Walking down the memory lane:)
(Shh... Just Keep Breathing, It will get better)
We were walking up the mountain. Our destination was an old temple called Buda Bharsar. A few say it was created by nature itself, which is kind of hard to believe, others say it was one of the few places where the Pandavas spent their time during Vanvaas, which doesn't make much sense either. But I knew the temple was beautiful, and the trek? Worth it.
However, the trek was challenging. Harder than Tungnath, the highest temple of Lord Shiva. Moreover, it was a very thin path through a jungle, so we were half expecting a panther or a leopard to show up. It wasn't that big of a deal now, we had seen them so many times. They never attacked when you were in a group.
Pa was huffing and puffing when we weren't even halfway, and ma was smiling as if she was having the time of her life. Well, ma lived on these mountains and walked up and down the hill twice a day, so this wasn't hard for her, but Pa lived in the heart of the valley of Dehradun, and I don't think he ever walked, what with that beautiful scooter of his, that he loved so much. Resulting in his big belly. Ma used to make fun of it whenever she got a chance, by saying "It appears as if there are 2 babies in there" while showing off her beautiful flat stomach. Pa used to counter back by saying, "Ye samriddhi ka prateek hai" (This is a symbol of prosperity).
I loved seeing them like this. To me, my life was a movie, and my parents were the lead. Honestly, their love story seemed like a great movie plot to me! I remember asking Pa once if he could lift ma up in his arms, the ultimate epitome of romance, that I had seen Bollywood heroes do multiple times, with ease. Ahaha what a day that was. He got so excited to try, that he didn't even warn ma, just went to the kitchen, put his arms around her knees, and knocked her off her feet. CRASH! I heard. Well, let's just say ma didn't speak to him for the entire week after that.
And what badminton matches they used to have. It was almost like India Pakistan cricket match. They both were amazing players, but they both cheated a lot! So I was often made the referee, which was weird because I didn't know anything about Badminton. I always found it so boring. Cricket was better, there were so many possibilities!
I came back to the present as my parents approached me. I told him I was too tired to walk. I wasn't, if I am being honest, I had long legs and great stamina, this trek was a cakewalk. At least it was, back then. But I was just being naughty. I loved to sleep on his back. However, pa looked as if he would cry. He sighed and picked me up, I jumped on him. We would have walked like 10 steps when he started huffing so hard, ma asked him to hand me over to her. She carried me for the rest of the way. I didn't mind, either way, I was asleep 2 minutes after that.
When I opened my eyes, I sat on a beautiful mat, next to my parents below the temple. Ma was taking out the sandwiches she had made, Pa was still recovering from the trek apparently. It was a beautiful day, the air was cold, but the sun shone bright!
As I look back at these times, I realize how privileged I am to have these memories. The most beautiful part about them is memories are not contained in anything. They are not photographs that are stored the way scrapbooks are, latent until flipped open, Memories are emotions, you feel them, as soon as you think of them. Ages later, nothing else would matter, no money, no fame, nothing else, but these memories. And it is these beautiful memories that I'll take away with me.
Yours Truly,
Sammy<3
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