Children Of Earth(1)

1.

Meghan remembered the crystal-clear sky of that late fall afternoon, she was about five years old then. The day was sunny with the dry, cool north wind flowing through the leaves of evergreen trees- mango, black-berry and coconut trees. Wind shook the hard, brown branches of deciduous trees, getting ready to shed their leaves.

     There was an old lady lying down on the mattress under the shadow of a jackfruit tree. The old lady was accompanied by a little girl- a young kid with rosy cheeks and bright, dark eyes.

The old lady unfolded a story of a forgotten land with many rivers and green paddy-fields and bamboo bushes. The story was about a little girl named Tuya who had seven older brothers. Their parents died of illness. Those seven brothers were merchants, they sailed to the sea in their large ships but Tuya stayed back in their home. What happened then?

     Meghan couldn't remember clearly what was in that story after that event, but she could still remember the old lady, her grandma, she was so nice to her, so caring! Closing her eyes, Meghan can still see her loving face, those zigzag lines of old age on her cheeks, around her eyes, on her chin. Meghan could clearly picture her sharp nose and her loving smile.

     Meghan remembered other stories. The story of a young-man named Nathan going  back to his long-forgotten country after the independence. He visited his childhood village and the school where he was a student long time back. Many people came to see him, the kid who left the village long time back now returned as a fully grown man!

The old teacher of Nathan was still alive and working at that same school. The delighted old man asked Nathan to teach some of the classes. Nathan gladly accepted that offer, many joyful and happy moments came when he taught in that school. Just like all good things, that short period ended, Nathan left again. Meghan couldn’t remember more, what happened to Nathan after that?

    There were many more stories Meghan could remember, all of those stories were like the stories of the nomads- various events, and experiences here and there and always there was a never ending thirst for a land- a vast, green land full of rivers and trees, from where they won't have to be uprooted!

    Meghan placed her fingers on the map stretched out on the table, there were so many lines on the map, borders and borders, frontiers, check points, border security forces, the men with firearms, sentinels of the countries! Why so many lines? Thorny borders to prevent the invaders? Who were those invaders? She tried to feel those thorns under her fingers while sliding along those lines.

   Meghan didn't know why she felt so sad, so lonely, so detached from everything around her! Ron was at work, he wouldn't be back until 6 o'clock. He would have to drive for about 40 minutes to reach home. After that he will take Meghan to eat out at their favorite Chinese restaurant. But what would Meghan do for the whole day? 

     Tic Tic Tic Tic---moments were slow, so slow! Meghan threw a blanket on the carpet, stretched herself on that, tried to meditate. Otherwise all those sad memories would come again and will keep coming in and those memories wouldn’t let her rest.

All those dark stories of helpless people, uprooted from their homes and going towards uncertainty would haunt her. It didn't happen to her personally but why all those stories always kept coming to her? So vivid, so alive as if they wanted to be expressed through her, with all their living moments.

     Meghan tried to relax, untied her mind. She tried to take her attention away from every part of her body which could feel anything. She started from her feet, then legs, thighs, waist, belly....

After the full relaxation she felt floating in air ; her depression faded away, she felt she was sinking in an ocean of slumber.

In her dream, she saw a small hut near a vast field, felt a cool wind of winter. She saw mist coming over the landscape and then suddenly she saw a man, sitting on a soft dry grass-mattress near a lamp, that middle-aged man was busy writing on some parchment-like paper with a long white feather.

He paused and dipped the long feather’s narrow end into an inkpot. There was a half closed door behind his back, passing that door in dream,  Meghan saw two little girls of about five years of age were sleeping on a cot.

  Meghan couldn't remember them from her conscious memories, but in dream she could easily relate them very close to her, as if they were her own.  Meghan, in her dream, knelt down near the kids, both kids were sleeping.  Meghan placed her hands gently on the foreheads of the sleeping kids before she leaned to kiss them.