Being old....

Alone in His Twilight Years

When I entered the room, I saw him looking forlornly out of the window. His once clear and sparkling eyes were dimmed, his eyesight failing. As he recounted to me the story of how he ended up in an old folk’s home, tears coursed down his wrinkled cheeks.

He had once been rich. Born into a middle-class family, he had worked hard and established himself as one of the leading businessmen in town. Alas, in his pursuit of wealth and career advancement, he had neglected his wife and children, spending hours away at work, slogging, entertaining clients and just being busy making money. True, he provided for his family and gave them the luxuries that money could afford. But he was hardly with them. Their birthdays, school sports days and concerts went by unnoticed.

One day, after years of taking care of the children single-handedly, his wife packed her bags and left him, leaving the children behind. Not knowing how to take care of them, he sought the help of a distant aunt. Initially he visited them frequently but as his business expanded, he only visited them occasionally. His children’s upbringing was left entirely to the aunt. The monthly requests for the children’s expenses, however, never failed to arrive. They came promptly, on the first of every month.

Somehow, fate has a strange way of working. One day he found himself cheated out of his wealth and property by the ‘aunt’ to whom he had entrusted the care of his children. He wasn’t left penniless, though. But the bitter pill was too much for him to swallow. He was devastated and this affected his will and enthusiasm for his business. He carried on working but everything became merely a routine to him.

At sixty-two, forced to retire due to health problems, he found himself lonelier than ever. His medical bills depleted him of whatever savings he had but pride kept him from going to his children for help. Left with almost nothing to live for, except his firm belief in God, he decided to spend his final days in an old folk’s home. He reasoned that at least he would have company and not feel so lonely.

However, at a time when there were not so many old folk’s homes around, he found that he could not gain acceptance into an existing one. He could not afford the expensive nursing homes, yet he was ineligible to stay in any of the old folk’s homes as priority was given to the poor and those with no family. He wasn’t exactly poor. Neither was he without a family. And thus began his dilemma and the start of countless rejections from old folk’s homes.

Finally, noticing that his savings were running low, he swallowed his pride and sought the help of Sam, an old friend, to contact his children. After weeks of anxious waiting for news from Sam, he was told of his children’s whereabouts. Filled with renewed hope, he made contact with them. To his utter dismay, his hopes were crushed. His children, busy with careers and families of their own, had no time for him.

However, his youngest son, a bachelor, remembered his father and took him in. Unlike his older siblings who were doing well, he was struggling to make ends meet. Despite earning a meager salary, he welcomed his ageing father to his home. The old man gratefully moved in and stayed with his son for two months. Then, realizing the financial burden he was placing on his son, he decided to try his luck again at the old folk’s homes.

He wrote to the old folk’s homes, explaining his predicament. After countless letters, he was finally accepted by a home. When he received that news, he said, he felt a great burden lifted from his shoulders. As he said that, he smiled. And there was a faraway look in his eyes, as if reminiscing the days gone by. 

 

This is a story I found years ago, but I cannot remember when and where I got the story. I would like to share this with friends in the hope that we would realised our duties to our parents.