It was December 29th, 2023. I never wanted to share this with anyone apart from my dairy. And honestly, it didn’t meet this day of mine. Why? Because I didn’t share it with it, duh!
I finished my programs quickly that day in the institute and left the institute. I and Anna are in the same institute, upskilling ourselves to enter the renowned software field. Our institute was in a market. One can get clothes, groceries, fruits, vanity items, makeup stuff, clothes, and whatnot. Everything was available. I never get to navigate it myself because of my brother. He always takes me home or to the institute. He was never the type of person who loved to navigate.
Being a writer, I like to see things, watch stuff, and watch people. They are my inspiration and my stories. I write and see stories in them or their actions. I feel the simplicity of these people and their actions were just so adorable that they were worth my words and my time.
Anna hadn’t finished his code, so I decided to take a walk. I remembered that I was talking to my bestie about something that my Appa did to upset me. I didn’t like the way she compared herself to me and was like, End it, and we will not talk about it. Then she texted me again with something upset that happened to her. How could I be upset with her when she was crying?
There goes my disappointment, turning into wisps of smoke mending with air. Well, forget it. She is my bestie, and I can get angry at her when she is fine again. Forget it, I will console her and get back to being angry at her. Yet I failed to fulfill my thoughts. Yes, I couldn’t get angry with her, right? I consoled her, standing on that corner road where I saw no human being. Later, I walked into the busy streets of the market. Yeah, the streets were still busy even though it was eight forty-five at night.
“Are you going to the village for the new year?” asked a random woman to the woman on her side.
“Nah. My brother is coming from the US. He gave me a list of food items that I had to cook. So, this late-night shopping,” she complained in her happy tone. I could sense her happiness to meet her brother.
Look at her odd way of expressing her love for her sibling. I didn’t wait for the rest of the conversation. I just moved ahead. I was in this area many times, but I never truly explored it. I saw stalls stacked side by side. There was this kachori center, pani puri center, bakeries, sweet shops, hot shops, and fast food centers. I wanted to spend money to have that delicious food, but on second thought, remembering my sinusitis and the fact that I had to have dinner after going home stopped me.
Can’t skip dinner made by Amma! That’s inviting death!
There was this matching clothing center, fancy shop, a shop dedicated to thousands of laces, plane lining cloth shop, cloth store, vegetable store, jewelry store, and whatnot! The whole world was here!
Did I really just go to Secunderabad General Bazaar and Koti Center to buy clothes before leaving Shapur?
Gosh!
On my way, I bought rangoli colors to color my rangoli for the new year.
After I was done with my me-time stroll in the market, I walked back on my way and waited at the bus stop till Anna was done with his programs and came to pick me up.
I don’t know why that gave me a sense of odd relief. Wanting to go on that stroll was an impulsive decision I made because of the irritation, headache, and breathless feeling I had. There was no one to say “When are you returning?” “I will accompany you,” “Hurry up,” I was relaxed as I peeked into the conversations of those strangers, the happiness of the vendors, and the little kind acts of the strangers to each other… was refreshing. I will say those moments were calm, peaceful, and worth my time. Maybe I should have more moments like this.