Short Story

The virtual prisoner

by Hector S. Yapa

Piyasoma, a retired principal managed to get visa to visit his son in Surrey in the UK. Piyasoma’s wife Karuna who was teaching in the village school was reluctant to join this trip as she was due to retire the following year.

“The Visa officer asked me a lot of questions. The lady asked me how long I would stay there; what I would be doing during my stay. She wanted to go through my bank accounts. It is not easy to obtain tourist visa for the UK.” Piyasoma was telling his wife.

“Anyway you are lucky to have a visit to the UK. Our former rulers. You can see the famous palace of the Queen, Buckingham Palace,” Karuna told Piyasoma.

Piyasoma served as the principal of many schools in the Southern Province. He admired the life in the village and preferred to serve the children of rural schools. His son Prasanna first studied in the village school and later joined the Central College in the town after passing the Grade 5 scholarship examination. Prasanna was a clever scholar who passed all the examinations successfully.

Finally he entered the University of Jayawardenapura for higher studies in Commerce. He became a chartered accountant and joined a reputed company in Colombo. While serving in the company he was awarded a scholarship for further studies in Finance Management programme. Prasanna left for London with his newly married wife Sulochana. After completing the higher studies in the UK, Prasanna decided to stay in London because he could join a finance company in London as a qualified accountant.

Piyasoma, his father unwillingly said, “They are young ... Let them learn about the world... Our time is now gone. We are now in the twilight years. We will miss them a lot.”

“They will enjoy a comfortable life there .... They have all the facilities .... It is a well established, developed country,” Karuna said.

Journey

They remembered how Prasanna and Sulochana left home in tears twelve years ago. They were newly married. Sulochana was jubilant to leave for the UK. But Prasanna was worried about his parents because he was the only child.

“Don’t worry, Thaththa ... Uncle will come and see you in my absence. I will come back after finishing my studies.”
“Budu saranai Putha and Duwa.... Do your studies well.”
The parents blessed them.

Prasanna and Sulochana first lived in an apartment in Sutton. They managed to pay the rent from the allowances that Prasanna was given. After joining the finance company in London, Prasanna managed to buy a house in Banstead through a mortgage scheme. Now they have to children of 5 and 7 years.

Piyasoma made all the arrangements for the journey. He collected food items that Prasanna liked most. He had a check-list so that he would not miss any item.

He had to buy several pairs of trousers. Piyasoma’s favourite dress was the national dress. He had to spend a lot for a cardigan and a new pair of shoes as well.

“My pension is not enough to buy all these things Karuna.”

“I’ll give you money when I get this month’s salary Mahaththaya (husband).”

Piyasoma was excited when the departure day was nearing. He felt sad to leave his wife Karuna at home. His wife sensed this.

“Don’t worry dear.... my sister’s daughter will come to stay here during your absence. She can do studies while being here,” she said.
“But how can I live in an alien country without you Haminey....” Piyasoma said.
“It is only for three months..... Mahaththaya. Putha will look after you well, don’t worry.” Karuna said.
Piyasoma’s brother Sirithunga dropped him to the airport in his van. Karuna too joined the airport trip.

Piyasoma’s flight took twelve hours to reach the Heathrow Airport. It was morning in London. Prasanna and Sulochana had come to the airport to pick him up.

“Thaththa.... you had better wear the cardigan because it is very cold outside”, Prasanna said.
Piyasoma started cuddling the young ones. Prasanna’s son and daughter...
“How are you my duwa and putha?”
He asked in Sinhala.
But they couldn’t reply as they did not understand Sinhala.

They reached home in Banstead within thirty minutes.

Home

“This is our home Thaththa... you can live here as you want. It is cold inside the house. You can warm up the house using the heaters ... Next month will be cold as the winter starts in November...” Prasanna said.

“Ok putha ... if there is a place for me to lie down... That is quite enough putha.”
“We have arranged a room for you.... there is a TV for you to watch TV programmes...But there will not be any Sri Lankan programmes,” Sulochana said.

Piyasoma went to his room and changed his dress. He was wearing a sarong and a shirt.
“Thaththa I don’t think you can wear a sarong here, because it is very cold.”

“You have to wear trousers and socks inside the house. When you go out don’t forget to wear a cardigan or a jersy. You may need a hat which covers your ears,” Prasanna said.

“I don’t like to wear trousers Putha... you know I was wearing a national dress when I went to work...”
“But Thaththa.... this is England. A cold country.... nobody here wears sarong.”
Piyasoma had to behave according to the wishes of his son despite his dislikes.

“Thaththa.... the food we eat here is quite different... for breakfast you can eat cornflakes with fresh milk. Lunch and dinner packets are in the fridge which we cooked on Sunday. You can heat it in the microwave oven and ear it warm. You can eat bread with butter and jam.. cheese is very cheap here. We should not struggle in preparing meals here every day Thaththa...”

Prasanna was giving instructions to his father.

Returned

Piyasoma felt very alien in his son’s house. Prasanna left home early morning for work, and returned in the evening, in fact at dusk. His wife Sulochana took the two children early morning for schooling.

After dropping them to schools, Sulochana went to her workplace, a supermarket in Sutton. She came home exhausted in the evening carrying the two children who were also very tired.

“Aiyyo.... what is this. The children are almost sleepy... they too leave home early and come back in the evening,” Piyasoma said.
“That is the life here, Thaththe,” Sulochana said.

Piyasoma wanted to fondle them but the two kids were not interacted in Seeya’s talk because they were tired of being in the school and the day care centre. They also did not understand what Seeya said in Sinhala.

Sulochana had bought a big chicken pizza for Piyasoma’s dinner. He did not refuse it thinking it would hurt their feelings. He ate a piece and secretly put the rest into the bin.

Piyasoma was all alone in the house the following day. He wanted to go out to see Banstead area. He first went to the Banstead railway station which was to the west of the town centre across the A217. The Railway station was within Nork ward rather than Banstead. It looked a ghost station to him as he did not see any employee in the station. There were two or three people waiting for the train. Piyasoma wanted to smile with them, but he was completely ignored. While Piyasoma was seated on a bench, an Epsom downs-bound luxurious train with a few passengers stopped at the station. There was an electronic display showing arrivals and departures.

Telecast

A ticket machine was installed replacing a permit to travel machine and there were also oyster card readers. Some native people who got off the train were walking fast. Piyasoma proceeded to the Nork village which had some shops. He observed a very few people walking in the town. On his way home he admired the gardening and landscaping of either side of the road. The leaves of big trees had become brownish in the autumn. Several luxury cars were running fast on the road. Piyasoma did not see a single pedestrian on the road.

Piyasoma felt very desolate at his son’s home. He turned on the TV to see what type of programs were telecast. He turned off the TV murmuring “all are rubbish.” He went into the green open garden behind the house. He was seated on a bench there thinking of his motherland. He saw aeroplanes flying in the sky for every ten minutes. Although there were many neighbouring houses, he did not see any body. It was really lonely.

Having felt that father was bored in the house Prasanna took Piyasoma for a tour in the city of London. First they went to see the Buckingham Palace. Piyasoma was happy to see it because he always respected the Queen. He enjoyed walking around the palace and observing the Palace guards. Later they visited the River Thames and the Big Ben. Piyasoma was infatuated to see the magnificent look of the Big Ben. He also enjoyed walking on the Thames Bridge observing the London Eye. Later Prasanna took Piyasoma for a walk in the Green Park.

Piyasoma was seated on a bench enjoying the geese swimming in a pond. Prasanna bought a big hot dog and a snack for Piyasoma’s lunch. He ate a piece and threw the rest into a bin stealthily. The journey to London brought some relief to Piyasoma.

Piyasoma was able to telephone Kanthi on Sunday. Prasanna bought some phone cards and operated the telephone for Piyasoma.

“How are you Mahattaya in London ... Are you happy with the children there?”

“What are you talking Haminey. This is really like a virtual prison. In vain I came to London... Prasanna and Sulochana have no time to talk to me. They are so busy with their jobs and children’s work. They cook only one a week. Frozen food are heated in the microwave oven. I hate this type of food.”

Grandchildren

“Do the grandchildren enjoy your visit? Do they enjoy your stories and songs being in the bed with you Mahattaya...”

“What nonsense Haminey, they cannot understand what I talk. I can’t understand what they say. They don’t know Sinhala. So, how can they enjoy my songs and stories Haminey?”

“Aiyyo Mahattaya... they you are not happy in England..”

“No... not at all...Haminey. Just one week passed... I am now wondering how to spend the rest of the time. They took me to see London yesterday. The journey brought some relief to me. It is very cold here. I can’t sleep at night.

“Our children grew up in the verdant village enjoying natural surroundings. But things are quite different here. They are struggling for their living here.”
“Be patient, dear... things will be all right in future.”
“My stay in London will be one month, maximum.”

Piyasoma was counting the days from a calendar near his bed. He marked each passing day on it before he went to bed. There seemed a lot of days to be crossed to reach the date of departure.