Page 144 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

17 MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PEACE

Dad’s hair had mostly turned grey. His face and hands were all wrinkled. And he had lost his hearing. In his late-
seventies, he would work like any young farmer. That concerned me a lot. So, I tried to persuade him to stay with us
whenever he came to our place.
“Dad, how many times must I tell you not to go back home?” I said. “You are seventy-four now. Too old to
work in the field.”
“I must go home,” he said. “My two kids need me.”
“Don’t worry about them. They can take care of themselves now. Besides, Step-mom would take care of them.”
“No, they are too young to do that.” He turned away his face from me. “Don’t stop me, please.”
I lowered my eyes as he sniffled. “Dad, see… I want you to stay here with us, okay? At this age, I can’t let you
work. You are frail.”
“I won’t stay here!” He scowled at me. “Do you hear me? I am not staying here!”
“Dad, why don’t you understand?”
“I am old, but I cannot leave my sons.”
I sat beside him. “Fine. When do you wish to go home?”
“I must go home soon. Sonam Wangchuk would be going to school without a packed lunch.”
“Oh, really?” I brushed at a smear of dirt on his shoulder. “I will book your ticket then.”
In the afternoon, Dad was staring away, leaning on the door. “Got the ticket for me?” he said.
“Sorry, Dad. No bus until next month.”
“That can’t be,” he said, popping his eyes. “How am I supposed to go home?” He froze for a while. “You are
kidding, right?”
“I am serious. You can’t go home now.”
He stared at the evening sun for a while and slogged behind the house. I tiptoed after him. He sat on the stairs,
resting his chin on his palms. He blinked with tears.
“Dad, I am kidding. Here is your ticket.”
“Don’t ever do that to me again. When?”
“Day after tomorrow. Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His wrinkled face gleamed as he shuffled into the sitting room.
I couldn’t contact him for almost one year. All I could ask about him was to a lady with a cellphone. And every
time I rang her, she said Dad was fine.
One afternoon, I got a call from Step-mom. “Dad is very sick,” she said.
I almost collapsed to the ground. “What? What happened?”
“His whole body is swollen and he can’t breathe properly. I am worried.”
“Take him to the Mongar hospital. We’re coming.”
I told my plan to Karma. He arrived home one hour later. We could start only at five in the evening. The route
stretched for over 400 km along hundreds of rough terrains and high mountains. And we would have to cross four
passes that stood at the elevation of 3140 meters to 3780 meters, but the car was kaput.
From Wangdue, the road became bumpy. The moonless night was creepy. We drove through the hovering mist,
stopping at certain places to wipe the windscreen. We arrived at Trongsa at 2:00 am.
“I can’t drive further,” I said. “I need some rest.”
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