Home Away From Home

It's 6.30 in the morning, and I hear someone speaking. I got up, grumpy, and looked outside. There's this old couple living outside our hostel, unravelling their memories. Their living room is exactly opposite mine, and I can hear them speaking or contemplating about their son who has been away from them ever since. 

 “Raj has forgotten us completely,” Aajoba said.

 “He's been busy,” Aaji retorted.

 “It's been 9 years Lata. Screw letters, but he hasn't even called us. It's Diwali tomorrow. I miss him.”

 Aaji handed him a cup of tea while confronting him. 

 I was watching these two trying hard to handle this situation and suddenly my phone beeped. It was maa. 

 “Are you coming tomorrow?” She asked.

 “No maa. The situation is worsening here,” I said.

“Diwali isn't Diwali without you. Anyway, take care,” she uttered and cut the call.

 Somehow, I started drawing parallels between this old couple and maa. So similar yet so different. So emotional yet so precise. Diwali is a homecoming ceremony, but this year is weird, I chuckled. Diwali is a festival where light overpowers darkness and I had the plan to make it special for the old couple. 

 I bought a sheet of paper and an antique flower vase to gift them. I decorated those papers with some glitter and notes of hope. And thought of putting them outside their home at midnight. For me, everything seemed perfect and I went ahead and put the letter 'happy Diwali in their letterbox.’

Tomorrow morning, aaji opened the door and found the letter. Initially, she thought it was Raj. But she knew, it wasn't. 

 Maybe she just saw me peeping at her window and asked, “have you done this?”

 I said, “Yes. Do you like it?”

 “Very much. Thank you.”

 She invited me for lunch and aajoba talked about how he used to enjoy Diwali nights with Raj, his only son. He gifted me one of his favourite possessions, his painting, and said thank you for making our day, thank you for making our Diwali. I winked and said, this is my home away from home. They laughed and I found happiness.

 Maa always used to say, when you try to uplift someone, you never lose anything. Rather you find happiness tucked as a memory. I have found mine, have you?

                                                 - Vaadasabha Member

                                                   Siddhi Deshpande