Just Give Me A Minute

It was 7 a.m. when Tarun’s mother was trying hard to wake him up. “Get up Sonny! It’s getting late for school.” “Just give a minute Mom,” said Tarun sleepily. She struggled to get him out of bed. It took her 15 minutes. He was late for school, as he was almost every day. It was exasperating, but Tarun would just not understand, it seemed like he was deaf.

After school, mother would seat him at the table for lunch. If she had to go to the kitchen even for a second he would dash to the TV and switch on the cartoon channel. She would call him and he would say, “Just give me a minute, Mom.” Minutes would tick by waiting for him. At his study table too, he would start daydreaming. “Tarun, are you reading? Why don’t you concentrate!” “Just give me a minute, Mom,” he would mumble and go back into a reverie.

Day in and day out, this went on. Bath time, school time, study time, play time, sleep time…. any time, Tarun would make his mother mad with rage. All he would say was, “Just give me a minute, Mom.”

One dark stormy evening, Mother was visiting grandma’s house. At 8 p.m. Tarun and his father were watching TV when the phone rang. A sturdy voice said, “I am calling from Ganesha Hospital. Is that the house of Mrs. Neena Kumar? …. Some passerby has brought her into the emergency. It looks to be a hit and run case. Her condition is critical. Please come as fast as you can.” Father’s world just took a spin. He grabbed Tarun’s arm and dashed into the car. He drove as if his car had wings. When they saw her she was already being wheeled into the emergency operation theatre. She had multiple fractures in the ribs, a deep gash on her forehead and a concussion in the brain. She was unconscious. “Let me see her, just for a minute,” begged Tarun. But there was no time; time was running out. She had lost a lot of blood.

Tarun and his father sat outside the operation theatre… waiting. Tarun pictured mother calling out to him. He answered, “Just give me a minute, Mom!” ‘No!’ thought Tarun, ‘Mom give me one more chance, I’ll never make you wait when you need me’. But, God had other plans for Mom, it was Tarun’s turn to plead, “Just give me a minute, mom!” and it was mom’s turn to turn a deaf ear, for she did not have even a minute to give to him for the story of her life had just come to an end. As they say: Time and tide wait for no one.

Don’t take your parents or any one who loves you for granted. Life is too short to keep your loved ones waiting. Spread happiness and love to one and all. Who knows, whether you will meet again!