There and then

My dad’s a fantastic story teller. He does it (storytelling) effortlessly. He gives you just the right background information, then sets out to create the required atmosphere and then finally, dictates it with so much feeling and detail that he moves me to tears. He told me a story today with enough feelings to stir my heart.

He received a call today from his best friend whom I call Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe lives in a land so far, where the time zone differs from that of Singapore. So it surprised my dad to see that uncle Joe had called him so late at night when he should have been sleeping.

Uncle Joe said “Ram, I was just listening to some old and classic Hindi songs and I thought about you. There was a time, long ago, when rivers of tears used to flow down my cheeks for the smallest of matters. Today, I run a huge company, I have problems I don’t know how to solve and there’s a drought in my eyes. Today, I sit up at night and stare at my walls. I stare at them so long, my eyes get tired and I fall asleep. There was a time, long ago, when I couldn’t keep my eyes open, even in the daytime. There was a time I believed my mother when she said that angels lived on the moon. Today, maybe I doubt the very existence of angels. There was a time when the streets used to call out to me to play. Today, I look at the streets and they feel so empty.”

My dad thought uncle Joe said everything with such clarity and beauty. But I think both of us realised how lonely uncle Joe truly felt. Maybe its because he lives in a land so far away from home. Maybe its because his children have become so westernised and distanced, he wishes to be more involved in their lives. Maybe its because he misses the times when his best friend was just a few kilometres away.
Migration – there’s more to it than just better opportunities, bigger homes and more money.

Maybe that’s why I want to stay a child because I never want my tears to dry up. Maybe that’s why I want to remain in Singapore, even if it means having to pay for ERP for the rest of my life, because I never want to fly down to visit my friends. Maybe that’s why I want to be a teacher, to assure people that there are angels who live in the kingdom of heaven where we too, will go as God’s beloved children.

Goodnight uncle Joe.