It rained continually producing a swishing sound all around as darkness crept into that hill station slowly.  The rain gained momentum as a strong wind backed it and it seemed that the downpour would herald some destruction in that night. The fierce wind bent down the upright pine trees and sometimes broke upon the pear trees snapping their branches mercilessly in the backyard. The incessant rattling sound produced when big drops of rain fell upon the rooftops gagged all other sounds. The heavy shower quieted down the town ceasing all its activities very early in that night.  In that still night when time seemed to be fractured with no bustles around and it trudged ahead bit by bit, the thousand soldiers of worry deployed in mind tried to ward off sleep from sitting upon my eyes.  Eyes, wide open gazed at the ceiling in the room, lit partially with rays coming in from the street light.  As the clock struck midnight, the cell phone on the table tried to break through the sound of persistent rain with its feeble call. When the call was received with tremor set on the limbs and apprehensions besetting the mind, a faint cry from the other side insisted to be with her immediately.  

            That call was followed with a prompt change of night dress and with an appeal forwarded to the neighbour to give a ride as there were no vehicles  plying out in that midnight in the grip of heavy shower. The inclement weather was dared outside and the slope was climbed against the heavy shower bending down the umbrellas and cold water rolling down and washing the feet to a freezing point to board the car waiting there up on the road.  As the car whizzed by, the road, the alleys, the sleeping houses, the pine trees and the rain, all blurred into insignificance. The mind only riveted to the thought of how to reach on time and catch her before she lapses into eternal unconsciousness. Jittery feelings overtook everyone in the car and that made often to advance requests to the man on wheel to accelerate the car.  But our neighbour kept his hair on and taking some shortcuts and winding through some narrow lanes took the car to the destination.

              In damp clothes and with cold feet, the silent and dimly illuminated wards were stridden breathlessly. Her being at the last moment of her life, relented the watchman to allow us to be with her breaking the ICU norm of only allowing two attendants to be with the patient at a time. Stepping into the ICU gave the vision of my sister bending down over the bed of her stretched out body and weeping and imploring her to respond to her calls. At last, the doctor’s close examination of the body and the final ECG report made the formal declaration of her being no more and her still body was left to the hands of medical people then to be prepared for the journey to be undertaken for a long distance before her body was to be laid down to its final rest.

            The ambulance carrying her body hared through the meandering way of that hill station under the rain that fell everywhere upon hills and dales. The lost vistas of rain kept on peering from the back of that menacing rain that slashed the whole world with its slanting canes of drops. The mind wished to immerse in the pool of memories of rain enjoyed when life was carefree in the sanctuary of parental love and care.  The memory of being caught in rain on way back home from school and how innocent mind fluttered with elation at the sight of rain soaked things that happened to be mundane to the overlooking eyes then kept on haunting me. The sights of a toddler in red and glistening raincoat walking in rain  holding the mother’s warm hand  and of the slim windscreen wipers  holding each others’ hands and dancing and wiping the front window of taxi in tune with the falling rain seized the mind with ecstasy  then. Reminiscence of resting under the warm quilt in a cozy bed in a rainy afternoon when the house with the crackling grate gained more warmth with the mother’s footfalls around also crawled into the mind.   

            The memories fled and the reverie broke and eyes were open to the rain falling out that declined to leave her and us. It accompanied us all the way and shed its copious tears when her body was lowered to the grave.  It seemed that the rain had descended from heaven with its entire gush to wash away all the marks from the bosom of the earth. It rained a lot then and now also rains upon her white and marbled grave where violet flowers smile and beat their heads against each others’ when the wind blows. But no rain can wash away the indelible mark of my mother’s love from my heart that she left back while voyaging to perpetuity under the broad umbrella of that rain.     

………..Dr. Fathema Begum