LOVER

Art by Tasneem Amiruddin

Departure by Rohan Chhetri

The thirteen-day funeral rites
had just ended.

My family had started
tasting salt little by little.

The mirrors had just
been unveiled.

The gods in the shrine
were still dusty
out of neglect for days.

Grandfather's absence had
settled in the house
as a matter of fact.

His clothes and shoes
had been distributed
to needy friends and relatives.

Only sometimes it felt like
he would cough
at the door and enter

As if nothing had happened
and no one would dare say a word.

Grandmother cried only
to visitors now.

Then days later I found my grandfather’s diary
in an old drawer along with some long needles
and British surgical blades.

I showed the articles to my father
and memorized the family tree by heart from the diary.

Mother says,
Late that night,
Father wept like a child.