Lu Xun -MY OLD HOME

Original story-                                              Lu Xun -MY OLD HOME

Rewriten copy by Shaun Machado

The smell of the hot summery sea blew against me as I got out of the airplane. It had been a long time since I returned back home to see my family. My grandmother’s six daughters and one son all decided to head back home from all over the world to get together after an extremely long time.My children were the first to notice the glow in my eyes and the hope in my step as I started to describe to them all the fun times that I used to have here as a child.

We got into a cab and headed towards my grandmother’s old house. The nostalgic memories flooded my mind as I couldn’t stop rambling on to my wife about my childhood friend  Laximan. Laximan and I grew up together. His parents worked and lived in my grandmother’s outhouse.  

I remember the first time I met him was when my grandfather first opened up his dairy where Laximan’s parents used to work. I remember sitting by his side as he milked the cows and bottled the milk. We both knew the names of all the thirty seven cows at the dairy and every day after he was done working, we would walk around the whole farm talking to each and every animal, especially the new born calves.

Laximan was a little elder to me and at sometimes, he got me into trouble. I was about seven years old when I got into my first motorbike accident. Laximan convinced me to sneak out my uncle’s bike which was almost double my size. He rode it most of the time, as he was much taller than me, but once in a while he used to place me on the fuel tank of the bike and make me hold the handle bars and ride it.

Our cab driver finally pulled up in front of a dirty mud road and said “ I can’t go any further.” It took me some time , but I finally managed to convince him that that muddy road was the right way towards my grandmother’s house.

As the car drove up right next to the house, my heart lit up as I was my mother and grandmother waiting at the door, eager to see the new additions to my family. My wife and children were also pleased to see them, but were still hesitant as it was the first time that they were meeting.

I paced quickly towards my mother but as I got closer I noticed that something wasn’t  quite the same. I was the first to arrive from aboard so the house was still in a mess as it hadn’t been cleaned. I noticed that there were an unusual number of large packaging boxes lying around, most of them full and heavy.  As I turned my head towards my grandmother, I noticed her nodding her head with a guilty and embarrassed expression.  I didn’t hesitate to ask what happened, the reply wasn’t pleasant.

I seemed that due to a new government regulation, the family dairy was no longer allowed to run due to its small scale. My grandmother was forced the vacate the house as it was mortgaged to finance the dairy. They mentioned that the rest of the family didn’t know too.

We all sat down around the dining table and tired our best to put the bad news past us and have a regular conversation. Just then the doorbell rang. My mother knew who it was and was wary about my react to it. She quietly whispered to me “ I think that’s Laximan, I must have to say goodbye.”

At first I was so pleased to hear that Laximan was still around, but the “goodbye” shocked me.

I ran towards the door and opened it. And there he was; Laximan. Not quite what I expected him to be like. I always thought he would grow up to be a strong and confident human being, but what I saw through that door was a sad, weak man, who looked like he had given up on life itself. He smiled as he saw me, and he walked towards me to hug me, but he paused and walked back instead with his head facing the ground as he said “hello sir.” I was shocked to hear him call me sir.  I immediately went towards him and put my arms around him as he stood there motionless. I invited him and his family into the house. He later explained to me that because the dairy had to shut down, there was no use for him here. And that he needs to find a job immediately because his son suffers from polio and requires constant medical attention.

His son who was ill seemed to get along very well with my children as they were almost the same age, just like Laximan and me. Laximan was in a hurry as he had to catch the afternoon train to go back to his village. All I could do was offer him some money to help him out. He refused to take it. And said “no thank you sir, I will figure it out.”

As I watched him walk away, I couldn’t help but think to myself if it would be the same between his children and mine twenty years from now.