Someone Somewhere

Chapter 6: Memory Lane

When the sun came up I went out to our little treehouse, climbed the stairs carefully as it has now become so fragile. In there were drawings we made as a kid, though the colours have now faded away. There were notebook and diaries, some of them belonged to me, some to Tae. There were remains of a torn kite.

Let it loose Yeo-Reum. When I ask you, pull the thread with a jerk. I had nodded to him. That was a day, on his last visit to Dehradun. I had forgotten about these memories until now or I had kept it hidden, even from myself. I missed him. I don't know where he would be now or how to contact him. I don't even know if he remembers me. 

I flipped through the pages of the diary that belonged to Tae. It was his habit to draw something that he enjoyed about the day. 21st March 2010  said the diary. And below that, he had drawn a caricature of me and him flying the kite. I hugged the diary closer and cried silently.

I took those drawings and diaries and packed it in along with other stuff. I decided I have to go to Seoul as it was the only way to find him and the rest of my answers. I still had two more days left at this place. So I arranged all the items in the house, cleaned and dusted it. Put things that were lying here and there back in their places. After all the hard work the house didn't look like abandoned anymore. 

I went out to have my lunch at the old Dhaba where I used to go with Tae, Nani and Amma. We used to come here often because the food here wasn't as spicy as other places. I remember how Tae couldn't eat spicy food at all. The owner had now changed.

"Since when have you been working here?" I asked the new owner.

"It has been around 7 years now."He said.                                                                                                         

"Do you by chance are acquainted with the previous owner? What happened to her?"                    

"I am her son. She was too old to work so she is staying at home while I work in her place." He said in a rather sad tone.   

 "Where does she live? Can I have her address? You see I used to live here till around 10 years ago and would frequently come to this place to have our meals. But I have some questions that I need to urgently ask your mother." I said hopefully and desperately trying to make him understand the situation.

He wrote an address on a newspaper lying across him on the counter. 

It was just 2 lanes down from the dhaba, so I walked towards the address asking for directions from people once in a while.

I came across this cottage, where I could see clothes drying outside and a cot placed near the Tulsi plant. You could smell the delicacies being cooked in the house, even without entering. That was when I saw the previous owner come out slowly with a support stick in one of the hand and thick glasses. I recognised her at once and ran inside. I touched her feet and reminded her who I was.

"Yeo Reum. It's you! You have grown to be so beautiful. After your grandmother passed I thought I would never see you again. Where are you living currently and what are you doing? What brings you all the way here?"           

I explained to her everything in detail from how Amma and Tae never came after that year, how Nani used to be sad always whenever I mentioned them, and how after she passed away I tried forgetting her so that it won't her and why I came back to Dehradun.

"Did Amma and Tae ever come back while I was away?" I asked her with teary eyes and in a feeble voice.

"No, I never saw them after that year too." I had expected this answer then why was I so sad to hear it loud.

"Do you know the reason, maybe nani would have mentioned it anytime? What happened?" 

"She stopped going out frequently after you people left and most of the time kept to herself." She looked away from me into the distance and continued. "From what I know she kept waiting for your Amma's letter to arrive but it never came. Every few days, she would ask the postman whether a letter from Seoul came to which he always replied in negative. But she never stopped asking till the end."

After taking my leave from there I walked back home. It was a long walk and the sun was setting already. Once back home I searched through the box where Nani used to keep letters and found the ones that came from Seoul.

Building No.-63, Namsan Park, Seoul said the address of the sender. I took out the camera and clicked the photograph so that I won't forget. I went through all of the letters to find any clue but didn't find much. In one of the letters, I found a contact number. I tried calling on that number, but it was out of service.

I was sitting by the window looking at the snowfall outside when I realised it had gotten cold. As I was setting up the fireplace, my phone started vibrating. I reached for it in my pocket and pulled it out hurriedly thinking what if it was from Amma or Tae. But the call screen read 'Bestie'. I had completely forgotten about college. I picked up the call.

"Guess what?" I heard the excitement in Ahana's voice so I didn't want to ruin in with my gloomy mood so I tried pretending to be interested and excited.

"Today was prom night, right? How did it go? Any spicy news?" I added a little laughter and asked shyly.

"He kissed me. We danced all night, went to see the fire lanterns and then all of a sudden he pulled me closer and kissed me. It was my first ever kiss. I still don't believe it is real." she exclaimed.

"I am so so happy for you Ahana. Achha, tell me more details when I come back to campus. " I added to keep the excitement up to which she agreed.

After she cut the call. I build the fire and sat close to it on the ground curling myself in a ball and looking around at every single thing in the house, every single corner as if to imprint in my mind. I have to leave tomorrow afternoon. Mood Fiesta is getting over tomorrow and I have to get back to college. 

I didn't want to think a lot so I slept there on the floor with one of my bags as a pillow listening to 'Sweet Night'. Were we really just ships passing by and will we never meet again I thought as I let the tears fall and the song soothe me.