Untitled by - Ramandeep

Chapter 1

Everyone was there to pay their respects to his mother. With a heavy heart, he had accepted his mother's demise. His unwavering eyes glared into the distance as he sat on his balcony and sipped a cup of tea. Even the tea did not taste like tea, the blue in the sky had a shade of grey, the rain had a tinge of red in it and the insides of his house felt damp. He sat on a chair remembering the old days when he and his parents were much closer, failing to stop the thoughts of him moving away knocking on his mind. He tried to shrug it off but that feeling was skin deep by now. Guilt does that to you, creating an aura of helplessness even though there are people who could soothe his mind. The warmth of his mothers bosom could heal him. But that could not be done now. She was buried and her ashes were kept in the house only to be revered for a few days and later spread across the river.

His wife was also feeling the effects of her mothers-in-law's untimely demise. She knew of the reasons for this expiration but could not find a logical way to discuss the solution and to move on. She stared at her husband from a distance and mustered the courage to talk to him. She trod lightly, stopping for a while just to think what she had to say once again. He adjusted himself while on the chair stopping her in her tracks. She resumed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine" he replied ever so softly.

"Do you want more tea?" she inquired.

"No. I've had too many for the day. Thank you" he answered. He turned his face to look at her only to see a worried