Dementia

Again, you have woken up to ask where the child is. How must it be when people walk out of your sleep into the space behind your bed's headboard, pull at your bedsheet and say a few words, argue vehemently and disobey you as youngsters do, then disappear into the dark when the exhausted daughter -- you had less grey hair at her age-- standing in front of you says, "There is no one, it is 3am, you are shouting in your sleep." Poof, they are gone. But what about the child, you know you saw the child. He might have walked out of the dream you had, the one in which he would just not eat his idli, and wanted to run out and play. Yes, the child does that often, hides behind the door and dashes out when no one is looking. Catch him! He will hurt himself! Banu! Oh what is this scarf that makes you hot, why do they make you wear it. You cannot stand it, and it stops you from hearing the child gurgle and call your name. You throw it aside. You walk to the metal pot that your daughter has left by your bedside. The steady sound of the jet on alumnium. The toilet is too far, too slippery, everyone else says. You do this because you're scared, perhaps, or because they are less confused than you and if they think this is better, it probably is. Someone has come home, he sits before you. You pull down the cotton nightie that rode up to your hip, you need that towel on your shoulder. This man must think you're an old dishevelled woman. But you bathed this morning, your hair is still slightly damp at the edges. They said you had already had a bath and tried to stop you from entering the bathroom. But you were not fooled. You washed. Then you combed your hair with coconut oil, neatly tying it in a bun. This man sitting in front of you looks familiar, but he is too old to be your son. Your son is in school. Your son is surely a few years older than your greatgrandchild that emerges from your pillow at night. He does not have a French beard as this embarrassed looking man in front of you does. Do you know who I am, he asks. As if it is a quiz, as if you did not feed five children and whack them when they asked stupid questions. Has someone given this man a glass of tea? He looks bored. The granddaughter-in-law tells him no one at home has slept. Why haven't they slept? What is her name? She wears toe rings, the other granddaughter-in-law does not wear toe rings. Did you say that aloud? She is smiling, saying yes. You know her today, but her face tends to suddenly become unrecognisable, and you watch a stranger making your bed, guessing she must be family. She speaks Kannada, not Tulu. You remember that, and when you switch languages deftly, the French bearded man marvels at your memory. You start to cry, to miss your children. You only want 25 rupees, why won't anyone give it to you? You don't have a penny, how will you pay for the bus ticket to meet your son? Shamu used to give you 300 rupees when he visited the village house. The man before you laughs nervously, asks why you need money when everyone is there to help. You wipe your tears, you've had enough. You say you're sleepy now, your eyes are tired. Your daughter is in the other room, why does he not go speak to her? She's out of town? Then who served you your tea in the morning? She was young, yes, and spoke Kannada. The daughter-in-law, that's what you call her, when you cannot remember the name of the grandson she is married to. The grandson, who tells you about big animals that existed centuries ago, and that they did not all eat people like that movie you were staring at on TV. You don't know, the movie was scary, and the people spoke English. The grandson is growing a beard, which you do not like. Yesterday when he came home late from office, he was annoyed at your questions. The men in your family always had a short temper. Does the school principal not ask him to shave? The granddaughter-in-law likes it? Then it is ok. She must invite the older man for lunch. You would have cooked a meal for him if you could stand long enough. He says you are six years short of a century. What does that mean? You were good at mathematics, but maybe you have forgotten. Maybe he is confused. Anyway, he is leaving. You tell him you will visit him soon, when his daughter is ready for marriage. From the balcony, you watch him go. Is that a new car? He had a red one before. He has done well for himself. You turn around, hold the wall, the banister, the sofa, the bed, you sit down. The child is in Punjab, with his mother. You will sleep a while and in some time, he will sit by your headboard.