The Mother's Soul

It was about 7:34 pm on a cold November night in 2018. Mukul was having dinner with his wife Pooja. Pooja had made his favourite dish chole bhature. Their three children, Anil, Vijaya and Kirti had gone to bed early. This year the weather was very cold for November in Kanpur, India. Pooja told Mukul, “Should we see a movie tonight, dear?” He replied, “No, thanks. Tonight I want to sit alone for a while and then I will come to sleep.” “That is ok. No problem at all. I will read my favourite novel tonight,” said Pooja. She gave Mukul a hug and then proceeded to their bedroom.

Mukul lost his beloved mother Sunita 5 months ago. Sunita was very ill for the past 3 years and even though she was very strong willed, she eventually succumbed to heart failure. This shattered her husband Aditya, Mukul and his family, as well as Mukul’s younger sisters Anamika and Neeti. Mukul was 38 years old and was a bank manager at one of the ICICI Bank Branches in Kanpur. Aditya was retired and lived in another house 20 minutes away. Mukul insisted that his father come and live with him. Aditya mentioned that he would but he needed some more time. For now Aditya would spend weekends with Mukul’s family. Anamika lived with her husband Rohan and daughter Shilpy in London, England. Neeti lived with her husband Mahesh in Hyderabad. The whole family was mourning the death of Sunita for quite a while. It was hard on everyone. Each person was dealing with this supreme tragedy in their own way.

That night Mukul sat on his sofa and looked at his mother’s pictures in the several albums that he had. After a few pictures he started weeping and said, “Dear Mom, I love you so much. Why did you leave Dad and the rest of us so soon??” He was then quiet and had a little nap till about 10:12 pm. By that time everyone in the house was sleeping. He told himself that he would go to his bedroom in the next few minutes.

At about 10:23 pm he heard a voice. “Are beta (Oh son), go to sleep! Pooja is waiting for you!” He looked towards the TV but did not see anything. He then looked to the right of it and saw a faint image of his mother. She was wearing a greenish-yellow coloured sari and a red sweater. This sweater was presented to her by Mukul’s father a few years ago. Her image was slightly glowing and it seemed that she had a halo. Even though it was difficult to clearly see her, Mukul was confident that he was actually seeing her.

At first, Mukul was a little afraid but he walked up to her. He said, “Dear Mom, how come you are here? We miss you a lot.” She smiled and looked at him. “Are beta (Oh son), I miss all of you as well. I love everyone tremendously,” she said. Mukul touched her feet and hugged her. It felt like touching light air and not a body. However, he could still feel his mother’s presence. He started crying, “Mom! Now that you are back, don’t ever leave us! Please!!” She kissed his head and said, “Are budhoo (Oh silly), it is with great difficulty I have been able to come for a few minutes. Remember this forever. My love and me are always with you, your dad, you sisters and the rest of our wonderful family. Life is finite, but our love will always be forever. As long as you live, I will live through you. Take care of your father, your wife, your children, your sisters and the rest of the family.”

Mukul was overjoyed that his mother’s soul had come to see him but was very sad as he knew that she would go away soon. “Promise me mom that you will come back again,” he implored. “Well, I wish I could do that my dear son. Perhaps in a year or two I will come back for a few minutes or maybe I will not. I truly don’t know. But be rest assured that whenever your life is over in many, many years from now, I will wait for you in heaven. There we will reunite as mother and son. One day the whole family will reunite there in the distant future. I know you love me very much. I love you a lot as well”, she said. He cried and told her, “I love you so much, dear mom.” They embraced each other and she said “Bye beta, I love you.” He told her, “Bye mom, I love you.”

Then her soul floated away by slowly disappearing. He could see a green light and it left through the window of his house. He ran to the window. He could see the green light ascending towards the sky. He kept looking at it and after 2 minutes it completely vanished.

As he wiped his tears, he also had a faint smile on his face. He slowly walked to his bedroom thinking that the next day he will tell this incredible meeting with his mother’s soul to his wife, his father, his children and his sisters.

Their family will always be united by Sunita’s never-ending love. They were privileged to be a part of her simple but beautiful life.