Free The Secret wish List by Preeti Shenoy Page A

before my eyes. I had really enjoyed myself. Vibha and I had giggled and chuckled as only cousins can and she had helped me manage Abhay. That was the only trip we had made together.
    I cannot believe that Mohan is no more. How is it possible that a person who was perfectly okay yesterday, no longer exists ?
    I call my mother-in-law as soon as I wake up the next morning. She is shocked to hear the news. Whatever be the state of my marriage, one thing I have lucked out in is having an extremely understanding mother-in-law. She has indeed helped me out with Abhay whenever the need arose. She asks me to pack Abhay’s clothes and to give the bag to Sandeep who agrees to drop it off at her place on his way to office. I instruct Abhay that he has to get off at his granny’s house when the school bus drops him off in the evening.
    I tell him that Vibha Mausi needs me as Mohan Mama is sick and I have to go to Hyderabad for a day. Abhay is very excited at the variation in his routine.
    ‘Don’t worry, Ma. I am a big boy now. I will tell the bus driver where to drop me off,’ he says confidently.
    Nevertheless, I write a note to his teacher explaining the circumstances. Then I instruct the house-help to arrive before Sandeep leaves for work. I take care of a hundred other things in the house. This is the very first time I am travelling without Sandeep or Abhay and it feels strange. But it definitely feels reassuring to have my mother-in-law in the same town, that too so close by. I know that Abhay will be well-looked after and Sandeep can get his mother’s cooking. I feel grateful for one less thing to worry about.
    Throughout the journey on the flight to Hyderabad, I keep thinking of how unpredictable life can be. How can Vibha’s life turn upside down like that? While I am at the airport, my mother calls once more. This time she has more details.
    ‘He was fine last night. Then after dinner, he said he felt uneasy and wanted to go to the loo. He collapsed before reaching the loo and he passed urine on the floor. They immediately called the doctor. He died instantly. Nothing could be done,’ says my mother.
    ‘I am on my way. Sandeep had some important work,’ I say. I am too shocked to comprehend and process the details of how it could have happened. Mohan was just forty-one. He was even younger than Sandeep. It seems so unfair. That too he was a complete teetotaller.
    ‘So what about Abhay? Is he with you?’ asks my mother.
    ‘No, Ma, I saw no sense in taking him along. My mother-in-law will look after him.’
    ‘Okay, yes, it’s better that way. What will the child do there anyway? Poor Monu. I wonder how Vibha is coping. I wish I could come. But your father as well as Seema need me. Seema’s due date is anytime now. Rohan will be reaching there around the same time as you. Please explain all this to Murali Mama, okay? Rohan won’t open his mouth. You know how he is,’ she says.
    ‘Yes, Yes. Don’t worry. I will tell them,’ I say.

    Nothing prepares me for the sight of Mohan’s dead body lying wrapped in the white shroud with cotton stuffed up his nostrils and a pile of incense sticks lit at his head.
    There is a large group of people who have gathered around. My eyes fall on Rohan who is seated next to the body. Mohan’s mother is inconsolable.
    As soon as Monu sees me, she runs up to me and hugs me. ‘Can you make me wear some nice clothes?’ she says. ‘So many people are visiting us and I am still in my old clothes.’
    I hug her tightly and choke back my tears. But then, when I see Vibha, I cannot hold back my tears anymore.
    I embrace her and we both weep.

Nine
    D EATH IS A GREAT LEVELLER . I T CHANGES THINGS . It makes you confront your mortality. It shakes you up. It changes your perspective completely. The weight of it is usually so much to bear that people who face it, do things they normally wouldn’t.
    Mohan’s death does not even feel real. It seems as though any moment now he will appear