The
one who attends to his garden
And
a father who starts a family
Both
sweat and toil to make their roses and wards thrive
The
Gardener loves not just the trees in his garden
He
loves their shadow too
For
he hopes that one day,
When
he is tired of life
It
is this very shade that will prove useful for him.
To
the thirsting earth, the clouds bring rains
Seasons
come and go
The
fragrance of every season
The
Gardener gifts to his garden
Every
flower in the garden is dear to the gardener
He
stands guard every moment, on every leaf, every branch
The
Gardener exemplifies God
Mr Malhotra comes out of
his luxurious house to perform his early morning walk as he always does. He
takes his two dogs along. As he walked, a friend of his kept calling out to him
and he turns to him. His friend said;
“I
have been shouting and shouting. Can’t you walk a bit slowly?”
He started walking with Mr
Malhotra who said;
“How
are you? But you said you weren’t in the habit of waking up early.”
The man replied;
“Yes,
I did. But how can I help it? The way you shout up early in the morning, you
wake up the whole neighbourhood and I live right behind your house.”
Mr Malhotra said;
“Oh
yes! You do. You are the one who has given me the house on rent, the landlord.
You can evict me any time you wish to. I will vacate the house if you insist.”
The landlord said;
“Now,
look. (They stopped walking) Don’t ruin my mood early in the day. You call
yourself my brother and now you play with my emotions? Like hell you will
vacate the house?
Mr Malhotra said;
“Of
course! One day, I will vacate your house.”
The landlord almost hit Mr
Malhotra out of anger and said;
“Let’s
see!”
A third friend joined with
his dog. He told Mr Malhotra and his landlord to find something else they could
pretend to fight about because he has had enough of them fighting over the
house issue for over twenty-five years now. They all laugh and move on. Mr
Malhotra’s wife woke up as her husband made his way home. She prepared his
favourite tea as she does every morning. Just when Mr Malhotra opens the door,
she was there, smiling at him. Mr Malhotra said;
“So
you’re up!”
Mrs Malhotra said;
“What
can I do? When you leave for the walk, I’m in such a deep sleep that I just
can’t open my eyes.”
He pulls her along and
asked;
“Guess
why I go for a walk.”
She replied;
“For
good health.”
He said;
“Not
at all. I go for a walk so that when I return, I will see your smiling face.”
They sit for tea and she
said;
“In
that case, you need not worry. This story shall forever continue.”
Then they had a nice tea
time. Mr Malhotra got ready for work. His wife brought his neck tie to him but
he didn’t know how to wear it as she had always done it for him since they got
married. She said;
“You
are a grown up man. Why don’t you learn it?”
He replied;
“If
I learn how to tie it, then what happens to you?”
Mr Malhotra was almost out
of the house when his wife came chasing after him with his wallet. She said;
“I
keep it right in front of your eyes but you still forget it every day.”
He said;
“I
don’t forget it. I deliberately leave it there.”
She asked;
“Why?”
He said;
“Money
from the Goddess of Wealth is always useful. May I go now?”
She told him to come back
home early and they laugh happily. He went to work. He worked at a bank where
he showed affection to all, from the security man to his employer. Mrs Malhotra
seemed to be worried about something. She kept talking to herself. She said as
she emptied her basket of groceries;
“He
can just play with words to flatter me. Couldn’t he take the day off from the
office? But no sir! He can’t see beyond his work.”
Mr Malhotra kept helping
people at the bank as he went round the bank’s hall. His wife is still at home
talking to herself. She said as she finishes up her cake;
“To
my loving husband. Who am I writing the ‘loving’ for? It is ok if he forgot it
in the morning. But he could have called from the office. Let him return this
evening. I won’t even talk to him.”
Mr Malhotra displays his
intellect to the admiration of his employer who said;
“Wow,
Mr Malhotra! Everyone has it but you are the one who puts his brains to use.
Take my advice and start a business of your own.”
Mr Malhotra said;
“Not
a bad idea, sir. But my problem is I’ve got into the habit of having a boss
over me. You’re the boss here and my wife is my boss at home.”
They laugh heartily. Mrs
Malhotra was putting the flowers in their living room together when the clock
ticked. She happily rushed to prepare her husband’s tea. Mr Malhotra is
welcomed home by his dogs. And then as always, just when he was about to press
the bell to the house, his wife was at the door smiling. He said;
“You!
A magician! Before I can ring the bell, you know it is me!”
She said;
“Whether
you ring the bell or not, your footsteps ring a bell in my heart.”
He moves to hug her
saying;
“Really?
So let’s…”
She pulls away annoyingly
saying;
“No,
nothing today.”
He said;
“Why
not?”
Then she said;
“I
am angry with you.”
He also said;
“Really?
In that case, I am also angry with you.”
She asks;
“Why?”
He said;
“You
tell me first.”
She said;
“It
is evening already and you haven’t even wished me yet!”
He asks;
“Did
you wish me then? How could you forget this day?”
She was surprised so she
asked;
“I
forgot it?”
He said;
“Yes,
you did.”
She pulls him to the table
she had set with the cake on it saying;
“I
forgot it? Then what is that? I have been cleaning up the house, baking a cake
for you and…”
Mr Malhotra shut his wife
up by putting a necklace around her neck. Then she said lovingly;
“So,
you haven’t forgotten.”
Then he said;
“Does
anyone forget to breathe? Without you, I was just a living being. My heart
started beating only after you came into my life and this was the day you came
into my life. And this day I shall remember forever.”
Mr Malhotra told his wife
this after forty years of their marriage. His wife kept smiling. That is about
women. Every wife needs attention, affection, sweet words that come from deep
within. The life of this Mr Malhotra was his wife and his wife’s life was him.
Their love had grown to a point where they could not afford to be without each
other.
Mr Malhotra was a man of a
rare kind. He had such a big heart for his family and his friends. His only aim
in life was to give his wife and children (four boys) the best of life. As a Banker,
he rented a big and comfortable home from a friend who had taken him as a
brother. He worked hard and made sure to provide all the needs of his children.
He fed them well, clothed them well and sent them to the best of schools until
they all got married and began their families and lives. He and his wife
continued loving each other and living happily.
Mrs Malhotra was happy
that her husband had not forgotten about their anniversary. She said;
“Congratulations
on our fortieth wedding anniversary.”
He screamed as though
shocked saying;
“Fortieth!
Don’t be funny! I haven’t even looked at you properly yet! Let me take a good
look. Wow! So beautiful! Why don’t you and I go out for a candlelight dinner
tonight? Champagne, roses, you and I.”
Unknown to them, they had
visitors who were watching them – their children. Their children had paid them
a surprise visit to celebrate with their loving parents the joy of their love.
They had come with their wives and children (two of them – a grown up girl for
the eldest child and a small boy for the second son). All of them shouted;
“How
about us?”
Mr Malhotra and his wife
were surprised. They said in unison;
“Hey!
How did you get here?”
The eldest child said;
“What
could we do? You’ve forgotten that you have four sons and three
daughter-in-laws, a grandson and a granddaughter too. But Mr and Mrs Raj
Malhotra have set out for a candlelight dinner.”
Mr Malhotra said;
“Are
you going to stand there and talk? Come here!”
They all hug one another,
excited about the surprise. Before the youngest came for his hugs after his
brothers and their wives, he said;
“I’m
the youngest. I was waiting for my turn.”
Then Mr Malhotra’s
grandson screamed saying;
“Wrong,
uncle! I am the youngest in the family.”
Then he ran to his
grandfather for his hug. Their granddaughter also came for her hugs and they
exchanged pleasantries. Mr Malhotra told them how happy he was to have them
there and his second son said;
“Your
turn to make us happy by giving us a small party, dad.”
All of them started
screaming out for the party and he threw a massive one for them. All and sundry
were present at the party. His children were introduced to his employer by one
of his friends.
Mr Malhotra and his wife got
ready for the party. He tells his wife as he helped her to dress that;
“I
was right, you know. You are indeed a magician. You know how to hold time in
your fist. Which is why you are still twenty and I am already sixty.”
Then she said;
“It
isn’t time. It is your love I have held in my fist.”
Mr Malhotra said;
“Love
is the magic that keeps you forever young.”
She said;
“In
that case, we are going to be young all our lives.”
To read the full story (114 pages), send 5 Ghana Cedis to 0555392722 and receive your copy of THE CARETAKER through whatsapp. You will not regret reading this story.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you abundantly. Smiles!
Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu
+233 279 073 410 (Whatsapp)
www.letterstomydotas.blogspot.com 