Becoming conscious of a commotion that overwhelmed all my senses, I tried to infer what could possibly be making such a racket.

It sounded like furniture grinding against wooden flooring. Then there were sounds of, as they say in scary stories for the little ones, things that went bump in the night. Probably tables and chairs being knocked over, nothing more, I was sure, I thought.

Then there was loud scraping, perhaps the walls were getting in the way of whatever was being moved. The slams and bangs drowned all the other sounds for a while, conspicuously calling attention to the fact that the only sound missing was of a human.

I was visiting my grandmother’s place. The thought of lying in bed, wondering about the source of all the pandemonium was unbearable.

As, I got out of bed to investigate the cacophony, it suddenly stopped, just as unceremoniously as it had started, a few minutes ago.

I stepped cautiously out of my room, looking frantically for any source of danger. However, all that filled my view were vacant rooms, devoid of any living presence, echoing the silence that now filled my environs.

In the complete and utter silence, I glanced into my beloved grandmother’s room. Aghast, I starred open mouthed — the bed, lamps, even her ‘evergreen’ slippers were missing! Immobilised, overwhelmed with fear, I stood, feet glued to the floor, eyes to the barren room, too afraid to speak, think or move. As dread engulfed me, I began to investigate the house. I didn’t find her in any of the rooms.

Then I walked out and to my surprise, in the lush green backyard stood the bed, lamps, chairs, Grandma’s slippers,  side tables and an entire family of furniture (or so it seemed) neatly arranged. She lay serenely over her bed, gazing at the sparkling, twinkling stars dancing in the black night above and in her own eyes too. She looked so content and jubilant that I couldn’t help the smile which crept up to my lips. My smile grew wider, every second that passed by. This was exactly where she wished to spend her hundredth birthday — sleeping under the stars.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 5th, 2018