Where there is wind, the trees sway.

No Place Like Home

Akansha

It had been quite some time since I'd last met Stacy. For an entire month, she had been juggling between her marriage, job, and several calls on her phone, most only to congratulate her.

Two days ago, she'd left for Chennai to see her parents and help with the wedding preparations. Vikram had left along with her. I remembered hearing that he'd applied for a two-week-long leave and three other employees had applied lave for the same occasion.

The wedding was only three days away and Stacy had made me promise to attend her bridal shower as an apology for missing her engagement ceremony. And three days was all I could spare. I had been worried that Ms. Geeta, the senior VP would reject the leave application, but she seemed rather happy. She had said that this was the first holiday I had taken ever since two years. I wasn't excited hearing it, rather I felt a bit worried about breaking my streak.

I checked the flight schedule in front of me. Right now, I was on my way to Goa for the bridal shower after which I would travel to Chennai along with Stacy and her friends for the wedding.

The flight arrived on time. I got my ticket checked and took my seat next to the window. The plane started to take off in thirty minutes. Though I'd watched a flight take off a thousand times before, I could never get rid of my habit of looking out through the window and seeing the land grow smaller and smaller until it is covered by clouds.

My parents had known Stacy and her family ever since they had moved to Chennai; they were neighbors. Like, what were the odds! Since both our parents loved the South Indian culture, they had become close friends immediately. That meant that Mom was going to be there to bother me about my marriage. I sighed. I knew it could not be helped.

***

Goa was breathtaking. The food, the beaches, the sun; one could never have enough of it. We had rented a beach house and were having the best time ever. We had so much fun that I could barely remember the details of the day. Stacy had invited some other friends from Canada, where she had graduated from college and I was having a great time with them. Just as the saying goes, 'The more, the merrier.'

I looked at the clothes I'd got, trying to decide what to wear, when Stacy came in.

"Thanks, Stace, I didn't realize how much I'd needed this until now," I said.

"Anyone who knows you would know that you need a break," she replied.

I smiled. Stacy could be very thoughtful when she wanted to. I was going to miss my best friend once she got married. We hit a bar and after two shots, Stacy was quite drunk and kept telling us about how she'd met Vikram in a similar bar.

The next morning we were on our way to Chennai. She had been so drunk the night before that Lily (one of her friends from Canada) and I had to carry her to her bed. Since the wedding was the day after that day, we were on our way to the airport the moment she woke up.

I understood how tired I was only when the plane landed. Stacy's parents were waiting for her just outside the airport. I greeted them as they welcomed us warmly. I booked myself a cab and went home and gave the address to the driver.

"30th street, Vasu colony, Besant Nagar".

He immediately stepped on the accelerator as though he meant, 'Say no more.'

It had been a while since I was home and no matter how far I go, that would always be the place where I'd gone every day after school.

It felt good to be back. I felt myself relaxing at the familiar smell of my mom's garden. Her favorite flower, jasmine, grew near the gate followed by roses, and violets. And of course, there was the tulsi which she circled thrice every morning.

When I was just about to enter the house, I heard a voice say, "Akansha, wait. Don't come in without washing your legs!" I sighed, took a deep breath, and said,

"Hi, mom. It's been a long time."

"Wash your legs first. Look at my little one! What have you been eating? You've become so skinny!"

Classic Mom.

"Come and look at our daughter. Look how thin she looks!", she called out to Dad.

Dad never gets up from his chair in the morning unless it's for the newspaper or coffee. After five whole minutes of washing my feet and getting an earful of my mother's commands at once, I was allowed to step in.

'Welcome back, Akansha.", my father said when he saw me.

Of course, it felt good to be around family again. And there was nothing better than that.

'There's no place like home.', I thought.