"She is waking up!"
"Is she alright?"
"Is grandma okay now?"
"How are you feeling, grandma?"
"Does it pain anywhere?"
Naira could hear a lot of voices as she opened her eyes. But rather than expecting to wake up in her room, she found herself in an unknown place.
"Where am I?" Inquired Naira to the only grown-up, Stella, among seven kids.
"You are in the hospital. Seriously woman. How did you end up getting so sick? You are only a lad in her 60s. We were worried sick about you."
Naira felt her body numb. "Did I sleep too much?" She asked casually.
With sarcastic laughter, Stella said, "are you kidding me? You were in a coma, Naira. You slept for 3 days. The kids were worried sick about you. That's a good thing that Richard and I were there to care for them. Why do you always worry people around you?" Stella scolded
Naira didn't react much. It was as though she saw this coming. When she saw Richard coming, her stomach gave a sudden growl.
"You hungry? Here, have some breakfast." Richard offered
"Did the kids have anything today?" Asked Naira as she removed the tiffin
"Yes, grandma. The second grandma made us delicious sandwiches." Said one of the kids.
Naira looked at her food. It was porridge.
"Can I too get some sandwiches?" Said Naira in a childish tone.
"How old are you? Don't you know that with such health you require something simple for your diet? Seeing you I feel giddy. Someone take me back home."
"Okay stop it, drama queen. I will eat this up."
Naira spent her time with the kids. After a while, they were getting ready to be sent back home by Richard.
When everyone was preparing for it, Naira stood near the window of her private ward. She looked weak but still had a shine in her eyes, as though she was hoping for something good.
The view outside was filled with noisy crowds and traffic. But even so, her attention was glued to a tree that was neglected by the crowds. The only thing that didn't ignore the tree was a small creeper crawling it and playing along. The creeper had an attractive crown look and it came back to the main road attracting a few observant people.
This scene made her feel so relatable. As the kids left the room, one of them, Tina, came up to her.
She held Naira's hospital wear. This made Naira look at her. She was the only person in the ward except herself.
"Grandma, are you sad?" She asked with pitiful eyes
"What made you think so?"
"You didn't speak much today. You just kept looking at us like you won't be able to see us again. The way you looked made me scared. Are you okay grandma?"
The kiddo was just 6 years old but still, she had a great understanding.
"I worry about you grandma." Tina continued, "We all worry about. Ron, John, Tin, Maya, Sara. Even aunt Mila, Aunt Tanya, Uncle Rusof, and Uncle Ladan worry about you. Probably because you are the only family we have. Our parents abandoned us when we were young but you took us in. Gave us a family. And now if something was worrying you then please tell us, grandma. We may not be related by blood but our bond is thicker than a brick."
Naira gave a soft smile. This little girl had surely made a different approach to an adult.
She bend down to the little cutie and held her.
"Though you may be the youngest among all of your brothers and sisters and cousins but promise me that you will take them as a family and always support them. Even though I might go, you will stay with them forever."
"Where are you going grandma? When will you come back"
"This time I might not be able to come back. But I will be going to a beautiful place to meet my old friend."
"Wow. Isn't it always great to meet an old friend, grandma? Don't worry. When you will be gone to meet your friend I will be there and see to it that they behave well and do all their homework."
Naira let out a small giggle. Tina was the sweetest child. Could a parent even think of abandoning such a cutie?
"Now go. Don't let your siblings wait."
"Okay," said the cheerful Tina and closed the door behind her.
Naira stood she gave a soft sigh and turned her view back to the tree and the creeper.
The creeper reminded her of herself. Though she had many people around and everything, all she wanted was to get to the tree. Her tree...
Only she knew how she lived for 30 years without him. She even forget the count of how many days she had sleepless nights.
Richard and Stella, were already together after they realized their love. Even her adopted kids had found their love. And her adopted grandkids were growing up with their childhood sweetheart; she knew a lot about these kids including their sweetheart. But it was only she who had to wait all these years for a promise. But now she felt her wait was complete and she would soon meet her tree.
She closed her eyes and with a pleasant smile, she said, "Hector, though you haven't fulfilled your promise of staying with me till we grow old. Though you left me for the other world, I have fulfilled all MY promises. I lived a life with many grandkids around. I have a beautiful family of them. Now it's time I come back to fulfill a wish of mine. Just a little more wait. I will come to you soon." And then she collapsed with her last but satisfactory breath.
She left the world with satisfaction. Her sins and wait were finally over. And now she flew to meet her only love...Hector!!!
THE END...