A meeting with Him (a short story)

I was standing on this riverside for some fifteen minutes to meet an old friend. Though I was facing the river, turned my back to the road by which He will come, I knew I could sense His arrival. I haven't met Him for a long time though I talk to Him once in a while since I left my home for studies. Even today, I came Here to see Him after my mother insisted. He was Here for over a week to see His children and is going back right after seeing me.

He is and old friend, quite literally, since He has been like a father figure to my parents for a long long time. He and His family has lived next door to ours as long as I can remember. And They have been there with us through good and bad times. As my mother tells me, They were with us when my grandma died even before I was born. His wife was a great support to my lonely Mom. My mother would confide her worries and issues with Her. My mother always tells me stories how she went and cried on Her shoulders when my parents had trivial quarrels at home. SHe would always advice my Mom how to have faith in her family and be a supportive wife. In a way, She became the second mother-in-law to my Mom. Actually They were the same welcoming couple to everyone else in the neighbourhood, but I always felt that They had a special corner for my family.

They were the most regular visitors to hospital when I was born. He even jumped and danced on my birth celebrations, as my Mom tells me. I would mostly play with Him and get piggy-back rides when my father went off to work and my Mom got busy in her daily chores. Since all of my real Grand-parents died before I was born, They became my Dada and Dadi since birth. They would often buy expensive gifts and toys, for me and my little brother, which my parents could not generally afford. He had retired from His job by then and His children had moved out for jobs to other cities. As we grew up He often took lessons of moral science telling stories of great men on earth and also His own past. He would often talk about the good old days when people preferred joint families and lived in large numbers in country-side homes; though we still felt like a joint family with Them living next door.

But as the time passed by, I got busy in my studies. School and tutions took most of my time and I could rarely talk to Him for such long hours as during the childhood. Only the occasional Namasteys continued. Also, We would mostly celebrate the festivals with Them and that were the most wonderful times of those stressful study days. Eentually those moments also became rare when me and my brother moved out of town for higHer studies. My mother was a bit reluctant to send me out but it was They who convinced her and blessed me a bright future. As my visits to home got rarer, my Mom and Dad got closer to Them. They would call me many a times asking my whereabouts. SHe would often tell me how lonely my Mom was feeling and adviced me several times to call her instantly. Though my concerns about my mother's health and loneliness grew day by day, their presence always served as a consolation. Even toady when I go back on vacations we'd always visit Them and my mother would tell me how extra supportive this old couple has become to her.

I moved to this city only a few months back for my new job. Incidentally, both His sons also lived in the same city for quite some time. They would often visit him, especially on festivals, for a family gathering. Though They invited me to his house, I had not paid a visit being busy with my own stuff. Today, They were going back and I promised to meet Him on this riverside on their way back. 

Now, I can hear a big vehicle approaching. It must be Him with His friends on their way to drop Him. He has got quite a big fan-following here as well because of His philanthropic gestures. As they get closer, I can hear people shouting slogans bidding Him farewell. I also join the group and pay my wishes to Him saying "Ganpati Bappa Moriya".