The Alarm

My name is Saksham, I am 8 years old. Even though in your head I may sound like a kid, but I am a grown-up man. Even my Dadi thinks so. Every time when my Mom says that I am too young for something, my Dadi convinces her that I am a grown-up man. Though I do not have that prickly hair on my face like Dad, Dadi says I look handsome. Today I am taking Dadi out for shopping, and have assured Mom that I can take care of both of us, but she doesn't seem to trust me. She still sent Ramu kaka with us. We are out to buy a gift for Dadaji. Since he has a weird habit of asking about time all the time, so I suggested Dadi that we buy a digital wrist watch for him which calls out the time on the press of a button. Dadi thought my idea was brilliant, so she brought me along for suggestions. Dadi made me select the watch and said that if Dadaji doesn't like it, I could keep it. I selected a watch with all the features I liked, it had a call out time feature, alarm, stopwatch and a button to light up the screen in dark. I diligently learnt all the features from shopkeeper uncle, as if I was the one who was getting it.

Dadaji loved the watch, but he never stopped asking about time from Dadi. When I questioned him that why doesn't he use the watch's feature, he said that he likes listening to Dadi's voice. When Dadi left, he stopped asking the time, he never asked for it, even from the watch. The day Dadi left, he just asked me to set up a daily alarm for 8 PM in his watch, which I did. Everyone tells me that Dadi doesn't live with us anymore because she was angry with us. But, I am a grown-up, I know that Dadi isn't alive. What surprises me is that Dadaji behaves like a kid. Every evening after the alarm, he asks me to take him to the balcony. He would watch the sky and tell me that Dadi is there. I tried to explain to him that it was the Pole star which he was pointing to and it was there even before Dadi left. He would laugh at me every time I explained that and would say, you'll find me beside her when I am gone.

I am 12 years old now, wearing the watch which I wanted to wear 4 years ago. The alarm beeped at 8. I stepped into the balcony and can't help but notice another bright star near the Pole star. Maybe it was always there, even before Dadaji left, but I noticed it today.  

Coffee, with love

"Here is your coffee, with love", Maa said while placing the mug on the table. I was intently reading a book in the balcony, but was startled by the expression "with love". So I looked at the coffee first, it had a cute heart floating at the brim, then I looked at Maa who had a kid like smile on her face waiting for her art to be appreciated. "You seem to be happy today ", I remarked with a big grin. "Why shouldn't I be? Mauka hai, aur dastoor bhi ", she delivered the dialogue in Mughal style. I laughed and the took a sip of my coffee. It felt like a magic potion which can heal you to the core. I stood up and gave her a bear hug and said, "You make the best coffee in the world, I love you". Mom was a bit surprised with this sudden display of affection, but before she could say anything Dad entered saying, " Jee karta hai is coffee banane wale k haath choom lun ", and we all laughed. This happy feeling was new and ecstatic. This was the best I could have as my birthday gift.

I got ready to go out, but today for a change I hugged my parents before leaving and reminded them that they had to meet me at the restaurant sharp at 8. "You know how much I hate waiting, so be on time, bye". As soon I stepped out of the door, a sinking feeling grabbed me.

It was 8:15, I was waiting outside the restaurant. I got a call from an unknown number, but couldn't hear anything because an ambulance was passing by and it got disconnected right after. As per my habit, I prayed that the person in the ambulance stays safe. It was 8:30 now and my parents were still not there. I called Maa because Dad must be driving, she did not pick up. After 3 attempts, I got worried, it was the return of the same sinking feeling. I eventually called Dad, an unfamiliar voice picked up the phone. I could feel myself crying even before he said anything because I could hear the ambulance sound even when it was not around. It rained, it rained very heavily that day.

"Coffee? ", a colleague asked, shaking me off from my thoughts. " No thanks, I don't drink coffee anymore".

How strange it is that some incidents take away with them even the most special things from you. That day I did not just lose my parents, I lost my love for reading, for coffee, for rain and birthdays. These things only reminded me of the tragic day. I stayed away from them as far as I could, I even changed my city, removed my birthday from social media, stopped wishing people birthdays. People around me found me weird, nobody knew why I was like that. I hardly had friends at this new place, my dark side made me conservative.

One day I got stuck in office, because it rained heavily, within a few hours the roads were blocked. I was one of the last few left in the office, as I couldn't book a cab. Of all the people left in the office, it was only Shalini who was known to me. She was one of the most talkative colleague I had, so I stayed away from her. Shalini noticed me getting anxious over not being able to book a cab. She came up to me and said bit hesitantly, "I live nearby, we can walk up to my place and you can stay overnight if you want to". I had no choice, so I agreed. "Great, let me help you pack your stuff. I was waiting for you only", she said in a super excited tone. Even though it felt awkward, but I felt overwhelmed by her gesture. All the while we walked, she kept on talking and kept checking whether I was still following or not. She told me how she felt intimated by me initially and all the other stuff she could think of. After a while, I lost hold of what she was talking about. Just when we were about to enter her building, I heard an ambulance. I started shivering, a sharp pain emerged in my chest as if someone had hit me really hard. Shalini turned around and saw me stoned, she held me by my hand and dragged me in and said, "Don't hesitate, think it as your own home". My mind started replaying the accident which I had never seen. Shalini handed over a towel to me and told me that she'll make coffee for both of us. She was completely oblivious of my state of mind. Her stories went on and on. After a while, she came with a cup of coffee and while handing it over to me, she said, "Here's your coffee, with love". I was about to tell her that I don't drink coffee anymore but in the mid of the sentence I stopped and asked, "Wait! What did you just say?". "Here's your coffee, with love", she repeated with a smile. I looked at the coffee first, a heart was floating and then to her, she had the same child-like smile which Maa had. For the first time in 3 years, I remembered that last happy moment which I had with them. I smiled with teary eyes. Shalini noticed the tears after a while and asked with a sad face, "Is the coffee that bad?". She made me crack after a very long time. "This is the best coffee in the world", I said raising the cup high in the air. "Really!! Thank you, thank you", she said funnily while taking a bow, and we both laughed. That day I realized, that I was clinging to all the wrong memories all this while. I found a friend as well as I found myself back that day. Most importantly I found the secret ingredient to the world's best coffee: love.