Of ends and beginnings

I had a series of life-changing experiences since the last post.

A few hours just before we were about to board the train, we were informed that my maternal grandfather passed away. At first I was shocked. The tears came later. The very day I was about to start a new journey was the day Grandpa’s journey came to an end. The suddenness of Death caught me off guard, because I talked to Grandpa just the previous day and he was just fine! I only talk to him once in a while on the phone, but I am so glad we had the last talk.

The toughest blow was on my mother, of course. She was already sad with me leaving and then this news. I felt like leaving all the luggage at the station and taking another train to see grandfather one last time – I knew that was the right thing for mom. But my mother, grieving and speechless and crying, took the toughest decision to come with me to see me off to this new city instead, where I start working from Thursday. The moment my mother took the decision was the moment I realized the weight of reality. And suddenly, I was not afraid anymore, not nervous anymore. I knew if I had to face this side of Life, I had to be strong. The fact that I had never travelled long distance before, the nagging worry of what kind of a place I’d be reaching and what kind of people I’d meet, somehow faded away for some moments, and all I knew was that no matter what, I had to be there for my parents and take care of them.

Rest in peace, Grandpa! You will always be in our hearts. And my mother, she is the strongest person that I’ve ever met. I don’t know what I’d do if I were in her position.

Presently, I am at the office-provided accommodation and thankfully, it has good internet,which is the best thing to happen to me since the internet on my phone doesn’t seem to work at all! I couldn’t take many pictures on the journey because of the sad memory that haunted us. But Nature can heal everything, I guess. I took these pictures from the train.