‘Your love is like… Ummm.. how to say…’ squeezing her eyes shut, Reeti is desperately running through her vocabulary excel sheet (in her head, obviously!), and looking for an unerring adjective, while I patiently laid back on the couch opposite to her, looking at her ‘trying hard to concentrate’ face…
‘A bride’s mother in law..’ finally I break her minutes long search journey and help her to complete the sentence (Well, it’s only me who thought, was helping my bestie). It’s a Friday evening and I have come for a sleepover to Reeti’s house, tomorrow early in the morning we have a train to catch for our long weekend trip.
I enjoy spending time at Reeti’s room, at the third floor of the building, their apartment is quite spacious and way too big for 4 family members, one entire wall of her room has a tall and broad sliding french window by the balcony, so naturally the room has so much day light, and fresh air; I know it’s evening,! So now there is no day light, but during the daytime, there is lot of sun gushing in the room. Also, the walls are painted bright pollen yellow with the doors and windows frames are ivory white. There are few must have furniture in the room, like a triple door closet right opposite to the window, a small study table with a chair to complete the set, which is just next to the window , a standard size dressing table facing the door and of course a queen sized bed for this one habitat (must be kept my often visits in mind), all are tortilla brown in colour, and there are two single couch sofas at the balcony, one is persian blue and the other one in contrast, pear green coloured. Aunty (Reeti’s mother) is a very happy person and the same is visible in the entire house.
‘No, that’s a horrendous analogy. From where do you bring them I have no clue!!’ For sure she didn’t appreciate my help, you see, she loves to criticize me and most of the time initiates any argument (may be, to keep me close to the ground tightly!)
‘I knew everybody thinks from the brain! You think with your eyes? Blinking them wont help!’ Am I to leave a chance to pull her legs, no way!!
She looked at me pressing her lips very hard, then took a sip of the chilled mango lassi, Aunty made for us and the ball hit the basket, ‘ Hmm, Your love is compassionately devoted..’ The storm inside her head is resting now. She took more sips from her glass.
I had already finished my mango lassi, when she was busy meditating and finding these two tough words. ‘Rather than squeezing your eyes, you should have sipped the lassi first, the words would have popped out faster! See I keep telling you, eat well. Go eat more of those malnutritional junks.
My foodie friend just ignored those words as if they weren’t uttered. But had to ask her now, ‘Why you think like this by the way?’
‘There’s something wrong with my thinking now?’ Reeti and her school teacher look, I am not scared of you !!
‘I meant why you think my love is compassionately devoted!’ Really some sturdy words to pronounce. ‘Seems like those Hare Krishna people of ISKCON, I can even hear the Khanjanis playing somewhere faraway!’.
‘Well for you love means what? Travelling? Correct?’
‘Yes, correct.’ She knows me so well!!
‘See we all travel. But Your definition of travel or travel style always is so different. How many of us can travel alone like you, and that too, on local transport, all on your own?’ She was excited to say all these.
‘Well, I like travelling like that only, otherwise I don’t get that feeling of fulfillment’. What’s the big deal in travelling like this? many people does this!
‘Exactly. Not everyone can do that. Even some years back you used to travel with Uncle and Aunty and with friends.’
‘Yes but this dream was always there,’ I intervened in between ‘And finally I am doing it.’
‘So that is being devoted to your love interest. Isn’t it? And you interact with the locals, survive on local food, you just blend in a place? I can never do that. I like to travel but for me and majority of the tourist community want to see a place. People like you where as, stay in a place and carry it on their hat through out their life. Which is being compassionate’
Wow, I had never thought it that way. My Travel love has always been quite dreamy, and always straight form heart, but these tough words of Reeti is way too flattery but positive.
Of course I didn’t have any answer to it, I was still ruminating her expression and may be a bit lost in thought.
‘Ma (mother) is making Kochuri and Alur dum for dinner. I think we should pack some for breakfast as well. Having home-made food at the train is fun. What do you think.’ After 5 minutes of spirituality She is back from saint to sanity.
‘Mmh not bad, I never say no to Aunty’s cooking’.
‘Oh, By the will you buy some Baluchori Saree? I have to buy some, Ma has askeed to buy 4 at least!! I am taking a suitcase you know.’
TurtleGotWings 
wonderfulll!! loved it!!
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Thank you Vidhya
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