“In 2015, Ammama, my grandma, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s–she’d forget to eat & sleep for 13 hours a day. Thatha was heartbroken, ‘Why doesn’t she speak to me?’ he’d ask. But he never left her side; from cooking, to oiling her hair to taking her to the loo–he did it all. We asked him to move in with us but he refused–‘All my life, she’s taken care of me. It’s my turn now,’ he said.
He tried hard to revive her memory, but she couldn’t recollect anything. Eventually we hired a caretaker as Ammama’s condition worsened. After the lockdown, I couldn’t visit them often, so on mom’s birthday in June, Thatha asked me to stay with them; I promised I would.
But within a few days, Thatha fell & injured his back. Because of covid, only Mom could go to the hospital. The doctors said he’d suffered a silent heart attack & also tested positive for covid. I couldn’t believe it–Thatha never stepped out of the house!
After, mom, dad, my brother & I all tested positive; we isolated. 2 days in, the doctor told us Thatha was better. Mom & I video called him–mom told him, ‘I’ll take care of Ammama,’ But I wanted him to hold on & said, ‘Soon, you’ll be with us’; he didn’t react.
The next day, Thatha succumbed. I was shattered. We spoke to Ammama’s doctors & they advised us not to tell her the truth because of her fragile health.
We all moved in with Ammama after testing negative–it’s been 4 months now but she still hasn’t realised that Thatha is no more. Upon waking up, she asks me, ‘Has he left me?’ but before I can say anything, she reassures herself–‘I know he loves me, he’d never leave me.’ The pain & guilt is unbearable.
So whenever she feels restless, we tell her that Thatha’s gone to buy groceries, but within minutes she forgets & asks again. If the doorbell rings, she excitedly looks at the door, only to be disappointed.
She’s never stopped believing that Thatha will come back. Just yesterday she spoke to me about their wedding day.
I know there may come a day when she forgets me but even then, she’ll remember Thatha. Her faith in him is so strong that she makes me want to believe he’ll come back someday. It makes me believe that love surpasses everything; even death.”
Such a beautiful yet a rare form of love to find. Such motivational stories do make us believe in humanity for sure.