January 30, 2014

Rituals - Part 3

Continued from here

Amma was known in the town for being a pillar of strength. Ever since her husband went missing she had held herself together with poise and had led a dignified life. She emanated a radiant positive energy to the people around her. Leela had never caught Amma in a dull moment. She was particular to follow her daily rituals no matter what the day brought. She was an early riser, and welcomed the day with a smile. She would go about cleaning the whole house every morning as though it had to be prepared for a visit from the king. Whenever Leelu had teased her about this Amma had smiled and said “You never know Leelu, there is no harm in being prepared”. Then she would open all the windows and let light and fresh air in.

There had been times when Leela would be in a hurry to go to school when Amma would stop her to sit for a few minutes in the sunlight while she carefully tied her hair. “You will learn nothing in school if you have had such a rushed morning”, she would say. “First sit here and take in the sunlight and the morning sounds for a few minutes, then your schooling for the day will be worthwhile”.


Leela stepped out of the shower and carefully examined her face in the mirror. She had an important client meeting that day and hoped her eyes did not give away any signs of crying from the last night. She had felt a little lighter that morning as she had allowed herself to bring back thoughts of Amma again. She got dressed and came rushing to the kitchen for her morning cup of coffee, she brewed a fresh cup and reached out to her travel mug like she did every day. Something in her made her stop; she filled her favorite mug instead and stood by the window. She remembered Amma’s words “Don’t ever shut yourself away from nature Leelu, nature brought us here, allow her to take care of us”, while she opened the window and stood sipping her coffee.


To be Continued....

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