The Photograph

    One day, I was all alone in the house. My parents had taken my siblings off to visit my grandparents. I had refused to go. There had been a quarrel and my parents had left the house, fuming with anger. I didn't care. I didn't go with them. I felt they never understood me. They liked to nag me and I just wanted to be alone.
    There was blessed peace in the house but I felt a nagging guilt inside.I loved my grandparents. They would be very sad that I hadn't come. Why I didn't go? It was just stubbornness on my part.
    After a while. the phone rang with a message for my father. i went to a drawer to take out a piece of paper to write down the message. Later, when I went to close the drawer properly, I saw something stuck inside. So, I pulled it out. It was a photograph. I was clinging on to my mother and my father was hugging us both. My uncle had taken it when I was about nine years old. I remembered thisw incident very well.
    I was playing outside my house. My mother was sweeping the floor. My father and uncle were inside the house, watching television. All at once, a pack of stray dogs came rushing at me. I screamed. My mother, on seeing what was happening, grabbed her broom and ran to me. I hugged her hard, screaming and crying. My mother shouted and waved her broom at the dogs. They backed and refused to leave. They snarled and ready to jump at us at anytime. My mother was like a fierce guardian angel . She never let me go and she yelled at them . By that time, my father and uncle rushed out of the house. They shouted at the dogs and threw water at them. Looking confused, they ran away.
    I clung to my mother. She hugged me back as tight as she could and my father hugged both of us. By that time, my uncle took the photo of us.
    I had fever that night. My parents never left my bedside. As i remembered, a  wave of love rushing towards me. I began to remember many other incidents where my parents had shown love and care on me.
    I went to the refrigerator to get a drink. There I saw a plate of snacks for me. There was a note stuck to the refrigerator which informing me there was a hot meal in the microwave. I sat down, i realised that my parents were still love me, anytime.
    I went to the telephone and called my grandfather. My parents had not arrived yet."I'm taking a  bus to your place, Grandpa,"I told him."I want to spend more time with my family. Tell my parents that I will be there soon."