Death of a Good Boy

Published24 September 2016

Reading Time 3 mins

Author Stories of Nepal

Location Nepal

(1/2) "My son was a good boy. He had recently turned 14 and he was studying in class 8. He was a good boy, a good person. He was always ready to help people and the society. He was the kind of person who is always in front of the line for social and community activities. The one character that distinguished him from all of the others was his curiosity. He had a little bit of mischief in him. He was a growing kid. So I would catch him doing things that I had told him not to. I would find him in places that I had told him not to go. You know, harmless to anyone but he was curious to find out. And it was hard for me to leave my son, my wife and my parents behind to go to Saudi to find work. That day a friend who was working with me told me that Janakpur had become red with blood and that the place was hot because of riots and shooting. So out of concern I had called my son but he was not answering. He called me back after a few hours and we had a father and son talk. I told him not to go around the area where the riots were. I told him to listen to me and to stay at home. He said, 'Father, I will. Why do you worry so much?' After he hung up the phone I spent some time with a gnawing feeling that something was not right. So after a few hours I tried calling him again. But there was no answer. His phone kept ringing and ringing and there was no answer. Finally, someone picked up. They gave me the news. That I had lost my son. He had been shot and had died. My heart lefts it's place. All I knew at that point of time was that somehow I had to go home. 'Your son died? So what?' was the kind of respond I got from my employer and I told them that I was going even if they fire me. My friend collected some money for me and I managed to return home only on the 8th day of my sons demise. I saw my wife and I knew she had lost her sense of purpose in this life. She would not talk to me but just stare at me like she did not recognise me. I didn't know what to do. Could I as a father also break down like rest of the family or do I somehow muster courage and strength to support my grief-stricken family? With the stone of grief that I had in my heart, I tried to comfort my wife. I told her, this was gods will. Tears just ran down her eyes. Tears just ran down my eyes." (Ram Naresh Yadav, Sinurjoda, Dhanusa)

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