Second Life

 

Second Life
— Saran Rai

Today marks four years since the great earthquake. I remember that dreadful day when thousands of lives were lost, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Among them was Rajani — her tearful face still haunts my memory.

A massive landslide, caused by the collapsing cliffs, had buried her home. Her husband, parents-in-law, and little children were all killed in an instant. She alone survived because she had gone to the forest to cut grass that day.
Having lost her home and entire family, she was shattered. Overwhelmed by grief and confusion, she left the village aimlessly, not knowing where to go.

After the earthquake destroyed my own house and fields, I too went abroad — in search of food, shelter, and clothing.

Even when I try not to remember, the unbearable pain of that disastrous day keeps returning.
One day, while wandering lost in those memories, I see a couple walking toward me carrying a small child.

Could that woman be Rajani?
I look closely — yes, it’s her!
Without thinking, I call out, “Rajani, sister...!”

Both of them look at me.
Finally, the man replies, “She isn’t Rajani — she’s Ujeli. It’s been two and a half years since we married, and this little one is our son.”

Rajani — or Ujeli — looks at me intently but her face is expressionless, empty of emotion.

From that very moment, all my pain, worries, and sorrow begin to fade away, and I feel as though my own second life has just begun.

To live — means to experience life in countless different ways...!!!