Whenever Ammu's mother came on leave to visit her, she brought a trunkful of goodies for Ammu, and her cousins. Ammu used to learn a little something new in every visit: knitting, crotchet, sewing....... the last visit P taught her daughter to make a sampler with different kinds of fancy stitches. There was a very pretty looking sewing kit filled with small spools of colored thread, a lovely dark-red velvet pincushion, a small silver thimble, tiny scissors, and four needles. The sewing kit was Ammu's joy and pride. P taught her to hem the pink sampler. Ammu always worked on her sampler in the afternoon "when the house was resting."
Ammu set her small green cane chair in the center of the living room, facing the door. She liked it this way. On both sides the big windows opened out into the garden: on her right she could see the swing gently swaying; the big green wooden gate; and to her left was the verandah, and adjoining it was the small room, which was always kept locked. As she looked out through the door, she saw her favorite jack-fruit tree with its massive wooded trunk, and spreading canopy of leaves. Behind her sat Grandfather in his easy chair and beyond that was Grandmother's room, where she rested in the afternoon. Ammu got happily busy with her sampler, as the afternoon settled into a gentle somnolence.
She saw a movement at the gate from the corner of her eyes, and looked up. "Maybe somebody to see Grandfather." she thought. She went on with her herringbone stitch with great concentration.
She looked up to see a man, a young man, slim, rather tall, in a white dhoti, and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, crossing the garden, going towards the verandah. He turned and smiled at her. Ammu liked him instantly. she smiled back. "Grandfather," she said turning around. Grandfather had turned in to rest.
"Please, wait......." she stopped abruptly. The front yard was empty. the man was not there. Ammu quickly put her sampler down, and ran in to the garden to see if the man was anywhere around. She walked around the house, mystified. Where did he go? He knew her... the way he smiled.
"I've seen him before" she thought "Have I seen him before?.... He looked so familiar..."
"Ammu!......" she heard Grandmother. "Where are you child? Don't wander around too far way."
"That man, came, and disappeared, Grandmother, I was searching for him." panted Ammu running back.
"Which man?" Grandmother said looking around. "I don't see anybody, and if somebody comes, you just have to call one of us.Don't go exploring on your own."
"I won't. But he knew me and he smiled. And he was young!"
Grandmother looked quizzically at Ammu. "If he knew us, he would have come right in and asked for Grandfather. You imagine all sorts of things, my dear."
"I have seen him before," said Ammu with an obstinate set to her mouth, " He knows who I am." She continued with renewed vigor on her sampler.
Grandmother looked at the child working away at her newly learned skill and sighed.
"Ammu's getting too imaginative for her own good," she thought to herself as she lay down to rest in her room, fanning herself with the hand fan. " I wonder what it was that she saw."
Ammu saw the man every afternoon the whole week. She just sat and waited, and there he was: opening the gate, and walking with long, slow strides across the front yard, towards the verandah on the left. He always wore the same clothes, and always turned and gave Ammu a smile.But when she rushed out to see where went, he had already gone, but where? Maybe to C's house next door. It could be accessed from this house as well. But C and her brother never said anything about a visitor in the afternoon when they came to play with Ammu in the evening.
"Visitor? No, we did not have any visitors at all." said C solemnly shaking her head."No visitor in the afternoon."
Ammu was given the privilege of cleaning and decorating Grandmother's puja room. She was thrilled. Grandmother always did it herself. But now she trusted Ammu! Nobody had ever been given this privilege before. Ammu could not wait to tell her cousins!
"Can I pluck the flowers I want for the decoration" she asked Grandmother.
"Yes, but be careful when you wipe and clean idols, and puja stuff." Grandmother was busy with her supervision of the kitchen, and Ammu skipped away in high jinks.
She carefully wiped the dust off the idols, and suddenly she saw in front of her--- the face of the afternoon visitor, in a framed photograph, on the altar.
Yes, the same high forehead, and hair combed back from a center parting, the same wide eyes, and long nose..... Ammu was startled and dropped the tray of flowers with a clatter.
"What is going on Ammu?" she heard her Grandmother ask in irritation. "Can't you do anything quietly?"
"The man,Grandmother! The man!!" Ammu ran and dragged her grandmother to the puja room.
"What in heaven's name child....." Grandmother fell silent when she saw the picture, which was taken out of its niche.
"This is the man Grandmother," said Ammu excitedly. " Same nose, eyes, hair with the parting... but he smiled at me."
Grandmother's face froze, and Ammu saw infinite sadness in her eyes. Grandmother picked up the photograph, and wiped it gently and placed it back in the niche.
"You go off and do your work child. I will do this room as usual. Let me know when you see your afternoon visitor, I would like to be there."
"Oh Grandmother, you sit with me, when I do my sampler. He will come then."
Grandmother nodded.
Next afternoon saw Ammu, Grandmother and Grandfather in the living room.
"Grandfather, will you ask him to come in? Please?" Ammu begged sitting on the arm of Grandfather's easy chair. "He looked such a nice man, I like him!"
Grandfather did not say anything but looked out with unseeing eyes.
"Grandfather!!" said Ammu bouncing up and down, "why don't you say something?"
Grandmother sat quietly watching the big green gate.
They sat waiting the entire afternoon. Ammu finished her sampler with a flourish of multicolored stitches.
Grandmother glanced up at the big round clock. It showed 4pm.
"Let me get tea ready" she said going iside. Grandfather's eyes followed her.
"He didn't come!" said Ammu angrily flinging her sampler down on the floor. "I hate him! Now you will think I was lying."
"Ammu," called Grandfather gently. Ammu looked up. Her grandfather's eyes were moist. "You never lie, child. You did see the man."
"Why didn't he come today? Maybe he will tomorrow."
"Ammu dear child, come here" said Grandfather gently patting the place next to him on the easy chair.
Ammu ran to him, and sat watching her beloved grandfather's face. Grandfather is going to cry, thought Ammu,shocked.
"That visitor was your uncle. My son. He died very young." came brokenly from Grandfather. "That room adjoining the verandah was his. You saw him going there."
"But he's dead Grandfather, you just said so!" Grandfather flinched at the brutal honesty of the child.
"Yes, but sometimes, just sometimes, the spirit comes back..... maybe to see you. He and your mother were very close."
Ammu looked at Grandmother standing quietly at the door looking at the gate. There were tears in her eyes, and on her face."I wanted to see him, just one last time."
Ammu was bewildered, forlorn, and suddenly set adrift on a tumultuous sea of strange emotions. Her grandparents were her foundation, her strength.... they seemed suddenly bereft of strength, weak and vulnerable.
Ammu was afraid.
Grandfather saw her face. " Your sampler doesn't look pretty at all. what on earth have you done with it?
What will your mother say when she sees it?"
Ammu was up and on to her sampler in a trice, the visitor forgotten.
"My sampler's beautiful,Grandfather! Grandmother, look at it, isn't it wonderful? why does he say it's awful?"
Grandfather's and Grandmother's eyes met over Ammu's head.
