WATERMELON

I remember it was a hot summer day. I was alone in my room because my roommate lived one hour away from our university, and ran off to her place every weekend. We were not very fond of each other, but I could feel her absence on days like these. My parents lived far away from this place and I only contacted them occasionally, mostly when I ran out of my pocket money.

It was only noon when I realised there was a watermelon in my fruit basket. I jumped out of my bed and examined the watermelon very carefully. I couldn't keep it for long because we didn't have a refrigerator, and I would be too occupied to cut it on weekdays. I could eat it all at once, but I wanted to share it with someone. When we share a meal, it not only satisfies our hunger but also gives us a chance to spend quality time with our friends and family. I remember how excited I used to get as a child when my mother said she's going to cut a watermelon. It meant I could interrupt the legendary gully cricket  to shout "Bhaiya! Mummy tarbooj khaane bula rahi hai!". I kind of took pride in telling everyone that we were having watermelon at our home today, for watermelon is tasty and special and it was not something my parents would get me everyday. I told them when I grow older I would buy thousands of watermelons everyday, because I believed that I had the capacity to eat them all at once. But it is unbelievable how tremendously our thought processes change from childhood to adulthood.

So, hoping for a watermelon to counter my loneliness, I called my friend. She told me she was sleeping and didn't want to come over. Then I called my senior and asked her if she'd like to have a watermelon with me, she told me she was already full and couldn't eat more. 

It is a busy life for everyone these days, everybody works hard to score a respectable position in the society. But somewhere in the middle, we've forgotten about the joy and importance of small things in life. I felt like I shouldn't bother anyone in the middle of the day, so I put down the watermelon and played another episode of Game of Thrones on my laptop. Danaerys was on fire these days and I easily and willingly escaped to the thrill of this virtual world from the lonely reality. 

It was already 10 past 5 in the evening when I finally switched off my laptop. I opened the window of my room, the wind was nice, so I went to the common channel between our hostel buildings. It was covered with iron net, so they could keep out the monkeys, but at the same time, it let the wind through. It was the perfect place to read a good book and have a nice cup of coffee. I took a seat and looked at the tall buildings far away, wondering how life took a giant leap from jam-packed little houses to lonely large buildings.

Then one little monkey caught my eye, he was looking my way and feeding on something I would call an already eaten mango seed. It was dry and almost white, but he still held onto it. I got up, went back to my room, and came out with a plate, a knife and the watermelon. I cut a small piece and slid it through the gap between the iron net and the wall. The monkey came closer, snatched the piece and went up to a distance where he could see me fairly and eat at peace.  Then I slid another slice, a bigger one this time. He came and snatched it again, only this time he didn't run away. I munched on the next slice myself. Suddenly, I saw a bigger monkey coming our way. He made a screeching noise showing his fangs, and grabbed hold of the little monkey's watermelon. He was quite a bully, but that's the way it is in the real world, the stronger survives. I slid another piece and the bigger monkey quickly took hold of it again. Maybe, he too was afraid of being hungry for another day. The good thing was that I had plenty of watermelon for both of them. So I cut the whole watermelon into pieces and slid them through the gap. They both ate till they were full. Their empty stomachs were filled with the watermelon, and my emptiness was filled by the watermelon. I didn't eat much, but I was happy when I found myself at my mother's position. And the watermelon, in all its glory, had spread happiness again.