72.LIFE AFTER MY DEAR DAD'S DEATH.

There was not  even a very small breathing space that I could uncover to take a bit of a break; nowhere could I bury myself  in that big house of ours, to be free and to be in seclusion, to look intently at my unfortunate plight or to shed tears for my dear and departed dad, unobserved. Fate is not a prophet and it does not portend what would happen and when. Everything ominously crash-landed all of a sudden on our family from a sinister stellar body. I felt as though I was thoroughly deranged. I started a sort of feeling as though the whole of my body was cracking down. I had shooting dull pain all over the body, more so in my swooning head and the swollen legs. I badly needed rest now.

Relatives all sorts of them, men, women and children in all hues and several shapes were lying everywhere  in our  house, stacked and bundled as though they were all set to be exported overseas. My unhinged young mom just fourteen years older than me  and four younger brother and sisters,  the eldest of whom was not more than twelve and the youngest, less than three were left all alone, uncared for, in the middle room. They seemed half-slept and half-awake, lying snuggled to my sobbing mom.

How soon the fate had ransacked my young innocent life and shouldered on me the load of responsibilities of the family. I was still to complete fifteen. The entire day had full of different sorts of work of which I was never before accustomed to. I was the center of all the concentration now, be they the routine sacraments or explicit family related tasks I was vital for taking decision, this was so even for the trivial sort of matters too.  There were obligations and tasks that only I was projected to carry out. Mother would want me to have a break come what may, while granddad and grand mom would want me to see that the meals to be fixed for the extra people unpredictably arrived at home. Uncles would often ask if the death certificate applied for would reach us in time etc. There was no one to see if I had had my breakfast or lunch, if so when and where.