Just a day before
The start of exams,
Ma would say,
"Let's take a walk."
And right through Laitumkhrah
Strolling, laughing, talking non-stop.
"Breathe easy, relax,"
She would say,
In between.
It was her special treat,
Roasted corn on the cob
Or hot sand-fried peanuts,
Sold by the aging Bihari bhaiya.
Those precious moments, I savour, when I look back at Ma and me in Shillong.
