Chapter 37: chapter 37

He descended the stairs for school and forgot his purpose and returned upstairs. He talked of altering the furniture in the house, replacing the television set with a smart set-up, buying a new computer set disposing of the old one and whatnot. The medicines were doing their job but very slowly. He didn't get anxiety attacks as he used to in the initial stage. He slept peacefully in the night but woke up early to busy himself doing the dusting job which he had never done before. He cleaned the shoe rack and organised the book armoire for our kids. He didn't like to see unfolded clothes lying here and there in the house. He reacted with a frown uttering some words of intolerance at such disorganisation. This trait he had cultivated during his stay at his sister's house as she is a cleanliness freak and my husband was strongly influenced by his surroundings during his mental sickness. He scowled at the smell of Dettol, sanitisers and phenols. He slept with the lights switched on. He strictly didn't allow me to put off the lights. I couldn't understand whether he stressed or did it deliberately. In his shop, he undertook an extensive cleaning mission with the help of his staff. He reprimanded them for any misgivings. I had cautioned them not to take his behaviour otherwise as he is on his treatment. Every time he told me that he gets fatigued in the shop and avoided intimacy. Once, I was washing the bedsheet of my in-law's bed. This was after the conduction of all the last rituals of my father-in-law when the house was free from all guests. As I put the bedsheet in the washing machine the pleasant whiff of Parachute Advanced Jasmine Coconut hair oil wafted in the air. My father-in-law applied the scented oil on his long hair and bushy beard regularly in the morning while combing his hair. He would gather his grey hair in a bun and wrap a turban around his head looking into the mirror. His fair complexion matched his dark-coloured turban and exuded radiance even at his age. I thought it to be my misconceptions or excessive thinking. When I pulled the bedsheet from the wash tub and transferred it into the drier, the fragrance ceased to reach my nostrils. Then I came out from the washing area and sensed the fragrance all around the entire second floor of our building which was used for isolation during our illness. I checked it again and again going in and out of the rooms, the fragrance persisted enabling me to feel his presence in that dull hour. I don't know whether it was an indication of my husband's recovery or the redemption of my father-in-law.I didn't get frightened all alone amidst the pleasant aroma, and neither I talked about it to anyone. If my husband had no health issues I would have conveyed this to him immediately but the doctor had advised us to keep him away from the memories of his father and restricted his mention. A lot of precautions had to be observed. In his case, the caretakers needed to keep calm in the first place and deal with the patient with forbearance and resilience. No need to panic and get worried about what they might say. One day before his medication started he mumbled to my son, "Dear you take care of your mother, grandmother and brother, I am going to die soon." I sensed the aroma of the hair oil in their room which remained closed all through the day until my mother-in-law returned from her shop. I sniffed it when I opened the door to keep her clothes or put on the lights. The same situation I had witnessed earlier on the death of my husband's maternal grandmother. It's time to narrate her story. She had a sad ending awaiting the arrival of her son to take her abroad.