As Sheela grew older, she would spend a lot of time talking to her akka and she had a lot of questions for her. Her akka always gave her answers; not the sugar coated variety but ones that were honest. And as time went by, Sheela realised her akka had a secret gift. Kumud akka had an unflinching faith; in her god, in the circumstances and in herself. And this gave her strength. It was this gift which did not allow her to spend too much time wallowing in self-pity. Of course, she did not have that luxury either, not with two young kids to bring up, a never-ending list of chores and finances stretched to its limits. But even if she could have found the time, her strong belief in looking for the good in a situation would not have let her dwell there for long. “God gave me my greatest gift. He gave me you two to love,” she would always remind them.

Sheela remembered the moments she had seen sadness in Kumud akka’s eyes, but when she had asked her about it, akka would close her eyes and take a deep breath, “Be Brave Sheela,” she would say in her soft melodic voice, “Life will bring many different types of situations; but if you are brave, the universe will give you signs. It will hold your hand and guide you and take you to safety.  Whatever happens, always remember to be brave.”

The mobile phone was ringing. Perhaps, it had been ringing for a while ….it was almost falling off the edge of the table when Sheela woke up with a start and snatched it up. Before she could even say a word, she heard Nikhil, “Sheelu, akka is dead.” When there was no reaction from Sheela he repeated, “Akka is dead, Sheelu. Can you hear me?” His voice was loud and clear. He was unsuccessfully trying to hold back tears, “She had a heart attack and it was just minutes. She was playing with Tara one moment and then within the next few minutes she was gone. We could do nothing.” He paused. He was breaking down. Sheela could hear Neha in the background consoling him. “Sheelu, I held her in my arms. I am a doctor and at that moment I could do nothing to help her. Sheelu, please say something.” There was a long pause and then the sound of Nikhil crying filled the line.

Finally, Sheela spoke, “I am so happy she was with you. So happy she could spend a year and a half with Tara, much longer than the 6 months she had originally planned. I am so happy you and Neha and Tara brought so much love and joy to her during this time. I am so happy……” “Sheelu, stop. Please stop. Do you understand what I am saying? What you are saying? She is gone. Kumud akka is gone. Forever. She is never coming back again. You will never see her again, never hear her voice, never feel her love, never get her hug. Sheelu…….,” and he broke down again. Sheela just held on to the phone and let Nikhil cry.

It was three days since that phone call, three days since Kumud akka had left. Sheela was cold and shivering. It was only then that she realised she had been sitting in the balcony, soaking wet. She changed and lay down on the bed and listened to the sound of the winds. Powerful, loud and haunting sounds that lulled her to sleep for the first time in three days.

She woke up the next day to find that the huge tree outside her room had been uprooted. And that was just one, there were many more trees and plants on the street that had lost to the winds. Sheela suddenly remembered them and rushed to the corner of the balcony where they had three potted plants. Two of them had lost the battle, but standing strong and tall was tulsi. The one Kumud akka had planted a few days before she had left for the US. The one that she had tended to with love and care, just as she had two little scared children many years ago.

Sheela’s eyes filled with tears and she was finally able to cry. It was at that very moment that she felt a warmth and heard her akka’s voice loud and clear as though she was right next to her, “Be brave Sheela. Always be brave.”

This image is sourced from the internet and is used for representational purposes only