Old Age The Natural Phase Of Life Or An Irreversible Curse?

The only two residents of their wrinkled eyes were– tears and loneliness! The glow within their inner beings stood totally extinguished.

The rain had just stopped. The climate was still wet Tand cloudy. It suddenly clicked me that the drainage pipes of the terrace of my house must have got blocked due to the accumulation of dry leaves and twigs, resulting in water clogging. It invariably happens during every rainy season. Thinking thus, I went on the terrace. Alas! My assumption was correct. There was a pool about one foot deep on the terrace. Without looking left or right, I rushed to the point of drainage crossing the 'river' and removed the accumulated dirt from the mouth of the drainage pipe. On finding the exit, the water gushed through the pipe.

Suddenly I sighted an old woman on the adjacent terrace. When I moved closer to the wall dividing the two houses, I found her standing right in the middle of the pool of water that had resulted on her terrace as well due to the drain-blockage. On carefully looking, I found that with great difficulty she was trying to reach near the drain hole. With both her hands she was tightly holding the stick. Taking the support of the stick, she slowly lifted her foot and tried to regain her balance. Then, after stabilising her body, which took a couple of seconds, she lifted another foot. In this manner, it took her about 1 ½ minutes to take one feeble step forward.