Sitting all alone in a coffee shop, sipping your favourite frappe seems so normal nowadays. The cafe is crowded but you hear nothing, it’s numb, complete silence. You close your eyes and that one memory flashes in front of you which pierces your heart and soul sharply. You are there but not there, your memory is so fresh that you literally have to choke yourself and stop those tears, there’s a faint smile and just one thought- Aah! I miss it, my life. Each day looks the same but nothing is the same.
Sometimes we have a particular liking towards something, maybe a dish? Or the way we like to drink our coffee or do our hair. We don’t realize that it all started somewhere with someone special. We inherit someone else’s liking and taste because they are close to us and we love them dearly. Those are memories that keep us connected beyond lifetime and eternity.
The memory hits us so hard that it becomes impossible to control, very calmly you get up and walk to the washroom with your head low because you don’t want others to notice and get the slightest hint of what you are doing through. After 10 mins, the same you walk out of the washroom as if nothing happened, only you know what happened in those 10 mins.
Pulling your loved ones’ legs, having those special and not-so-special names for them, and those moments which are deeply engraved in your heart.
All you have left with are those fragments. So, we all resort to the coping mechanism because they say the show must go on, right? Some become silent, so silent that they never let their emotional side take the better of them, and then there are some like me, the same person who was drinking her favorite frappe and the memories engulfed her.
Me and my brother are super blessed or maybe we were blessed. The reason? We grew up under the guidance of the strongest and purest soul, Our Mother. She would take care of the entire house, us, and pamper our father to the fullest. An Amazing human being and an excellent person who treated us all with delicious food. An extremely educated woman she was, chose her family over her career and decided to be a homemaker and do everything for us. Me and my brother were always in a safe space because we knew we had our parents’ back. We all were there for each other and enjoyed life like a normal nuclear family.
More than three decades of memories are enough to make us laugh and cry at the same time. We both lost our souls, our pillars of strength, the day we lost our reason to live. MEMORIES were the only thing that kept us going and sane. We are not the same individuals; we have become a little lifeless inside and completely broken. ‘OUR MEMORIES OUR BEST FRIEND’
“Beta, not feeling well? Have a sore throat? Let me make garam garam Halwa for you and tomorrow I will make piping hot chicken soup. In a day you will feel better. I am there na beta”- MAA
Life’s a journey, full of surprises and challenges. And through it all, memories are our companions, reminding us of where we’ve been and where we are headed. They’re like little time capsules, holding laughter, tears, and everything in between. So, whether we are sipping frappes or facing life head-on, we carry our memories with us – the friends who never leave our side.
Richa Vinita Arora
