Her feet moved rapidly through the jungle
of shoes and sandals, managing to just about locate the tiniest of gaps. Her
aged yet still miraculously flexible body twisted and turned through the
conglomerate of bodies wrapped in colourful apparels and draped in flowing
garments. Her forehead was sweaty and wrinkled and her eyes kept darting back
and forth from the white dial of her wristwatch which adorned her tired and
perspiring hand.
His hands moved frantically about trying to locate the
correct items. His eyes scanned neatly the shelf facing him first from left to
right and then back again. His tongue poked its tip out of his pursed lips, as
they always did when he was concentrating on something really hard. His
eyebrows arched inwards over his nose, bridging the gap between themselves. His
forehead was sweaty and wrinkled and his eyes kept darting back and forth from
clock which hung nearby.
She edged past burly gentlemen almost
double her size and burlier not-so-gentle-men triple her size, her handbag
trailing behind her, her hair open and gliding in the light breeze. Five
fingers clutched a cell phone while the other five, opened and spread out,
frantically waved at a moving bus urging it to stop. Thankfully, the bus did
and she clambered on after having executed a short sprint across the street
which would have made her high school PE teacher proud.
He brushed off the sweat that lingered in irritating
droplets across his forehead and carefully wiped the back of his hand on the
already soaking handkerchief lying beside him. His eyes read every line over
and over again. He didn’t want to miss out on anything. His hands moved about
frantically at the same time, carrying out the instructions that his eyes
transmitted. Suddenly, though, his hands stopped working and his pursed lips
opened out wide as his eyes grew wide and big. A moment is all it took before
he executed a short sprint across the room which would have made his high
school PE teacher proud.
Having managed to secure a seat, she thanked
her lucky stars and having sat down, punched in a few words into her cell phone
and after a few more clicks put it inside her handbag. She then proceeded to
scour the insides of her bag for a few coins that would suffice to pay for her
journey. Having found the necessary change, she handed it over to the conductor
and took the ticket. A faint buzzing noise emanating from her handbag
unwrinkled her forehead and relaxed her facial muscles.
Having found what he was looking for, he carried it over to
his workstation and did the needful. He then exhaled a sigh of relief. A
vibration inside the pocket of his trousers prompted him to put his hand in and
take out his cell phone. He opened the text message and smiled to himself. He
then punched in a few words and shot off a quick reply after taking a quick
look around to ensure that everything was in order. He put down his cell phone
and proceeded to complete his work.
She looked out of the window and allowed
the cool breeze to dry off the seat that adorned her famished face. She looked
at her watch again and then rose up from her seat. She walked slowly towards
the gate and politely informed the conductor to stop the bus at the next
bus-stop to allow her to descend. She waited patiently for the signal light to
turn green and as the bus rushed through the largely empty streets, she enjoyed
the cool breeze that hit her body and for the first time that day, she felt her
mind clean itself out.
Having carefully examined every inch of his work and fully
satisfied with it, he then proceeded to clear his workstation to leave no
traces of his presence there. He then looked at the clock and scurried to the
door and unlocked it. He then deposited the keys in the bowl by the door and
then deposited himself into the chair by the small table and waited as he did
so, for the first time that day, he felt his mind clean itself out.
She walked down the path and turned right
at the end of it. She could see her destination just a few steps up ahead and
she covered the last few steps quickly and turned the knob. It turned easily as
she knew it would, as the buzzing in her bag had informed so it would. He was
never late.
He looked at the clock and counted down mentally, eyes
transfixed on the doorknob. As he counted ‘zero’ under his breath, the doorknob
turned as he knew it would, as the text had informed him it would. She was
never late.
The rather regular day that she had been
having till then disintegrated rapidly in front of her own eyes as they came to
rest on the small table and then on the chair and its occupant. She edged forward,
quite forgetting all about closing the door and let her eyes feast on the
sumptuous meal that adorned the small table – everything from her favourite
leavened flatbread stuffed with cauliflower with pickle on the side, to rice
seasoned with tamarind with lentil soup and fried potato sticks on the side,
from fermented sweet yoghurt to rice flour cakes stuffed with coconut. Stunned,
she silently looked on.
He got up and walked over to the open door and shutting it
properly, then walked over to her, hugged her and said in her ears very softly,
“Welcome home, mother!”
