PAGES were turned as new chapters of his life were written, and, today, he stood as a successful man.
No more bleeding from thorns of the past.
As he looked out into the village, he felt happy and proud of what contribution he had made to bettering the livelihood of the community. His selfless efforts in upgrading the environment became an inspiration for others to assist, and soon, a poor fishing village became a fisherman’s paradise.

So, the day when his brother Suresh and his family came by for a short visit on their way to Suriname, the old house wasn’t there anymore. He and his family stood and stared in surprise at the splendid mansion in its place, not sure who lived there. Suresh thought to himself, “I must be in the wrong place.”
As Suresh stood there unsure, Rovin rode in with his CBR motorbike.

His wife stepped out of the car and said to him in a tone of mild impatience, “You should inquire if we are at the right house.”
Suresh approached the gate and asked the young man, “I’m here to see the fisherman who used to live here in an old house.”
Rovin looked at him curiously and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m his brother from the UK.”
Rovin’s expression changed to an unwelcoming look, but he said cordially, “Just a moment, I’ll let my father know.”
Ramesh came out five minutes later and looked at his British family from the walkway, not opening the gate to invite them in.
Suresh and his family stared at him, stunned, “This is your house?” Suresh asked in utter disbelief
“Yeah,” Ramesh said in a casual tone.

“That’s amazing, brother,” Suresh said.
“Brother?” Ramesh questioned in surprise, “Now yuh see me as dat?”
“I know things didn’t go too well the last time,” Suresh admitted, “And I’m sorry about that.”

“Yeah, people make mistakes,” Ramesh accepted, “But here’s de ting, it too late fuh regrets and as yuh can see, ah have moved on in meh life.”
“How?…” Suresh asked incredulously, “How did you achieve this?”
“Lewwe just seh,” Ramesh replied casually, “Dat de good meh do, come back in unexpected ways and fuh me, it came from an old friend.”

Deeper regrets clouded Suresh’s face, and he said, “It’s not too late for us to reconnect as a family.”
Before Ramesh could respond, Priya came home from work and greeted her father, “Hi, Daddy.”
She looked curiously at the visitors who seemed foreign, and she quietly asked, “Who are they?”

At that moment, Shanti stepped out on the patio and recognising the visitors, she looked at her husband, surprised, “Aren’t yuh gonna invite yuh brotha and his family in?”
“Nah,” Ramesh answered, unforgiveness in his voice, “When ah was poor and lived in ah old house, he and his family scorn us. Now dat ah become rich and living good, it should stay de same way.”

He turned and walked into his house, leaving his wife and daughter standing there a bit awkward. Shanti forced a smile and apologised for her husband, “Ah sorry about dat.”
“It’s okay, I deserved that,” Suresh said, his words laden with guilt.
And he left with his family.
Shanti sat on the sofa near Ramesh and asked quietly, “Yuh okay?”
He sat there silently, a pensive look on his face, and then he sighed deeply and looked at her.

“Ah gon be fine, ah was waiting fuh dis day tuh see de shock on he face.”
Shanti knew how deeply his brothers had hurt him but she still said to him, “Maybe yuh can think about forgiving dem.”
Ramesh got up and said adamantly, “No, dey cause our motha and fadda tuh die wid grief and dey hurt meh suh deep that I, a man, had tuh cry.”
Shanti got up and hugged her husband to comfort him.

“I’m not saying tuh relive dat pain, yuh know how bad dat can be fuh yuh.”
Ramesh inhaled deeply to compose himself, and he said to his wife, “Dat door would not be open tuh dem as long as I am alive.”
He slowly walked up the curved ornate stairway, a man who had walked many rough roads and missed death at sea. He sat down slowly, breathing a little unevenly.

No one knew about the illness he had been diagnosed with since his mid-thirties except his wife, the one he knew would hold his hand to the end.
It was a small heart defect that had developed and needed regular medication and exercise to manage it. He had not been given a timeline to live by the doctors, just the understanding that as he grew older, his heart would grow weaker until one day…
That was a stone life had thrown at him that he could not have dodged.

Life went on for all it’s worth, and one cool morning, as he sat looking at the glorious sunshine, he felt a slow paralysis from his weakened heartbeats.
“Shanti,” he barely managed to whisper.
And as though she knew his end was near, he felt her gentle hands on his shoulders, sharing that last timeless view of the sea with him as it seemed to rise and touch the sun, in a moment of soft intimacy.

His shoulders sagged, his arms became limp, and he exhaled slowly, taking one last breath as his eyes closed.
The sea seemed to know, as the waves rose and crashed against the seawall, the wind blew chilled that night as the village mourned a good man. On the funeral day, his brothers came to view his body and pay their respects but were not allowed, for it was Ramesh’s wish.

“It’s too late now, isn’t it?” Shanti asked calmly through her grief.
Ramesh’s two sons stood between their father’s coffin and his two brothers, and Shanti relayed to them what her husband wanted them to know.
“He educated his children, but he still took his sons out to sea and taught them never to forget where they came from.”
The brothers could find no words to say in response and walked out of the house with deep regrets.
At sea, Ramesh was buried.