PART 3

You were slowly becoming independent, you could do most of the activities on your own, you had even made friends at the playground. You were outgoing, fun-loving, jovial, cheerful guy. You zoomed your wheelchair with just one hand all over the house and even outdoors too. You made us forget about your shortcomings. You were enthusiastic about life, a staunch believer in God and never missed the Sunday church sessions. Every passing day I was surer that you had more of Aurora in you than me; I was happy, thankful to God. You filled my life with light; the growing darkness inside my heart due to my failure at writing was pushed away by your liveliness.

On your 10^th birthday which we celebrated at The 58 Tour Eiffel, amid the breathtaking view of sparkling Eiffel Tower; when Maman handed you a box of paints as your birthday gift, I wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate gift. I was skeptical if you would have to go through the path of rejection, suffering and depression like I did. Your face had lighted up brighter than the sun. You had taken it with arms wide open, handled it like a fragile item, placed it on the table in front of you and opened it very delicately so as not to spill anything. Post that you were lost in examining the colors throughout the entire course of dinner. To complement Maman’s gift, Papa had gifted you an artist palette, paintbrushes, canvas. I wondered if they had any hidden agenda behind gifting you these.

Soon after, you were immersed in painting inside your room all day. You were an extrovert when it came to everything else but were extremely shy of exhibiting your paintings. You made me and your Maman swear not to spy on you while you painted. I was afraid you would strain your hand with all the extra effort you were putting to paint. One day while passing by your art room, I decided to take a peek and was stunned by what I saw. You had painted scenes from our front yard, backyard, the lakeside, the flea markets with acute precision. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I called out to Aurora. She too was amazed with your work. We held each other and cried with happiness. We had underestimated our son and his talent all these days. Thankfully my parents had harnessed this skill in you. When we brought them over and showed these, they simply shrugged and said they had already known about your talent from a long time. It is us they wanted to see and believe. When you came to know that we had seen your paintings, you were shy and avoided confrontation ‘coz you didn’t want to hear any praises.

It was decided that you were going to study art at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. Aurora wanted us to move to London and stay nearby your college. I had lived all my life in Paris and was a bit hesitant about relocating. You decided against it; you said you could manage on your own and wanted us to stop worrying. You somehow convinced your mother and one fine day you set off for college. Life wasn’t exactly the same after that. We constantly missed you. Every conversation was about you. Your room stayed the same for your visits during vacations. The times you visited, our home would transform and be filled with euphoria. It was during your second visit that you casually informed us about your art exhibition. To say that we were proud of you is an understatement.

Your paintings sold like hotcakes. All of them were beyond expensive. Some of the price tags made our eyes pop out in amazement. We never asked what you did with all that money but certainly did wonder if the money would change you in someway. Somehow, we never discussed about the exhibition’s success. You weren’t the kind of person who were to gloat in achievement. That one exhibition ensued a lot many.

Soon you were exhibiting your work all over Europe. We attended whichever we could. My health started deteriorating around that time. I had to quit my job.After Papa Maman’s  death we shifted to their house – I chose a familiar place to recuperate. Those were the days we started feeling the financial crunch. Dante, I often contemplated if you ever cared for your parents . You knew we had spent a fortune to get you into RCA and your boarding cost wasn’t any cheap either. Yet you never made an effort to inquire about our livelihood. Your visits became fewer. You seemed distant and dreamy in the scarce meal times we got to share with you. There were times when we wondered if our son didn’t love us anymore.

Then came your 20^th birthday and the fateful declaration via a letter which said that you were going to travel for the next few years and wouldn’t be able to keep in touch. Aurora was a wreck. She tried her best to stay strong for me but deep down she was crumbling. We had never anticipated this day. We had always known that no matter what happened, we would always have you around. Just like the way you were dependent on us when you were a baby, we had become dependent on your care, love and affection when old.

We rarely heard from you after that day. We waited eagerly for your phone call and the days that you called, your mother’s joy knew no bounds.

One day while watching news on the television, we got to hear your name. You were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. We were stunned!

After that we got to know about your achievements from the feature film they showed on your life. You had donated every single penny from your painting’s earnings for the upbringing of differently abled children all over the world. You had traveled far and wide, constructed schools for the specially abled children, taught them art, sculpture, inspired them, motivated them along with imparting positivity. You had a lot of plans for the future and the feature said you were going to dedicate your entire life to philanthropy. The anchor showed clips of the frugal life you lived, how you slept in huts and braved rain, storm to reach the remotest corners of the world. You even had a website where you urged people to reach out to you. You were deemed as a savior. Your nobility, kindness, devotion, passion had won so many hearts. We were in the unknown for the longest time. We were amazed, our hearts filled with pride, eyes overflowing with tears. I wished Maman Papa were alive to see this, it was they who had introduced you to the world of art.

Towards the end when the anchor asked if you wanted to thank anybody in particular for making you the person that you were today, you responded “My parents – Maman and Papa- They have always taught me that a life lived for self isn’t a life lived at all. Maman believes in empowering the poor with knowledge, she holds classes for the underprivileged children in the church. Papa taught me that sacrifices are insignificant if they are done for the greater good. He gave up on his dream to be able to look after me all the time. Thus, I too wish to dedicate my life to others.”

But why hadn’t you shared all of this with us? Why had you kept this noble work a secret? I wondered to which Aurora reminded me that as a kid when you were shy to share your paintings, how could you share this with us? You were certainly an introvert when it came to projecting your charity and generosity. The explanation made sense. You wanted us to know but you couldn’t have come and said this to us yourself, that’s all.

So my dear son, you see, after all this time, after all these years, it wasn’t a painting or novel which was to be created by me for the world to see. It was you, my masterpiece. You, with a heart of gold and nobility that knew no faiths or boundaries. The sole purpose of my existence and union with Aurora had meant to culminate in the creation of you. The world hadn’t seen a finer painter with only one hand. The world was made to realize that a handicap could not only stand on his one leg but also help raise others in similar situations. Tomorrow when you accept the Nobel Prize, know in your heart, you have all our blessings and good wishes. Our home will always be open for you when you would want to lie down and rest, have some fresh cooked meals of your Maman, discuss Leonardo with your Papa.

Remember my question in the very beginning?

It doesn’t take money or time or effort or energy or even creativity to create a masterpiece. All it takes is immense love and care. With love, care, attention, affection, perseverance and some patience, we humans have the power to transform something ordinary into extra ordinary; a normal piece of work into a treasure; in my case, our son into something the world had not seen before. A masterpiece