Summer Nostalgia

Today my 9 year-old self smiled at me,

From within,

From the past,

From a parallel universe,

As I cut an Alphonso mango,

And relished every bite of it.

Just like the summer days,

When naniji used to cut it for everyone,

On a random May afternoon,

And we ate it by exchanging pieces with each other.

Then my 14 year-old self smiled at me,

From within,

From the past,

From a parallel universe,

As I served a plate of cholle-pattice,

From my favourite chaat house.

Just like the regular evenings at home,

When guests arrived or we were just hungry,

As the delicious aroma teased the taste buds.

Then my 5 year-old self smiled at me,

From within,

From the past,

From a parallel universe,

As I shared a softy with my sister,

From a newly opened shop.

Just like the Fridays of childhood,

When dad took us to play in the garden and treated us with a cone everytime,

These were the days I made some core memories of my life.

Of a nostalgic summer.