The course of life is unpredictable....our grandmother's story....

She was our grandmother in relation...........

Very pretty in her youth.......

Then one day, on a slippery floor she lost her grip....the head injury caused her speech impairment..

As is the nature of humans, after initial distress, she adapted to it.......

People around her got adjusted to it..

Many years passed...she turned old.....

As if the disability brought upon her was not enough.......another deadly misfortune was awaiting......

It was a winter evening...she was making dinner by the wood-fire hearth...

She was wearing a woolen shawl..

Her husband, a retired school teacher was giving lessons to young students...

Suddenly, fire caught her shawl....when she realized it, it had caught most of her clothes...

She shouted.......but her mumble could not be heard in time...

When the fire razed and the kitchen blazed, rest of the family members rushed to her rescue...

Unsure of how to tackle the unruly fire, some threw buckets of water at her...some draped her in a blanket...

Fire could be doused........but, her condition was unstable.

We lived few blocks from their house...unaware of the incident.

In the morning, my cousin and classmate came to to our house, for going to school with me...

Sh told us..........my mother visited the grandmother....she was taken to the nearest hospital with burn patient treatment facility...

She succumbed to the severe burn.......

In less than 12 hours, a life was snuffed out abruptly....her sons were younger than what I am now..

Her dead body was brought to the house..

I was 13 at that time....it was first time I was coming vis-a-vis death...

Yes, I have been lucky to have every kin hale and hearty till then......

The burnt face haunted me for days.......just few days before, we used raid her guava tree, and she would lovingly reprimand us.....though we didn't understand understand her words, we never bothered., 

I learnt death can sneak out any time, any where...

It's been exactly 20 years since then...I felt the story needed to be told..........My reverence to her...