The quietness of the house was shattered with the landline ringing. She dragged herself to the phone and answered with a dry ‘Hello’. As the person on the other end started speaking, her eyes welled with tears. She held on to the phone long after the line went dead.
By now the tears in her eyes were falling in torrents. She didn’t know what to do! As the evening came, the calm light gradually lit up the whole house. Her tears had long dried and was replaced with a serene smile. Finally, her son was coming home.
Her son had wandered into the enemy territory 10 years ago. She had tried every way possible to get some information about him but could never get anything concrete. There were always scraps of information and lots of rumors. Now when she had lost all hopes of seeing him alive, she heard that he is fine and will be handed over to the authorities in a goodwill exchange gesture. A silent prayer escaped her and all she could say was ‘Thank you and God Bless’ to all the unknown people who made it possible.