The Chuckle

He made me chuckle for the first time after so many months. It was just a small laugh but it was indeed a miracle to my miserable life. I was having my dinner at the dining table when he suddenly came to me and asked, “Where’s your Maxis Breadbond? I need some internet right now. I’m so bored.” That was his magical line that put an impromptu smile on my face. “It wasn’t “Breadbond”. It’s Broadband and it’s inside my backpack.” I responded. That was Esmat, my only son.

The writer believes that every teacher is a parent to learners.

Three months ago in March, I was involved in a car accident and my wife had been seriously injured before the medical team announced her death right before midnight. My son and I suffered only minor injuries and we were discharged from the hospital after few days of treatment. The traumatic incident affected my routines as a father and an employee and my life had not been the same anymore. I kept on blaming myself for what happened and how I wished it was just a nightmare that would have ended when I woke up early in the morning. Unfortunately, it was not a dream but a painful reality for me to bear until my remaining days to live came to an end.

However, I just couldn’t be mourning forever for I still had my 11 year-old son who deserved my care and attention. If not because of two miscarriages my wife experienced earlier, I would have been blessed with three wonderful children by now. Still, I thanked god for not taking away everything from me as Esmat was still there to be with me through thick and thin. Being the only child, I didn’t spoil him by making everything easy on him. I always reminded him that he needed to earn every penny in order to receive the best satisfaction in life. Life was never easy and I myself once learned and lived the hard way.

Sometimes I had to admit that I spent less quality time with my family as I was busy with my career as an English teacher at a secondary school. Being a workaholic, I also contributed to a local newspaper by writing articles mainly about life, motivation and opinions on given topics. Not just that, I was an active examiner for public examinations for my extra income. I loved to give my all-out effort for anything I worked on without realizing that my family should also be my priority. Now, I could only sit on the couch thinking that I should have been a better husband to my patient wife who had hard times understanding a complicated man like me.

“Let bygone be bygone, daddy.” A soft voice was heard from behind. My son dropped his head on my lap when I was still relaxing on the long white couch. He was done surfing the internet and it was his sleeping time as the clock struck 11. Closing his two sleepy eyes, he muttered, “It’s a school holiday tomorrow so can we go to the lake? I miss the tortoises there and I know that they miss me too.” I was just silent. “Dad, you can look for your inspiration for your next articles too. Don’t you think that it’s mutually beneficial now?” I finally joked, “I guess it was my fault to name you Esmat. I never thought you’d get smarter than me when you’re just 11.” Starting to sound naughty, he replied, “Dad, I am a smart boy because I have a smart father like you.” He made me chuckle again and I planned to end his sweet talking by saying, “Okay, we’ll be at the lake tomorrow and now please stop talking and go to sleep.”

“Daddy…” The little voice was heard again and before I could even say anything, he slowly uttered the three beautiful words that made me almost burst into tears, “Happy father’s day.”