Kim then asked him about the last days of Rajani, “Learning her demise from your letter, I was really sad for you. Did she suffer a lot before passing?”
Rana replied, “Actually, no. It was more of a natural death. She basically succumbed to her advanced age. She breathed her last just few days shy of her eighty-third birthday.”
She asked, “Were you present at the bedside when she passed?”
He said, “Surprisingly, no.”
She asked, “Why, what happened?”
He answered, “She breathed her last within a narrow window when I had to go out to buy a medicine for her.” He expanded further, “She felt sick the previous day. She had fever and high blood pressure without any appetite. Doctor prescribed medicines, which made her drowsy. She ate little and slept through the day. In the evening she was a little better. She spoke to me and the children and kissed them. Next morning she felt feeble and could not get up from the bed. Her doctor came and prescribed a new medicine and asked me if it could be brought immediately and administered in his presence. I went out in no time and brought the medicine in fifteen minutes. But as soon as I stepped out of the house she left this world. It appears that for some reason God did not want my presence at her last moment on earth.” He heaved a long and deep sigh.
Kim held his hand and said, “I understand how you feel.”
She then switched the subject of her discussion to the children and asked, “How your grandma’s passing has affected Saurav and Smita? Do they understand what happened to her? Why suddenly she is not there any more?”
Rana said, “Saurav understands that she has gone to his Mama and no one would see her any more, but she would come every night with her Mama to kiss him and his sister in their sleep.” He continued, “Smita did not seem to understand much. She asked about her Great-grandma a few times immediately after her demise. She must have forgotten her after a couple of months. She was just about one year and eight months old at that time.”
Kim then asked, “Have they started going to school yet?”
Rana replied, “Yes, they have. They go together to the same Kindergarten just across our house. Saurav loves his sister very much and protects her from danger. He always holds her hand whenever they leave the house so that she does not stray away. I have brought an album full of their photos to show you. If you so wish, you can keep it.”
Kim said, “It is so nice of you. You always think ahead.” She asked further, “Did they cry when you were leaving?”
Rana answered, “No, they didn’t. I am lucky that they get along well with everyone in the family. I asked them what they wanted me to take for them. Saurav wanted an airplane and Smita, a teddy bear.”
She said, “They are so adorable, like their father. I wish I can see them soon.”
Rana changed the discussion to her father. He asked, “Kim, have you had a chance to meet with your father recently?”
She replied, “I met with him last week. He was a little anxious. I guess, he is having some problem with his new partner, the son of his old partner who was his boyhood friend. Unfortunately, his old partner was killed recently in a car accident. I presume my father’s problem began soon after his death.”
Next day i.e. on Sunday, they were scheduled for the city tour of Hong Kong. That included a ride on the skytrain connecting the downtown with the communities residing on the steep mountains. Kim had some scary moments on the sky train when it was hurtling down a steeper slope. As a part of their daylong tour program, there was a dinner on a cruise ship. The setting of that memorable dinner could not be more romantic. From the dazzling harbor Hong Kong by night rising up to the dizzy heights of the mountains with lights of the dwelling houses twinkling in the darkness was an enchanting sight. At one point during the dinner, Kim became very emotional. She even shed a few drops of tear. Thinking that she was hurt by something he must have said earlier at an unguarded moment, Rana said, “Kim, I am very sorry if I said something unintended. I sincerely apologize.”
Kim said embarrassingly, “No, no, you have said nothing to upset me. These are my tears of joy. I am simply overwhelmed. I have never been so happy. Thank you so much for inviting me for this trip. We hear so much about Hong Kong. Now I can personally see the charm of Hong Kong and its hard-working people. During the day time it was simply bustling with activity. The skytrain was not only exciting, but also frightening for me when it was speeding on the steep slopes, as you are aware. I do not know how they operate the skytrain in that near vertical position without toppling it. It was astonishing to see at each train stop how they built the city vertically step by step on this high mountain. Even now, in the evening, the harbor is throbbing with life. It seems that Hong Kong never sleeps.” With a little pause she said further, “Rana, please don’t mind if I become so emotional again. Ever since my father strayed away from my mother, I had everything except peace. At times when my father used to resort to force against my mother, I tried to protect my mother desperately despite the fact that I was so small. In the process, I used to be sandwiched between my parents. As a result, I remained tensed and frightened forever. This is my time of absolute peace, which I could not even dream before. You have given me this opportunity and I become emotional thinking of it. I cannot thank you enough.”
Rana said, “Kim, pleasure is mine. Please enjoy as much as you can and don’t think about the bad times always. Good times and bad will come and go alternately like the day and night, summer and winter. You can’t avoid either of them. So live in the present and be happy.”
Kim said, “Rana, you have said it beautifully. I will always remember it.”
Three days of seminar passed away even before Rana realized it. For Kim, three days of shopping was not adequate because she had a long list of gifts to carry home. It was not enough to tell the friends and family about the trip to Hong Kong; it had to be evidenced by a gift from that place! For them travel to Hong Kong was such a treat!
Rana asked her out of curiosity, “Kim, I thought that the only gift that you were obligated to buy was for your mother, but who are all these gifts for?”
She smiled and said, “They are mostly for my friends and colleagues and, of course, a few for my mother too.”
Undoubtedly, Kim had a generous heart.
Be that as it may, the last four days of the trip were completely at their disposal. They finished their shopping in the next two days. These two days Rana took Kim to the shopping center at the Kowloon side to give her greater variety and selection to choose from. On the third day, they took a daylong cruise to Macao, the Portuguese counterpart of British Hong Kong, off the Chinese mainland. Macao was the last bastion of the Portuguese colonies in the east. It was about forty miles away from Hong Kong on the sea. Hong Kong by day had its special flavor. Symbol of capitalist ingenuity, din and bustle was never far from it. The energy of the place was in the air. The cruise on the South China Sea was most enthralling. Weather was superb to begin with. Food and drinks on board the cruise ship were zesty and thoroughly enjoyable. Sitting on the deck, they felt happy and contented because neither of them enjoyed cruise on the high seas before and they had all the time to discuss the future in a congenial setting. However, with regard to the visit to Macao itself, there was nothing much to sing about. Obviously, Macao vied with Hong Kong to take the tourist traffic away from it. Nevertheless, there was no comparison between the two. It was just a smaller and cheaper imitation of Hong Kong. Anyone going from Hong Kong to Macao would refrain from making any extensive shopping because almost all the products were better in Hong Kong. The only thing that Kim bought in Macao was a beautiful golden chain with a cross made in Portugal. The return journey was even more exhilarating in the falling daylight and with cooler breeze. Nonetheless, on their way back from Macao, Kim said to Rana with all seriousness, “I am keeping my faith alive that you would be transferred to the Far East in not too distant a future. I will be so happy when it happens.”
Rana said, “
Kim, faith is the only thing we can lean on, there is no guarantee otherwise. As you know, I have kept my top management informed about my intention to move to the Far East. Let’s see when the opportunity comes knocking at the door.”
Rana saw a lot of faith in her eyes as Keka used to have when she was alive.
Only four days in the scheme of time was like a flash in the pan. Time for departure came soon. Kim became gloomy from the night before. There was nothing that Rana could do to comfort her except to hold her in his arms. The crux of the problem was that Kim could not move out of Taipei leaving her mother behind; neither could she make her misery-stricken mother move with her out of Taiwan. Kim and Rana did not know how to circumvent the problem. So they had no idea as to what the future kept in store for them, even if Rana were to be transferred to the region. And that was the unfathomable craftsmanship in the design of the River of Life, where no one could predict what lay ahead. So no one could manipulate the future.
The sequence of the return journey was in reverse order. Kim’s flight from Hong Kong to Taipei was first. Rana wanted to make sure that her flight was airborne safely before catching his own flight. They came to the airport slightly behind the boarding time. There was not much time left for the take off of her flight and her luggage increased in numbers due to her generous purchases. So they had to rush. Nonetheless, tears flowed in plenty and parting was not easy. Rana held her in his arms to calm her down and promised to write to her immediately on return and stay in touch.
Like his previous trip to the Far East this time also Rana returned home at about ten in the evening. However, on this occasion, Saurav and Smita did not fall asleep. They were one year older. So they had greater capacity to stay awake. They were playing with each other to keep up late so that they could greet their dad immediately upon arrival. As soon as the sound of the car was heard near the gate, they came down literally delirious and climbed up his lap. While Rana started opening his travel bags, Saurav and Smita waited in anticipation. No language could quite describe their expression of joy as the gifts were taken out of the boxes and handed out to them. He demonstrated to them how to use the new toys and then played with them for some time. That night it was difficult to put them away to bed. On the one hand, they were excited to see him back and on the other, they were fearful that he might go away again when they would fall asleep.
Rana wrote to Kim without delay, confirming his safe return and expressing hope that they would meet again soon. In a couple of weeks he received her response, very thoughtful but very touching. She wrote, “I returned home safely but to the depth of my lifeless and lonely world. I cannot thank you enough for inviting me to Hong Kong and for the beautiful gifts you have given me. Looking at them, I sense your presence all around me. By using them, I feel your loving touch enfolding me. Until we meet again, these gifts would be my constant companions and a source of encouragement for living a meaningful life…‥I trust Saurav and Smita liked their gifts and are happy to see you back… Sometimes, I feel like leaving behind everything else and go and settle down with you. But other times, my conscience weighs heavily on me that it would be a horrendous act of selfishness on my part against my mother. She has nothing in life except me…. She likes her gifts very much and sends her best wishes to you. She keeps on repeating that your heart is immense.”
Since he met Kim in Taipei, Rana always thought that Kim was extra-ordinary, but every time he received her letter, her admiration for her would soar sky-high. Her letters were so well crafted that they sounded eloquent and touched his heart easily. Rana felt very sorry for Kim. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do to alleviate her pain except praying. He wrote back, “I perfectly understand your loneliness. I also felt drifted spiritlessly on my way back. However, on my return home at least I have found solace in Saurav and Smita. I know that you don’t have that bliss…I always wonder why God brought us together if not to unite us…I am a believer in faith. I also trust in the saying, ‘Patience is the mother of all virtues.’ Our patience is on trial and has to stand the test of time. I want you to believe that I will be waiting for you as long as it takes.”
However, the dark clouds were looming large on the eastern horizon. Shortly, Kim wrote about the beginning of a troubled relationship with her father. The genesis of the problem lay in the deteriorating business relationship between her father and his new partner. His original partner, who had been his boyhood friend, was killed in a car accident recently and his son became the new partner. The problem began with the transition. Then one evening, out of the blue, her father brought his young partner for dinner at the roof top restaurant of the Hamilton International Hotel where Kim was just promoted as the Manager. That was surprising to Kim for never before he had been to that restaurant with or without his old partner. So Kim was a little suspicious. Few days later her father communicated to her that his partner liked her very much and expressed his keen desire to marry her. In the next few weeks her father began pressing her to marry his young partner with an increasing crescendo. At first Kim told her father that she was not ready for marriage yet. Her father tried to convince her that his partner was a good young man from a well-to-do family; he was handsome and she would never get an opportunity like that. He also told her that should she marry him, she did not have to work any more. She replied to her father that her motto was to work hard and reach the top of the hospitality business, which she had chosen as her career. So marriage was not on her priority list. In the next stage, her father told her that his problem with his partner would be resolved should she marry him. Kim again told her father in clear terms that she had been concentrating on improving her career. So he should give up on her. Surprisingly, her father’s reaction was vehement. He became hostile and began visiting her apartment and her work place with increasing frequency. He followed this up with a show of rage on her, allegedly for not obeying his instructions. Kim became hysterical. Rana got worried for her.
In the midst of this struggle for Kim another year passed away almost surreptitiously. Meanwhile, the American Inter-Continental Bank kept its training program on course to keep its officers on the cutting edge of development. Good luck would have it, Rana received another invitation to attend a seminar on Senior Operations Management for a week in Manila. He advised Kim to take leave once again and make arrangements for travel to Manila via Hong Kong. Kim calmed down with the prospect of seeing him personally and thinking through the solution together. They coordinated to meet again at the Kowloon Airport and proceed together to Manila by one and the same flight.
It was refreshing to see Kim again though under difficult circumstances this time. She was not as lively and vibrant as the year before. The effects of her father’s antics were quite visible on her person. Her face was paler and she definitely looked leaner. She burst out into tears while describing her plight. She said she was not only abused verbally, but physically as well. Her father pulled her hair and caught her by the neck to intimidate her. She showed her father’s fingerprints in black and blue on her bruised neck. It was hurtful.
Rana said, “Kim, I am really worried to hear and see this reprehensible conduct on the part of your own father. But do you really know why he is acting so recklessly?”
Kim answered, “I have no way to know all his problems, but presume his dispute with his partner is financial. Probably he is allowed to draw much less money from the business than what he used to when his friend was the partner. So his financial problem might have put him at odds with his second wife. That is the reason, I think, he is so desperate.”
Whatever might be the problem with Kim’s father, there was no doubt in Rana’s mind that the situation was quite grim. To assuage her feelings, Rana said to her, “Kim, we will discuss the problem in details during the course of the week and try to arrive at a solution that would be the safest and best for you and your mother. In the mean time, we would also celebrate this get-together, which has come our way surprisingly three times in three
years by the grace of God.”
Kim responded, “Rana, there is no doubt that we will celebrate our get-together. I also wish to let you know that whenever you call me, I come running because there is nothing other than your company that delights me most. Moreover, you always give good advice. Despite this vexing problem, I will do everything possible to make this trip enjoyable.”
Then for the first time during that visit smile broke out on her sullen face. The three-hour flight from Hong Kong to Manila was smooth. And as time went by, their conversations also became relatively tension free. Yet every now and then Kim appeared some what withdrawn, for her mind was drooping back to her crisis at home. It was crystal clear to Rana that Kim was shaken up by her father’s use of force which he never did even during her childhood.
They reached Manila in the late afternoon and nicely settled down in the cozy comfort of their hotel room. At least, on the surface Kim looked relaxed and happy. Rana knew that the matter was extremely delicate and he was careful and cautious to tread his steps. On the one hand, he was doing everything possible to soothe the fragile mind of Kim and her pain and insecure feelings. But on the other, her intense problem continued to occupy his mind in search of a viable answer. The more he thought about it, the more convinced was he that Kim’s mother was the only key to the solution of the problem. Otherwise, the problem was insurmountable. The only other solution that was working in his mind now was to advise Kim to lodge a complaint against her father with the Taipei Police. He never thought of the problem from that angle before, because he was not aware of the fact of the application of force on her by her father. However, he was not sure of the social implications in Taiwan of lodging a complaint to the police against one’s own father. Nonetheless, instead of involving her with the discussions on the subject immediately, Rana decided to allow her to enjoy the trip as much as possible, putting off the serious discussions at the end.
A Bend in the River of Life Page 23
