Ammi will be yelling at us to wake up and get ready to go to school. She will be already in the kitchen making us breakfast and packing our lunchbox (the multitasker). Appa reading the newspaper, drinking and enjoying that morning tea which Ammi made him with love, but still, he says ‘Jaanu, next time add less sugar’. Being the eldest sibling, I have to drag my brother and sister from bed and make them brush their teeth and get them ready for school. We rush downstairs and eat our breakfast fast and run to catch the school bus. Appa would be shouting at us as the bus honks and we would be ignorant of it in our rush. Coming back from school, all tired and just predicting the evening snacks at home was so amusing that we forgot all about the mark sheet that we got at school that day. Showing the marksheet to Appa to get it signed and acting as if on the brink of tears, was just another excuse for not getting beaten. Everything will be forgotten by the time dinner is served and everyone will be talking about their day and sharing their stories. Nothing exciting, just mundane things that happen on a daily basis. I used to hate these mundane days and wished for myself to grow up so that I could at last get to move out and live by myself. The dreams of independence and freedom filled my teenage mind, not knowing how much it would cost. 

Today I look back at those days and just wish to be taken back there, where everyone was so happy and carefree and did not need a phone to connect and know about each other. Where fighting used to be for a few seconds and then it was back to normal or a piece of dairymilk solves the issue. 

Now Ammi and Appa’s hair turned gray showing the passage of time and they are so happy at our one visit and are waiting at the doorsteps for our arrival. Where did all the time go, now when I visit my childhood room, it feels as if another happy version of myself lived here. Now it is hard for all of us to meet once a year, we grew apart away from our home that was ours but are still in our homes that we made our own and that's "heraeth" for me.

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