Summer 2010

When I was a kid, I always bounced with joy when I knew it’s gonna be SUMMER. I genuinely loved summer because it’s everyone’s vacation time. Everybody in this world would get holidays for two months (that’s what I would think). And everybody here includes the employees, the old, the rich, the poor and also my Granma’s pet. The other day I found a rack of old photo albums, which were all lined up neatly in the last row of a book shelf in my house. I tried to grab as many albums I could, there were so many that I almost had a notion about being on the ground, flat, with the albums on top of me. I relaxed, picked out the album in pink, then pulled out the rest of the albums one by one. I hate doing that. I mean working so patiently. I’d rather be on the ground than do the picking one by one business and pulled out a few at a time. I saw the pictures. Laughed. Smiled. Surprised. Wondered. Loved. Kissed. I felt like my body was present with the albums, but the pictures genuinely took me back to those days. The scenes were running at the back of my mind. I felt refreshed. I felt nice and awesome.

Mom interrupts and I’m back again in the weird present world. I look at mom, trying to still focus on the flashback that started to fade a few seconds ago, she leaves a bowl of strawberries, I look at the pictures and she joins me viewing them too. Mom gave me a sweetest smile and a confused look when I asked her “So we’re going back to those days together, mm-hmm.”

Summer 13 years ago

Mom used to pack all our clothes to send us to my Grandma’s house for every summer and would bid bye-bye enjoy summer and kisses along with it. She promised she will join us too, when dad is free. I never stayed without mom anywhere else. I grow more melancholy every hour without her. Granddad always waited for us near the huge gate of their house to welcome us home. And often would shoo rosy away from us. Rosy, was my granma’s pet (a Pomeranian), it always bowled me down. That’s the way a pet often gives you a special hug, innit? Grandma’s house was huge, she loved pets and my granddad loved TV. They were quite old. But always would entertain us with jokes and games. Sweet couple I’d never forget. I still remember those days when we cousins ate together in one plate. Fighting with pillows. Sitting under the stars on the terrace listening to ghost stories. Hugging granddad tight while sleeping. Eating mangoes. Playing with rosy in the evenings in the huge lawn. We would watch Tom and Jerry and roll on the floor laughing our asses off for no reason. But we just laughed because it was supposed to be funny. That’s what my older cousins did. So, we lil one’s did the same. Then later my mom’s bro was blessed with a daughter and a new cousin in the family. Summer again was fun with the new baby at home. I loved babying her. She was the prettiest of us all. She had rosy cheeks. Each time we fought for food in one plate, she would join us too. And we cousins end up feeding her first. I always wished to live with my cousins and grandparents forever and not just in summer. But things certainly change.

I looked at mom, and the pictures, then looked up at her again, and then looked away. Sigh. I miss those days I uttered weak in tone. She replied – I miss my summer days too.

Summer 2010

After granddad passed away, rosy left us too. Grandma left the house and started to live with her son. Things change so drastically. I never thought those days would end. I wish I had the chance to freeze something. I would freeze those summer days and would live them all my life. Summer now is quite different. It’s not the best as those days but it definitely is not the worst. Now for every summer my aunts and uncles manage to send their kids to my house. Most of them below thirteen, not of my age, but yeah we still enjoy the summer heat together. It’s the same, we eat mangoes, we eat together in one plate, we sit under the stars, bro and I scare them with ghost stories, laughs, jokes, love and everything is just the same. The difference is granddad and rosy are not with us and also Granma’s huge house. I love summer, because my cousins make it bright for me. They add life to it.

I shoved those albums back in the rack and bounced shouting, YAY it’s summer again.

PS: Enjoy the sweaty days. Happy summer 2010.