Tiny Gestures of Love

Tiny gestures of love can brighten the darkest mind,
Do an act of kindness in whatever way you can find;
Charity begins at home which applies to kindness too,
Start spreading joy at home even if it’s acts, small and few…

Mira and Neil were good children who loved their parents very much. They excelled in academics as well as extracurriculars. Even though, Mira was just 2 years older to Neil, he would give her a lot of respect and she would take care of him all the time. They were so busy that they barely got to spend quality time with their parents. Their mother was a homemaker, who spent most of her time in the kitchen and doing other household chores. Their father, Jay was an inspiration to them. He would try to be with the children for 2 hours atleast on Sundays. They were closer to him as he would never point out their mistakes or shout at them like their mom did but they loved both of them.

Suddenly, one day, their father met with a car accident and died on the spot. Their mother, Anita had become numb and had lost the will to live. After the funeral, the children, who had been crying tears of blood at the tender age of 10 and 12, went to their mother but she just walked way. They couldn’t believe that she could act so rudely at such a helpless time in their lives. Their maternal grandmother was watching the entire scene. She decided to stay with them for few days to get everything settled. Even their cat, Munmun, who was sad was now a little glad.

Anita didn’t get out of her bed for a week except for necessary things. She didn’t talk to anyone and turned her face away. She had not shed a tear since Jay had died. The children were very confused and asked their grandmother, Rita, why their mom was behaving in such a way. They thought that she had never loved their dad or them. Their grandma explained to them that everyone has a different way of dealing with a loss or grief. Most cry but some just pack it up inside and bleed from their heart. Do not judge a book by its cover. She told them that their mom always loved their dad and them more than anything in the world. She quit her job so that she could take care of their needs. They need to give her time to heal as Jay was not just her husband but her best friend too. She, also suggested that they try talking to her and do tiny gestures of love for her, whether she appreciates it or not.

First day, they tried by giving her breakfast in bed but she just covered her head with the blanket and didn’t eat anything. Second day, they tried to clean her room but she told them to go away and shut the door. Third day, they made a card for her with their dad’s photo as well as their family photo but she didn’t react at all.

They were tired and upset and told their grandma that they had given up. She reminded them that their parents’ anniversary was after 5 days and Jay had promised to gift Anita a dress which looked same as her engagement dress and that too, made by the same tailor. He had told her that they would go through their family album and also have a family brunch, which he would order from her favourite restaurant, Dine Divine. Rita and the kids started planning and they would sing Jay’s favorite songs whenever they passed by Anita’s bedroom.

The kids broke their piggy banks but they were Rs. 5000 short. Rita gave them the Rs. 3000 that she had but they still had to come up with Rs. 2000. Mira had bought a new jewellery set for her birthday and Neil had won a new cricket bat in a competition. They somehow managed to sell them and got Rs. 4000 for them. They decided to order not just their mom’s favourite dishes but their dad’s too from Dine Divine.

The night before the anniversary was very crucial to them. They have already placed the order with the restaurant for the next day and collected the dress too. Now, the challenge was how to sneak the dress into their mom’s room and keep it on the chair like their dad used to do. They waited until 2am and when they were sure that she was asleep, Munmun gave them the signal and they snuck into her room and placed the dress on the chair and ran away. They also left a note which said,

To 
Our dearest Mom,
‘Mr. Jay Segal may have left this world,
But his love and positive energy will never leave;
He has left parts of him in us,
So, that you could feel his presence and wouldn’t have to grieve.
We love you Mommy… and Daddy, who is in heaven too.
We hope you start a new life today, so… Happy Anniversary to you.’
– with lots of love, respect and gratitude,
From your babies,
Mira and Neil…
(Best wishes from Grandma and Munmun too.)

When Anita woke up in the morning and saw the dress, she burst out crying. Her mother calmed her down as she was finally getting the closure she needed. Then, she read the note and ran to her kids’ room and hugged them and kissed them and told them that she loves them more than anything in the world. Her tears were all over them and looking at her, they too, started crying. Rita, in an attempt to calm them down, told them all to get ready for a special brunch. When Anita saw the table set in the way that Jay used to, with her favourite dishes and his too, plus a huge framed photo of him on his chair, she couldn’t control herself. She apologized to her children and told them that she had been blaming herself all this time for Jay’s death as he had died in the accident when he had gone to buy vegetables as she had a severe headache. The children consoled her and Rita told her daughter that it is not her fault. Death is in the hands of God but memories are in our hands or rather in our minds. We will always keep Jay alive in our memories by talking about him and doing the things he loved to do.

This was indeed a special anniversary brunch and they all felt like Jay was right there with them. As they went through their family albums, they found a note written by Jay in it. It said,

‘Life has no guarantee,
With every experience we create a memory;
These photos are the summary of our life,
They remind me how much I love my children and my wife.’