Quite like Home!

 

I was about to take the last turn to my home after a brief walk to take some fresh morning sunshine. I noticed the little flowers that had fallen off on the left sidewalk from the tree last night and maybe a few previous nights. Still looking fresh, carrying the faint essence of their night duties. I picked up one, sized like a clove, hoping to smell the fragrance up close. It was very faint, obviously nothing compared with how it does in one of those large bunches up above. The flowers had already assured I was close, close to what I could call home for a while. There stood the tree with very small bunches, awaiting their full blooms. The buds were a testimony to that. I kept looking for a few more moments, analyzing how late they’ve bloomed. I wondered if the tree was blooming for the first time ever, because there it stood as tall as they grow. How come I’m standing there for the first time, feeling a narrow escape to heaven. The first time, my vision had to beat my olfactory senses to bring it to my attention. As I looked, I was taken back to more than a month’s time.

What an unusual day it was! I had just started walking back to our station bus, and it was already 21:00. Mentally ranting about my disappointment of not finding an opportunity to get a picture with one of the most ideal persons this nation has had after sharing the hall space at an event.

And then I smelled it, the fragrance, and within seconds I did what was instinctive. Find the tree! There stood the trees on the left side of the road. Blooming and spreading the fragrance. And my first whisper was, “You found me!”. It was already getting colder, the breeze gently flowing through the vast hollows of the wide roads and short buildings. My steps, which were initially in a hurry to get inside the bus and feel warm, now wanted to stay. They seemed no longer bothered by how cold they were; neither was I. My hair was dancing contemporary with the wind. All I knew was the tree, the flowers, the night sky, the breeze, my vision that viewed it, and my skin, which felt it. Yes, this year, they had found me. I usually wait for 9 months until October, keeping mental records of all the trees, I know, and then make sure to cross them for 2 months frequently to feel them. This time, I knew no trees. And while usually it nearly blooms for 2 months during the autumn transition, this year the transition was really short. So before anticipation, winter had already arrived. I had lost any remaining hopes of even finding one this season. The local Delhi, however, is hotter, which meant, the transitional season wasn’t done yet. That day, that event was an excuse for a series of blessings I received. We had attended this event where the CAS Air Chief Marshal Amarpreet Singh himself was the chief guest. A person adored and revered through print and social media for his work, dedication, and leadership was right under the same roof. Post-event, in his address, he had emphasized how important it was for each individual to become a good person keeping aside the marks, numbers, medals, and achievements. It wasn’t just words coming for encouragement; rather, every bit of his personality spoke words of his demeanor and humbleness. I was just mesmerized by the moments spent under the hall walking back to the parking when I found the tree in full seasonal bloom of my favourite flowers. Since they’re nocturnal, they bloom and exude their fragrance only at nighttime and glow like the brightest stars this planet could see aside from the stars in the sky. I felt like if there was any place closest to what I could call home, it would be under here with the flowers in their full bloom.

After some 2-minute walk, we stood at the main road, my olfactory still savoring the fragrance of the flowers, while waiting for our bus to come. And I could see more trees afar on the other side, as though bringing back all the memories from all the trees I’ve crossed, in all those different places I’ve been, at all those different phases of life.

After boarding the bus, I did feel the warmth I had been longing for, at the same time longing to have gotten to spend maybe even a couple of minutes more under the tree. The bus by then was already jostling through the busy Delhi roads, and I still felt the fragrance getting even stronger than a mere memory could hold. My eyes again followed my olfactory directions, and I saw the bus was crossing through roads that were cornered by a few of them. Their blooms looked a little faded due to the traffic dust, but my vision was sharper than the traffic headlights. As though the divine itself whispered, “Let’s take you home, the real one, in the time that it takes; have faith.” This time taking me 6 years back. Bringing me back the vivid memories of when I used to roam in my society in Chandigarh and wonder which flowers it was coming from. The memories of that one friend, during whose call I had then realized it was these flowers.  

I see how life has shown so much ever since. Shaping me with more resilience and strength. Through every phase I’ve crossed this tree, and the fragrance of flowers has touched my senses. I’ve changed a little bit; I had integrated yet one more fragment of myself. And still hoping the next time I cross it, I’m better, even if it is tomorrow.

Vedika