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- Story Listed as: True Life For Teens
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Faith / Hope
- Published: 01/29/2014
My grandma's favourite berries
Born 1994, F, from Vancouver, CanadaI fell in love with a guy who wasn’t meant to be mine, and eventually the obvious happened. Without a word, without any fight, we became strangers from being the closest pair of friends. I don’t know what happened and without giving it a second thought, I learnt to hate him for his mistakes, for his filthy habits, for his addictions. I learnt to move on, setting aside his thoughts. And if I haven’t yet, maybe someday I will.
Anyhow, enough about me, now getting to the story I wanted to share, rather an incident. It’s about my grandma. She was born to a zamindar family. And all through my childhood she used to tell me how she grew up playing in acres of fruit orchards and how her aunt used to save some last berries of the season for her to relish when she returned from hostel. But those berries weren’t found these days. With the end of zamindari, her family lost the orchards and my grandma lost everything that she could connect to her childhood. The berries weren’t the only ones
She was never demanding. So when we asked her “shall we bring you something on our trip back home?” She would say “guavas, if it’s not much of a trouble”.
Last week, when we were packing our bags to pay grandma a visit, my mama decided at the last moment that she would get the one thing grandma relished now, guavas, what else! But guess it wasn’t mama’s luckiest day for she couldn’t find guavas with any one of the vendors, but finally one. There was a cranky unpleasant vendor with lots of guavas but just a few which weren’t rotten. But since beggars can’t be choosers, mama decided she’s going to choose the finest ones from the rotten lot. But like I said, the guy was cranky and unpleasant, slightly obnoxious as well, he created a scene for leaving behind the rotten ones. He decided he is going to rather call it a night than sell us his ‘prized possessions’. Left with no other choice mama had to return. But as luck would have it, she lost her way. She went round and round a few blocks before finally emerging into the long way home. On the way she came across this one vendor who was almost done for the day and was packing to get back home and he was, fortunately, with guavas. Big sized, green and tough ones, just the way my grandma likes. God was being kind. But there was also this other fruit, small sized and green, which mama had never seen before, nor heard its name in the market. Now since everyone in the family loves fruits and are always open to trying new ones, mama gave it a shot and brought a few of the alien fruit home as well. They were delicious. So mama decided to send some to grandma.
Next day, I was with my grandma and handed her the bag of her guavas along with the new fruit we had discovered. Grandma was overwhelmed. It had been half a century since she last saw those fruits. Those alien fruits were my grandma’s favourite berries. And she spent the entire afternoon talking of her childhood days, the orchards, her aunt, her long lost relatives, how she used to pull pranks on other kids, she was teary eyed all the while.
Next week we came back home. But I couldn’t let go of one thought. What if mama had made a bargain with the vendor she first came across? Not only she would have had to settle with the rotten guavas, grandma would have never known that the berry trees aren’t extinct.
It takes a great deal of courage to move on, only cowards are scared to let go. Maybe someday I’ll move on as well. Some day his thoughts won’t bother me. Some time back he was the last thing that came to my mind before I went to sleep and first thing after I woke up. But thankfully now I have other things to think of. Still, as of now, I could feel my body getting stiff as I remind myself to hate him.
My grandma's favourite berries(subhashini)
I fell in love with a guy who wasn’t meant to be mine, and eventually the obvious happened. Without a word, without any fight, we became strangers from being the closest pair of friends. I don’t know what happened and without giving it a second thought, I learnt to hate him for his mistakes, for his filthy habits, for his addictions. I learnt to move on, setting aside his thoughts. And if I haven’t yet, maybe someday I will.
Anyhow, enough about me, now getting to the story I wanted to share, rather an incident. It’s about my grandma. She was born to a zamindar family. And all through my childhood she used to tell me how she grew up playing in acres of fruit orchards and how her aunt used to save some last berries of the season for her to relish when she returned from hostel. But those berries weren’t found these days. With the end of zamindari, her family lost the orchards and my grandma lost everything that she could connect to her childhood. The berries weren’t the only ones
She was never demanding. So when we asked her “shall we bring you something on our trip back home?” She would say “guavas, if it’s not much of a trouble”.
Last week, when we were packing our bags to pay grandma a visit, my mama decided at the last moment that she would get the one thing grandma relished now, guavas, what else! But guess it wasn’t mama’s luckiest day for she couldn’t find guavas with any one of the vendors, but finally one. There was a cranky unpleasant vendor with lots of guavas but just a few which weren’t rotten. But since beggars can’t be choosers, mama decided she’s going to choose the finest ones from the rotten lot. But like I said, the guy was cranky and unpleasant, slightly obnoxious as well, he created a scene for leaving behind the rotten ones. He decided he is going to rather call it a night than sell us his ‘prized possessions’. Left with no other choice mama had to return. But as luck would have it, she lost her way. She went round and round a few blocks before finally emerging into the long way home. On the way she came across this one vendor who was almost done for the day and was packing to get back home and he was, fortunately, with guavas. Big sized, green and tough ones, just the way my grandma likes. God was being kind. But there was also this other fruit, small sized and green, which mama had never seen before, nor heard its name in the market. Now since everyone in the family loves fruits and are always open to trying new ones, mama gave it a shot and brought a few of the alien fruit home as well. They were delicious. So mama decided to send some to grandma.
Next day, I was with my grandma and handed her the bag of her guavas along with the new fruit we had discovered. Grandma was overwhelmed. It had been half a century since she last saw those fruits. Those alien fruits were my grandma’s favourite berries. And she spent the entire afternoon talking of her childhood days, the orchards, her aunt, her long lost relatives, how she used to pull pranks on other kids, she was teary eyed all the while.
Next week we came back home. But I couldn’t let go of one thought. What if mama had made a bargain with the vendor she first came across? Not only she would have had to settle with the rotten guavas, grandma would have never known that the berry trees aren’t extinct.
It takes a great deal of courage to move on, only cowards are scared to let go. Maybe someday I’ll move on as well. Some day his thoughts won’t bother me. Some time back he was the last thing that came to my mind before I went to sleep and first thing after I woke up. But thankfully now I have other things to think of. Still, as of now, I could feel my body getting stiff as I remind myself to hate him.
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