Aunt Janice

Aunt Janice is crying! Rinosh hates to watch his Aunt cry. There isn't much he can do to stop her from crying, though. He doesn't understand why his Grandma always scolds her. Most of the time, she doesn't even react. She keeps quiet and listens to everything she says. She rarely says anything back, and when she does, it ends up in a huge fight, and she will shout even more! However, she never hits her like the way she strikes me, so that's okay then!

My Aunt Janice has three beautiful dresses: one-night dress, two tops, and one pair of blue jeans. She only wears her red dress sometimes. Every time she wears it, she smells like tulips. I wish she wore it more often, though. On the other hand, my Grandma always wears the same clothes as the character I saw in a cartoon on Rocky's TV. Even though my Grandma always made my Aunt cry, her scoldings and name-calling didn't affect me much. However, I do remember one time when I saw her cry. A burly man came to my house a while ago and shouted at her about inheritance. I wanted to punch him, but he had a huge belly, and it scared me that his belly was big enough to feed me.

My Aunt Janice, who usually prefers to stay home, has promised to take me to the movies one day. This is surprising to me because I have never seen her go anywhere. On the other hand, my friend Rocky has had the opportunity to see a lot of movies. His father works as a security guard in a cinema, and he has described the experience to me. According to Rocky, the cinema screen is much larger than the one he has at home, and they provide popcorn and drinks. The last time I had popcorn was when my Grandma took me to the beach last year. I found it odd and salty, yet very delicious. Additionally, Rocky mentioned that the cinema has air conditioning, which makes the environment very cold. Knowing this, I've asked my Aunt Janice to remind me to wear more than one shirt when we watch the movie.

Grandma overheard me talking about the movies and said, "Why waste money on such nonsense?" Her tone was sharp, but her eyes softened when she saw my crestfallen face. Later that evening, when Aunt Janice wasn’t looking, Grandma handed me a small coin and whispered, "Buy some popcorn when you go. Don’t tell her I gave you this."

The bond I share with my Aunt Janice is truly special. She takes care of me every morning by preparing my rice soup and lemon pickle for breakfast. Afterwards, she ironed my clothes, neatly combed my hair, prepared lunch, and ensured I was ready for school. Before I leave for school, she lovingly plants a kiss on both my cheeks and my forehead. She would watch me through the window going to school. Before I left the gate, I always turned around and waved her bye.

At school, I had a close friend named Janu. She was always warm and kind; she once shared her delicious chocolate cake with me, and it was so tasty that I decided to give her a part of my inheritance when I grew old. Janu habitually told me many stories that often include captivating tales, like encounters with Santa, horseback rides, and even a wild ride on a tiger. I cherished every story she shared and believed every word. Still, at night, when my Aunt and I slept on the mattress, hugging each other very tightly, I used to flood her with all the conversations I had with Janu. She told me that Janu was lying to me, and the next day in school, I decided to catch her red-handed.

"I met Jesus yesterday. He had a long beard. He told me I would go to heaven."

This was a little hard for me to believe since even my Aunt had never seen God before.

"What can you find on top of God's head?" After a little pause, she said "hair," and I knew she was lying. I told her it was the crown and not the hair! When I confronted her about that, she accepted that she lied, and I felt relieved to have caught her in her lie. I was heartbroken when she told me she was leaving school and going abroad to stay with her family; she was my only friend. They could have schools, too; maybe they might have someone like Mubash Sir, too; his strikes hurt more than my Grandma's! The truth is she wasn't the only friend I had or, in other words, have had. Once upon a time, Sonal was my friend too, but one day, he said, "Where is your mother? Aunt is not your mother." and made fun of me. I bit his nose and ran from there. Since then, we never spoke again.

My Aunt has changed a lot recently. She cries more often now, even without Grandma's scoldings. She is getting leaner every day, and I can see her losing more and more hair. Her eyes are a little sunken now. Most of the time, she stares through the window at the grass field. Once, when I was going to ask her about it, my Grandma hit me with a wooden rod, so I decided not to. I wasn't able to understand what she was going through or why this was happening. Before, she used to narrate bedtime stories to me; she used to tell me the story of a girl who fell in love with a princess, then about an ogre who found a princess, about a lady and her seven dwarfs—all those stories were my favorite. But nowadays, she stopped telling me stories. In the middle of the night, she will ask me whether I slept.

"You should always listen to everything Grandma says." I wanted to tell her that I wouldn't, and I only wanted to listen to my Aunt, but I decided to change my mind. If my Aunt asked me to listen to Grandma, I would listen to her, too.

"I will listen to both you and Grandma." She held me close and started shedding tears again. I was not sure what to do; maybe I should have lied to her and told her that I would only listen to Grandma, but I couldn't.

Grandma started taking care of me more often as Aunt Janice stayed in bed. Unlike my Aunt, Grandma was more direct and disciplined, giving me just one kiss and scolding me if I wasn't ready on time. One morning, as she tied my shoelaces, she looked up and said, "Your Aunt loves you more than anything, you know?"

"I know," I replied.

"Good," she said, patting my head. "But she’s tired, Rinosh. You need to be strong for her. Can you do that?"

I nodded, unsure what she meant but determined to try.

One day, Aunt Janice asked, "What will you do if I am gone?"

"Where will you go?"

"First, tell me, and then I will say to you."

"No, tell me, where are you going? You need to take me with you."

"I am not going anywhere; I was just messing with you."

I can't believe what Aunt Janice is doing! It feels like she's always playing with my feelings. Where on earth does she think she's going without me? She's never left me behind before; she cares about me too much for that. Why has she been getting slimmer and slimmer recently? Rocky mentioned something about actresses in movies usually being slim. Could Aunt Janice have landed a role in a film? Is that why she promised to take me to the movies? She's such a fantastic person; she'd be perfect for the big screen. I really miss Janu, especially during times like this. I wish she still went to my school so I could talk to her about this exciting possibility.

My Grandma picked me up from school the next day. I was thrilled to have bunked the class but a little upset that my Aunt Janice did not come to pick me up. That's okay. I can still go home; maybe today will be when she finally takes me to the movies. When I return home, I must Run to Rocky and tell him everything about the film.

"Aunt is not well, Rinosh. We are going to the hospital to see her." My hopes of watching the movie had all disappeared. I remembered when Aunt Janice tried to prepare me, and Grandma scolded her. Is that the reason she got sick? She should have taken a rest. Will my Grandma scold me for that? Doctor Krishna is a very good person. He gave me chocolate the last time I went to see him, but that fat nurse is very mean. She gave me an injection, and I cried for 30 minutes straight! Will she give my Aunt Janice another injection? She is so lean now I am not sure if she can handle the pain anymore.

Observing her lying in the hospital bed, with a tube connected to her nose, I couldn’t help but ask, "Did the fat nurse give you an injection?" My concern for her wellbeing was growing with each passing moment.

"No, she didn't. Come here next to me. I need to ask you something."

"What is it, Aunt Janice?"

"Will you call me Mom?"

"But you are not my mother; you are my Aunt Janice," I insisted, looking up at my Grandma. Her face turned red with anger, and before I could react, she struck me hard on the back. The pain shot through my body, and I winced, trying to hold back the tears. Seeing what had happened, Aunt Janice stepped in, telling Grandma to stop, but her words fell on deaf ears. With teary eyes, Aunt Janice asked me to step outside the room. Feeling a mix of confusion and hurt, I complied and took a seat just outside the door, trying to process what had just happened. I wish it was my Grandma who got sick instead of me. I reflected on my unusual situation of not knowing my parents and never having met them. Despite this, I had always felt content because my Aunt Janice had been there for me every step of the way. She had filled the role of both mother and father, making sure I never felt the absence of my biological parents. However, now she was requesting that I address her as "mother," and this request left me deep in thought as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up lying on my mattress, but my Aunt Janice was not beside me, hugging me.

I couldn’t see Aunt Janice anywhere in the house. I needed to hurry and prepare because Grandma would scold me for taking too long. But I really needed clarification about where Aunt Janice could have gone. She was supposed to have come back from the hospital by now, and her absence was starting to worry me.

"Grandma, where is Aunt Janice?" I finally built up the courage to ask, the memory of her scolding me in the hospital yesterday still fresh in my mind.

"She left for a short trip, assuring me that she would return with a surprise," she told me, her voice filled with a hint of sadness. A sudden feeling of emptiness washed over me. Why did she decide to leave? Was it because I had not called her "Mom"? Could that be the reason she left? A sharp pang of pain gripped my chest, leaving me utterly confused. I should have addressed her as "mother," but my grandmother reassured me that she would return with a surprise. What if my assumption was wrong? What if Aunt Janice hadn't left because of me?

I convinced myself she had gone to pursue something grand, something only she could do. Maybe Aunt Janice had gone to become an actress. That had to be it. She was always so beautiful, and she deserved to be on the big screen, dazzling people just like the stars Rocky talked about. Yes, that was it—she had left to fulfill her dream. And when she came back, I would be the first to watch her movie. I would sit in the front row, holding a bag of salty-sweet popcorn, cheering for her louder than anyone else in the theatre.