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Vikram Masson
The Son Returns
It had been a decade since the son returned. He took an old Fiat taxi from the airport for the long ride through Delhi. The yellow streetlights were still strobing under his eyelids when he met his father and uncles at the gate of the bungalow. Everything smelled of earth after rain, of palm fronds, of cows. In the drawing room, the cooler rumbled and threw out damp air. His father held him closely until the son nearly flinched, then ordered his servant to fetch four snifters of dark brandy. No one knew the son was dying or that brandy was not good for him anymore. But since it had been so many years, he took a swig and let the brandy cut and rumble through his gut. He held in a heave.
Everyone was so happy sitting on the verandah recollecting old tales that none realized morning was trickling in, that the first hawkers had already gathered their cucumbers and bitter gourd into baskets and oiled their bicycle chains, that a lone temple bell had started clanging at the end of the road, that the white flowers in the garden would soon seem to phosphoresce as the light ran its fingers through their vines.
About the writer:
Vikram Masson writes at the intersection of faith, identity, and culture. His work has been featured or is forthcoming in TriQuarterly, The Denver Quarterly, Gone Lawn, Juked, and Rust + Moth. His chapbook, A Scattering of Salts, is available on Amazon or from Kelsay Books.
Image: Study of Two Heads by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Oil on panel. 27.5 x 20.5 inches. Circa 1610. Public domain.
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