Her eyes were filled with tears…tears of happiness and joy. After living a life of sadness, fear and poverty…she at last overcame those. And today, she got her first salary. No one knew what she worked, where she worked…only the thing known was that she worked somewhere…outside the village, may be in some town or city. She always tried to hide about her profession, and always hesitated to speak anything about it.
Well, today she is happy. She has fulfilled her dreams…dream to cure her suffering, elder sister. Poor elder sister…she was fighting with life and death…she was suffering from tuberculosis and had no money for treatment. She was completely devoted to her sister…her sole source of love and happiness after her parents’ death. Both the sisters had survived somehow in the dark spells of poverty and homelessness…there was nobody to take care of them, feed them or ask them a question. Both took care of each other.
The younger sister just had a dream, somehow to get money, only for her elder sister’s treatment…whatever may be the source of income, legal or illegal, who cares? After all it’s just for her sister only…
…Today she is going back to her roots…her shabby village…to her sister only…to let know the good news that she would get well soon. She was dreaming all the way…how she would tell her sister about the news…her expressions on hearing that, her smiling face sparkling amidst the darkness they had lived…she just got nostalgic..
At last, the journey ended. The train reached on time. It stopped and she got up with her luggage and stood alone in the platform. Alone. Winter night… a strong, chilling breeze blew; she shivered but her love set her determined. But, all these did not matter to her any way. She just wanted to see her sister and help her out.
Suddenly, somehow, she felt warm. As if someone wrapped her in a scarf…And the smell was also a bit known to her…of her sister’s. She felt homely and got overjoyed.
She came to that place after a long time…she had forgotten the location of their hut. But she believed; The Almighty would show her the way…
Through the darkness of the streets, she could see a sole body standing. No one else. She felt as if her sister has come to pick her…so, she did not consider anything about it and just followed her…
At last she reached their hut. Memories refreshed her mind. Tears drooped from her eyes. She felt as if she was taken aback to her past. She searched for her sister whom she was following, but did not find her. She thought she must be waiting for her inside their hut…after all, how long her ailing sister can stay outside in that cold weather?
She thought of giving her sister a surprise, about her first salary. She opened the door with a loud thud…
She fell down at the entrance of their hut. She stood up and looked around…There was a small crowd at their hut. The room was completely silent. They stared at her for a while…
Suddenly, she felt cold. As if the scarf vanished…
Someone from the crowd shouted, “You are late.”
She fell into her knees and started weeping. Her eyes were filled with tears…tears of grief and sadness.