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Srishti-2022   >>  Short Story - English   >>  Belated Childhood

Arjun S

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Belated Childhood

Aryan heard his little champ crying when he was taking a shower. Priya was running late and there was no one home. He rushed to his boy and saw an old man trying to make him stop crying. Furious Aryan came and took his boy to his room and a while later, back with some money and gave to that old man.

'Aryan...son, I didn't come for money. Can I hold my grandson for some time?' in a shivering voice, that old man asked.

'Please leave dad, he is afraid of you, can't you see that?'

'He doesn't know me, son, that's why he is crying', his father kept on trying to make her son understand, but he just walked away into his room.

His father hasn't seen his grandson for much as Aryan doesn't like his father visiting him and neither he visits him.

Priya walked in asking, 'Papa was here?'

Huh...for a while, Aryan replied as he was playing with his son.

Priya stood there silent as Aryan understood and said,

'We had this discussion many times, I don't like his character nowadays... always demanding and he behaves like a child.'

That day, midnight, She woked up Aryan and wished his birthday and gave a gift with all his childhood photos.

As she walked back to the room with his cake, he was in tears and said, 'I thought I lost these photos somewhere, thank you Priya.'

'If you want to thank someone for that gift, go and thank your father, he made that for you.'

He didn't say anything.

Aryan, listen to me please, your father is 60 years old and yes, he behaves like a child sometimes, as it's usually said "Old age is our second childhood", You know, he came yesterday to give you this present, because he wanted to be the first person to wish his son. Your mother had told me once that, you used to stay up the whole night to wish him on his birthday's during your childhood and now he is returning all those beautiful things you have done for him in your childhood. Try to enjoy those as you enjoy our little boy's childhood.

Aryan is going to see his father that day. he might not change now, but he too will have his own 'Old-age Childhood', as like all of us.

"Enjoy your parent's childhood, like they enjoyed your's"