After My Husband’s Funeral, My Son Drove Me To The Edge Of Town And Said, “This Is Where You Get Off. We Can’t Keep You Any Longer.” But He Had No Idea I Was Guarding A Secret That Would Haunt Him For The Rest Of His Life…
The gloomy sky was filled with a rain the morning we buried my spouse. The hollow aching inside was too strong for the little umbrella I was carrying. I stared at the pile of soggy earth while my hands shook from holding incense. My Rajan, my friend of over forty years, was now reduced to a patch of frigid soil.
I didn’t have much time to grieve after the ceremonies were completed. Ravi, my oldest son and the person my husband trusted the most, quickly retrieved the house keys.
“We are both old now, transfer everything to our son,” Rajan had stated years ago when he was in good health. He will be held accountable if the documents are in his name. What parent wouldn’t have agreed? Thus, Ravi received a copy of the house, the land documents, and every deed.
Ravi asked me to go for a walk on the sixth day following the burial. I had no idea that day’s path would cut like a dagger. He said bluntly when his automobile came to a stop close to an auto stand on the Lucknow border:
— Get out. My wife and I can no longer keep you. From now on, manage on your own.
My ears rang, my head spun. I thought surely I misheard, but his hard stare told me otherwise. I sat frozen by the roadside near a liquor shop, carrying nothing but a cloth bag of clothes. That house—where I had served my husband and raised my children—was now no longer mine. I had no right to step back inside.
“Your children remain when you lose your husband,” they say. Children, however, can occasionally feel alienated. I was cornered like an outsider by my own son. However, Ravi was unaware that I wasn’t actually penniless. I carried our life savings, which totaled more than three crore rupees, in my pocket. “People respect you only if you still hold something in your hands,” Rajan would always caution.
That day, I stayed silent. I refused to plead, refused to reveal my secret. I wanted to see how Ravi and life itself would treat me. My first night alone, I huddled beneath the awning of a tea stall. The owner, Aunt Lata, took pity and handed me a hot cup. When I said my husband had just passed and my children had cast me away, she sighed:
— It’s common now, sister. Children often prize wealth over love.
I rented a tiny room with interest from my account. Careful always, I told no one about my money. I lived plainly, wore old saris, ate lentils and cheap bread, drawing no attention.
Many nights I curled up on the hard bed, longing for the creak of the old ceiling fan, the scent of Rajan’s masala chai. The yearning hurt, but I reminded myself: as long as I breathe, I must keep walking forward.
Slowly, I adapted. By day I worked in the Mandi market—washing vegetables, carrying loads, packing goods. The pay was small, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to stand without begging. Traders began calling me “Sajjana Mrs. Shanti.” They never knew that after work I quietly opened my passbook, glanced at the figures, then tucked it away. My greatest secret.
I ran into Meera, an old acquaintance from my adolescence, one day. She gave me a job at her family’s restaurant after hearing about Rajan’s d3ath and my difficulties. I agreed. I received food and housing in exchange for the long hours. I have even more motivation to conceal my wealth.
In the meantime, I heard rumors about Ravi. He continued to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle—new car, large house—but he gambled carelessly. “He’s mortgaged his land,” a friend said. I was hurt by the news, but I decided to keep quiet. I had run out of things to say to him because he had once left me by the side of the road.
One afternoon at the restaurant, a well-dressed man appeared—Ravi’s drunken companion. His tone was sharp:
— You’re Ravi’s mother, aren’t you? He owes us lakhs. He’s hiding now. If you care for him, you must help.
I froze, then gave a faint smile:
— I am poor now. I have nothing left to give.
He stormed away, but his words echoed. I loved my son, yet bitterness lingered. He had thrown me aside, and now fate punished him. Was it justice?
Months later, Ravi himself found me. Thin, worn, eyes bloodshot, he collapsed at my feet, crying:
— Mother, I was wrong. I am worthless. Please, save me once, or my whole family will be ruined.
My chest constricted. I remembered the day he left me, the nights I cried for him. However, I also remembered Rajan saying, “He is still our son no matter what.”
For a long time, I stood silent. I then went inside, got the passbook with our three crore rupees in it, and gave it to him. I said, keeping my eyes steady:
This is the sum of money that your father and I have saved over the course of our lives. I was afraid you would waste it, so I kept it hidden. I’ll give it to you right now. But keep in mind that no amount of money can ever make you feel proud again if you break a mother’s heart.
Ravi trembled, accepting it through tears. He wept uncontrollably.
I knew perhaps he would change, perhaps not. But at least I had honored my last duty as a mother. And the secret I had carried so long was finally revealed—only at the moment it was needed most.
