Any of us did not stay at the boarding place on weekends. But if we had full-day classes on weekends also, then we stayed there. In such a situation, I stayed on the weekend and, others went to the home.
I switched on lights in both rooms for the whole night. But she did not blame me. When I was suffering from a fever, she gave a cup of medicine to me and, waited until I drink. I think she took care of me than the others.
Most of the auntie’s children lived in some other countries and,
one son visited her annually. Those days aunty planned to go there and live
with him. So, aunty asked all of us to go to our homes when her son returned to
Sri Lanka for vacations. So, the boarding place was a prohibited area for us for
about two weeks.
Aunty was getting ready to welcome her son and,
she put a lot of effort to make the necessary arrangements. She wanted to cook
all the delicious foods during these two weeks and, she arranged the home stuff
also nicely. She colored the home and, polished all the furniture. It was like
new year dawn for her and, her face also lightened up with the arrival of his
son.
We also felt genuine happiness for her. The things she sacrificed for
their children was amazing. It is all about a mother's unconditional love and
kindness. Nothing else. I think that she bore up a lot of problems alone. Today
I could understand her behavior and mentality as an adult though we could not
understand her those days. Most of the times we saw some negative aspects
through her strict behaviors. But those days we never think about the causes of
those issues. If I stayed there now, I would listen and take care of her
without considering her as the owner of our boarding place. When thinking back
again, I could not understand ourselves as well. I think we were in a dream
world.
If I could ask her to go through this blog post,
I know that she will go back to that same strict mood again by remembering us.
Then she will give good feedback also. However, I do not like to think about
whether she is alive or not. The result will not be a positive one.
Sometimes aunty also gets pissed off for the crazy things we played. So,
it was a memorable day for all of us. As this boarding place was close to the
main road, sometimes, we looked at the main road without any reason. It was a
relief for us to look at different people and vehicles for a few minutes once
we were tired of our studies. Gradually, it became a habit to watch outside via a
window glass though aunty asked us not to open that window.
One day we opened the whole window in an evening because of the
hot climate. Meantime, we watched outside as well and, one of our friends
talked to a boy she knew. At that time, that boy was going for a class. Now our
guy totally forgot the rules, and she started a chat with him by putting her
head outside. Her voice volume was high and, she forgot to reduce her voice,
even though some of us warned her. As our time is always good, aunty noticed it
within a few minutes, and she came to us. We did not have any space to tell our
friend, and aunty went to her like a rocket. Even though she said something, it
did not come out.
There was a noise like 'Boh Boh' instead of words, and her
eyes brightened up like fire burns. When she was coming there, my heart was melting
like butter. But later on, I could not stop laughing by looking at her, my
friend and, hearing that 'Boh Boh' noise. However, she blamed us for more than
one hour. Later on, she reminded it again and, again. It was like a daily
schedule running in her mind for a specific time. Earlier we frightened and
listened to her carefully. Later on, we remembered her 'Boh Boh' noise and,
managed our laughter hardly. Sometimes, I think it killed me. If something
happened to her high blood pressure, then it will not be a joke anymore.
At that time, we were not in a situation to request her to reduce her anger. If we
ask her, definitely she will hit us using anything. Then it will be a murder
case. However, she did not inform our parents, though she threatened
us. Finally, she ranked us as the worst boarding mates, she found during her
lifetime.
There was a fire at the boarding house and, it was an
unforgettable incident for me. I never faced such a situation before and,
it showed the clues of our deaths. It happened because of the doctor who was in
the dispensary. That dispensary was next to us and, earlier it belonged to
auntie's home. So, it was very close to our room.
In those days some people worked against doctors who were doing
private practice during the day time. They suggested that it was an unethical
practice to earn money during their working hours. So, this doctor ignored that
situation and, did his same routines as usual. As he was not obedient, an
unknown party set the fire in his dispensary. Except for aunty, only me and one
boarding mate were there on that day. At that time, my bed was so close to the
room entrance and, it was not my preferred place. So, as there were free beds
of my other mates, I changed my bed. That bed was near to the wall which
connected to that dispensary.
There was a closed glass window also. That night,
I saw the fire on the other side of the room and, I saw it as a dream. It took
a few minutes for me to realize it as an actual incident. As soon as possible I
quickly informed my friend and aunty. Both of us shocked and, could not think
about our next steps. Then aunty contacted the police station and, meantime, we
moved our books into another place.
However, the fire did not spread to our
side. The police crowd put a generous effort and, there were some of our
neighbors also. However, we did not try to support them as auntie stopped the
water at night as a daily practice. But she had to provide water on that night
and, it stopped her bad habit also. After that, she did not close the water
supply at night. Later on, she thanked me a lot as I was the one who saw the
fire.
