Just a journal-Part 2.

 I turned the page to read the next entry from my diary of 1995. It was embellished with stars, smiley stickers. I had made some drawings here and there, some butterflies, balloons and flowers in red, pink and blue. Coffee mugs, sandwiches, spooky faces. It was so colourful, vivid and huey that it made my eyesight blur.....wait....or was I teary eyed?

13th October 1995 -

8:00 A.M. -

The regular revision with Tina done. Today Tina had got yummy sheera made by her mom for breakfast. I love her mom's cooking. She's a great host, never let's anybody leave her house empty stomach. We both read all the History-Geo chapters while relishing sheera. And thankgod, we finished it before the 'famine-prone region' lesson. That way we are very guilty conscious!

Today after completing our studies, our group of friends had decided to meet up. All of us wanted a break from this PL (preparatory leave) and exam pressure. But it's Friday the 13th today! We all joked about having a spooky themed get-together party.

Coincidentally we all dressed up in black but all the faces were radiating with bright smiles, which made the ambience colourful.Venue was the cafe near our school that is run by one of our senior's dad. It's a small but fun place. The Russian sandwiches they have, are the best. Cold coffee and chocolate milkshakes with Cadbury diarymilk grated on the top tastes just yum. Right! that was today's menu for us. We had decided not to discuss studies and exams. So then the conversations started with spooky stories of Friday the 13th, and varied from food to clothes, from hollywood to bollywood, from comics to novels, from sibling bonding to their fights....endless topics and boundless chatters. Friends are my treasure, the most precious one!

At the dinner table, I shared the fun stories with my parents and grandparents as to how everyone was wearing shades of black today. And how not all Friday the 13ths are eerie.

Waise aaj mumma ka veg pulao was yum. And she got a reward for it....my kiss!

                       ****End****

13th October 2022 -

Ah! Atlast weekend's just round the corner. Finally I will get sometime to relax, one more day to go, fingers crossed.

6:00 A.M.-

Started my day with scolding the Dudhwala bhaiyya about yesterday's spoilt milk. Breakfast, lunch preparations done. Today I made sheera, Tina's mother's recipe.

Kids got up, got ready, today his socks were missing and she skipped a page in her homework book. So now while packing tiffins, she and me, were solving multiplication sums. Ah! How my worries are just getting multiplied!

I bid a goodbye and blew a kiss to him and her. She returned it with a flying kiss from the bus and he was all embarrassed, gesturing to stop. I smirked, Teenage kids are in another orbit.

I came inside and while passing through the lobby, found myself smiling, in the mirror. Smile looks good on me! I thought.

And I remembered I forgot to iron my clothes for the day. I rushed to complete the tasks at hand.

It was cloudy outside, rains this year are reluctant to cease. I carried my umbrella and handed one to hubby too. FIL came back from his walk, we waved a bye to him.

10.00 A.M. -

Half way to the office, I remembered that I have a friend's get-together in the evening. I don't know if I can make it. Moreover, finding time for friends is getting difficult for me. I had once thought that friends are my treasure,  but this treasure seems burried deep down somewhere now. School, office, homework, deadlines, chores all this is exhausting, then again getting ready after reaching home to attend get-togethers, totally draining. But I decided to prolong the decision late in the day, If I still have energy I will continue with the plan.

1.30 P.M. -

No small talks with hubby today, so I guessed aaj ka khana theek bana hai. I had my lunch and called to check on FIL. The maid hadn't come as yet he said. Now the tension started building up. Will have to do the chores after reaching home, so the get-together seems a far-fetched dream.

3:00 P.M. -

I again called up FIL, this time, was elated to here maid's voice over the phone. Hopefully, get-together was in my kismat.

I reached home, lined up the things, required in my absence and went to get ready. On a short notice, black, was what I preferred wearing, makes me look thin and easiest color to carry. When I reached the venue, it was a posh cafe/lounge type of a thing. Hadn't been to such a place since long time. Am I aptly dressed? was my soliloquy. My friends were clad in fresh tones which made me more self-conscious. But I decided to blend in, which, was equally arduous. They all keep meeting often and had so many common topics to discuss. While I felt aloof, misfit and wistful. Wish I had connected more! The food ordered was expensive, continental cuisine, but I had lost my appetite.

I had thought, I would be happy, rejuvenated at the end of the day, but I returned home feeling sunk.

No matter how hard I try, nothing seems working these days.

But when my daughter kissed me goodnight and son hugged me, felt like a tiny appreciation for my day's work.

                          ****End****

The only decoration for the journal entry was a drop of tear that fell on the page and made the ink disperse looking like a star.

I wiped my tears and thought, Comparing childhood to adulthood is a hopeless thing to do, I know, responsibilities change, worries keep adding, pressure increases. Yet, we should atleast keep revisiting the pages of old times, it brings some contentment along with a dash of nostalgia. 

#FICTION

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