Envelope unpeeled

Jaya’s breathing grew laboured. Was the finish line appearing in sight? Subodh, her husband, sat beside her on a backstool, gently stroking her hair, his other hand clasping hers. Her skin felt warm; life was still on. But how long? Wasn't the ink fading?   

Rolling her prayer beads, Jaya’s mother sat on the other side of the bed, her world-weary eyes betraying no emotion. In a quick span of five years, she had lost her husband and her son. And now to be living through this. At the far end of the room, partially masked by a view-cutter, stood Neelu. It felt like a gut punch seeing her mother lying in a tangle of wires and tubes, only skin and bones. She stood there transfixed, till Jaya lifted her hand, gesturing to her to come closer.

Jaya reached under her pillow and with much difficulty, pulled out an envelope. Subodh offered to help, but she declined. Everything around was turning into a blur, except for Neelu, whose face emerged close to hers. Wish the chapters of life could be rehearsed, thought Jaya, offering her distraught daughter a faint smile. Slightly raising her hands, she nodded at Neelu. This time Maa needed a hug.

Neelu rested her head on Jaya’s chest; she could feel her beating heart. A dread washed over her. The clock was ticking? How long would the music last? Jaya shut tight her moist eyes. Tears rolled down Neelu’s cheeks, soaking the hospital gown her mother was wearing. Her head was humming with questions to which, she knew, she’d never have the answers.

After what felt like the last of eternity, Neelu lifted her head. The nurse had come to check Jaya’s vitals. Nothing but a routine assessment, more to tick the boxes on the patient card. Doctors had already given their verdict. Neelu carefully pulled the envelope out of her mother’s grasp.

Twenty years had passed since that evening when her life was brutally recast. But Neelu hadn’t yet opened the envelope. Across continents and countries, she carried it with her. 

That night when Neelu’s mother passed away, all that the teenager had to cling on to life was that precious blue envelope. But just when she thought she’d open it, she noticed it had been sealed with tiny blobs of tears. That instant Neelu decided never to peel it open. She'd preserve the last insignia of her tangible bond with her mother.    

(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge)