Ebook IX,X,XI, XII classes_3

from that loss. He and his father had been living a quiet life ever since. Just
when things started to get better, another tragedy struck—Peter got infected
with pneumonia.

Andrew thought that the disease could easily be cured and he also had enough
money for the treatment. But when Peter started struggling to breathe and
faint often, Andrew knew that it’s a serious condition for his son. Treatment
began and Peter’s condition became better day by day. But the doctors were not
able to cure the disease completely, because his immune system was surprisingly
weaker than most of the boys of his age. Constant treatment was given in order
to cure Peter but it made no impact on his health. After a point of time, both
Andrew and Peter gave up. It hurt Andrew to see his son suffering like that.
Due to work stress he was not able to take good care of his bedridden son. So,
Andrew sent his son to his sister’s house. He thought maybe a change of
environment could help his son recover. His sister’s house was just another
normal house, home to a small family of 3 and also a servant. The family didn’t
have a child, so they took extra care of Peter. The servant, Varun, a teen,
developed a strong bond with Peter. He was very patient and kind towards the
9-year-old. Peter feels refreshed and cheered up when Varun is around. This
helped him overcome the sorrow and made him feel better as days passed.
Three months later, Peter underwent a final treatment and the doctors
concluded that he was completely cured and that his health has improved. But
Peter did not want to return back to his home, he wished to spend some more
time with the servant. His dad agreed and Peter stayed in his aunt’s house. One
day, Varun recalled some instances of his life to Peter. “Every morning I wake
up, I hear my mom groaning”, Varun started. “She suffers from the same
disease as well. None of my family had a job to do, so we never had money to
treat her. In spite of that condition she cooks food for all the three of us-me
and my brothers. Living near the slums in a small brick house is not easy. You
can’t expect hygiene or good sanitation here. All these troubles started when
my dad turned a drunkard”. Varun stopped here. “What happened to your dad
then?” Peter asked. “When we were young, our dad used to trouble our mother
when he’s drunk and at one instance, my dad almost stabbed my mother. She
didn’t like the relationship and divorced my dad. At that point of time, my mom
had a little amount of money in hand, so we had to move to this brick house,
even though we didn’t like it”. Peter realises the struggles Varun has gone
through and was moved by it. Varun continued, “I am working in this house as a
servant only to earn money and help to treat my mother”. Peter was touched and
wanted to help his family, but being a kid, he knew he couldn’t do much. The

next day, Peter decides to have one last meal here and leave for his home. So,
Varun goes out to buy vegetables for the meal. On the way, Varun meets with an
accident and dies on spot. The entire family was shocked to hear this and
rushed to the spot. And Peter could never erase this image from his heart, his
friend who was more than just a servant, dead in front of him. News reached
Varun’s house and his mother was taken aback. There was no one to support the
family as the eldest son of the family passed away. Eventually, his mother died
weeks later, leaving the children orphaned.
40-year-old Peter recalls these incidents to his son, to make him understand the
darker side of life and to make him, more than just a child.

R.B.KAVINILAVAN
9B