The Invaluable Lifeline!!!!

The gleam of Sunshine was too bright. The sky was sparingly blue. Sameer turned on his side and stretched out his left arm. The clasp weakened when something soft in cloth embraced him. This was not the usual feel of Simba. Even the bed didn't render the usual warmth. It was a good night’s sleep alright but why was he missing the zest. Why did life seem a mere existence, all of a sudden? It was a conscious decision taken by none other than him to travel so far and bear with the separation from family for the time being. It had been just two days, but he was already missing them so much. His weary mind seemed to give up on making sense with the tumult inside.  He was effete, deep within, with his thoughts getting vectorial every passing moment.

A shrill broke through the somber silence around Sameer. He could gauge the mobile phone going berserk. He was in no mood to take the call without making peace with his inner self. Reluctantly, he clutched on to the phone and said “hello”. A soothing voice on the other side replied, “Sameer bhai! Hi, this is Priti” She continued further, “How are you? How was your journey?” In a flash, Sameer turned back  more than two decades in time. His only kid sister Sarika, who was five years younger to him, had joined school and it was her first day. While the parents waited outside the school gate with bated breath for their wards to be ushered in a file into their classrooms by their respective class-teachers, Sameer could see Sarika romping around with another smiling little girl. During recess, Sarika introduced her first school friend as Priti, who was distinguished by her hair being done up in two braided tails. His presence seemed a little too close for comfort for the little Priti. Sarika and Priti continued as very close buddies in the same school, sitting adjacent to each other, sharing each other’s lunch bites, being an avid part of the others sorrow and happiness until Priti joined a different school after ten long years. It was just the second time Sameer was hearing Priti’s voice in more than twenty years.

Priti had mentioned that she would pick up Sameer in the evening on her way back from work. She offered to take him to Meijer’s, retail major in Houston, to get his stock of provisions before he moved into his new place of stay. It was a mixed feeling of emotions, pride and happiness to see the little girl of yester years. She too was a kid sister for Sameer, who had grown up, in his hometown, near his own surroundings. He watched in awe as she smartly pulled up near the kerb in front of him and stepped outside. As he fastened the seat belts on the front seat beside Priti, in her car, Sameer couldn't marvel at the simplicity, confidence and honesty that she exuded. Indeed she had grown up. She stepped on the gas as they turned on to Clifton to proceed towards Martin Luther King Av. en route to Meijer’s.

As she spoke about her family (her husband Pramit and son Avik), as they caught up over the past years of each other’s life as well as days in school, as they discussed about favorite teachers and subjects, Sameer sensed the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He felt a sense of belonging. There was an air of unspoken proximity, a true sense of attachment. For the first time in more than a week, he felt the calming embrace of peace and normalcy in his life.  It was evident that Priti, Pramit & Avik would be more than his extended family in Houston. Their's would be more than a calming presence to his despairing solitude. The tempest seemed to ease off. He realized with glee that he had found his home away from home. Yes, he had just found his lifeline in Houston, a lifeline which would go a long way in helping him differentiate between existing and living!!!!