Abu was always curious about what life will be like assuming his father was still alive. He loved his dad so much that he was willing to do almost anything for him. But the wicked hands of death took him away, and Abu is left alone in a very cold and lonely world.
His mom left his dad when he was 5 years of age. According to his dad, his mom started selling herself for money when he lost his job. Not for long, she packed out of the house, and did not return, nor did she ever call to check up on her son Abu. Abu sees how much his friends moms loved their sons, and couldn't fathom why his own mom will abandon him.
It's been 2 months now, since his dad passed away, and Abu can't stand the loneliness of life. Hence, for the first time, he thinks about reaching out to his mom. He called a distant relative, who helped him get his mother's phone number. He dialled her number, but just when the phone rang, he cut the call.
He remembers all the horrible things his father said about his mother, and decided it was better for him to forget about her, just the same way she had forgotten about him for ages now. He looks at the evening sky and cries out, "I miss you father...help me. I'm lonely."
He walked inside his house, locked the door and crashed right on the couch. In the middle of the night, he woke to the sound of his phone ringing. It was dark, he couldn't see. He hears the sound coming from outside. And he recalls that he forgot the phone outside in the evening before coming inside.
He stood up, and was making his way to the door in the darkness, and suddenly he bumped into a stool. It hurt Abu's knee badly. He struggles to open the door, and sees that it was his mom's phone number. He hesitates picking the call, then he decided to hear her voice.
He picked up the call saying, "Hello." His mom replied, "Hi, this number called me earlier, may I know who's on the call?" Abu replied, "It's your son - Abu." For some seconds, she was silent. Then she said, "Abu... is that really you?". She started crying over the call and asked Abu to come visit her. She called out her address for Abu.
Abu couldn't explain why he was feeling excited the next morning. He paused and questions himself, "My mother abandoned me since I was 5, and now I'm all excited to go see her today. Am I really okay?" But he couldn't help feeling happy. He puts on his best clothes, and heads for his mom's house.
On arriving at the gate, he knocked for several minutes, but nobody came to answer. He decided to call his mom's number, be it was busy - it wasn't connecting. He kept on knocking for another 15minutes. He started feeling sad again. Thinking to himself, "Could my mother have given me this wrong address, just to remind me that she doesn't care?"
Abu soon gave up hope, and started walking away. Then he heard the gate open, he turns back, and beholds the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. "She looks like something from the movies," he whispers in his mind. The beautiful girl asked, "Who are you looking for?" He told her, and she asked him to come in. She then asked him, "Why he did not press the bell button on the gate?" And Abu noticed that there was actually a bell button on the gate, but he had never seen a technology like that before.
He went inside and met with his mom. She cried on seeing him, and hugged him for about 5mins without letting go. Then she explained what happened, "Your father lost his job, and we were all going hungry. A friend of mine promised me a job overseas, and the pay was good. But your dad said he doesn't want me to go. But I couldn't bear seeing you go hungry, so I left. And your dad warned me never to return nor call ever."
Abu's mother continued, "When I arrived overseas, I worked as a cleaner in a big company, and the pay was considerably good. I tried reaching out to you and your father. But your dad relocated from the house we lived in, and changed his phone number. It was impossible for me to reach him."
She cried and continued, "I planned returning back home after earning for a while. But something went wrong. I was framed for stealing a huge amount of money - a crime I did not commit."
"And I was sent to prison - that's where I've been all this while. I was released about 3 weeks ago. I spent years in prison for a crime I did not commit," she cries.
Abu felt pity for his mother on hearing this. But asked, "Then why did my dad have to accuse you of abandoning me?" His mom replied, "Your dad was really angry that I left. But the fact was that he was broke, and couldn't take care of little you and me. I had to find a job to help us all. Your dad said those awful things about me, so that you'll hate me, and never want to see me. But they were not true."
Abu couldn't hold his emotions, and tears came down his face. The beautiful girl Ruth, who opened the gate for Abu, felt touched, and came close to Abu to comfort him. Her tender hands touching his shoulder, was the softest feeling he has ever felt. His mom then said, "I'm sorry for all the lost time Abu. But your mother is back. I'm here for you now."