The morning took its time to arrive as Geetika stayed awake in her bed. It was her birthday; a day she stopped liking since the 9th grade of her school. Unlike many college going students, Geetika preferred life to keep moving just as it did every day. She didn’t like this focus on some particular days to feel good about life. All of a sudden people are smiling and being happy, giving more attention than they normally would. ‘Why does it all need a day?’ Geetika wondered, more often than one would think.
It was 5 am, most people are still asleep during this time, some who intend to wake on this time but cannot, try tapping the snooze button in response to the alarm they set on their phones and then there are the determined kind for whom waking up on this time has become a part of daily life and that is when they begin their day. But, Geetika was neither of them.
The autumn had brought the time of early light into the mornings and Geetika decided to make use of it by heading for a morning walk. So she freshened up, and got ready for a walk.
Writu’s jog came to a stop near the Jamun tree of the public park. She checked her smartwatch to check her steps and then she began a brisk walk the rest of the way. She didn’t come to the park often; it was just one of those times when she was worried her regular evening exercise won’t be enough to cut through the extra calories gained at a family event or a festival or any other form of gathering which involved eating more than usual.
Writu took a route separate from the one she used for jogging and saw a familiar face, sitting on the bench or rather sleeping.
“Your parents never ask why there is no difference in your stamina or physique do they?” asked Writu
Devesh was a little startled by the voice but woke up enough to realise it was Writu. With gaming as a hobby Devesh had picked up a habit of munching on all forms of snacks and gained a considerable amount of weight. His parents had threatened to sell off the gaming console if Devesh did not include morning walk in his routine. But Devesh who played till late at night came to the park to sleep rather than walk.
“They somehow believe the change is happening,” said Devesh
Writu met Devesh the first time when she mistook him for a homeless person sleeping on a bench one day and had complained to the security guard of the park. Since then, no they did not become friends, but would surely exchange words when they met.
Mr Trivedi very dearly loved his female pet dog, Bloom. He had brought her from a dog shelter as a puppy. She had black fur with a splash of white at some places. It was Mrs Trivedi who wanted a dog rather than her husband, but with time it seemed like it was Mr Trivedi who cherished the bond more.
Mr Trivedi was an evening walker, but since Bloom came, he also went out to walk in the morning with Bloom. Both of them found the morning air quite refreshing and it was peaceful as well, until during this walk Bloom spotted something or someone and being protective towards Mr Trivedi she ran towards the noise with aggression and Mr Trivedi followed her, calling out her name with worry. It turned out the noise had come from a person who came out from behind a tree and started running despite Mr Trivedi asking to stop.
“One of these days someone is going to tell your parents, I am sure someone who knows you comes here to walk,” said Writu to Devesh
“It has been two months, it has not happened and I don’t think it will,” said Devesh as something caught his eyes, “that dog… I see it every day, but it looks like its chasing someone”
Writu looked at Bloom who was chasing a girl and she said, “I think I know that girl, we were in the same Math coaching.” Writu ran off to help.
Geetika was feeling quite well when she stepped out for a walk, she left her phone at home to enjoy this calmness. ‘I should do this more often’ she thought and then she noticed one of her mother’s friends Mrs Walia who was walking towards her from far away. Mrs Walia was a loud talker who would keep on talking for the longest amount of time whether it was required or not. It did not look like she had seen Geetika yet, so Geetika decided to make herself unseen behind a fig tree in an attempt to defend her peace.
The plan had worked, except that it was Autumn and when Geetika was about to continue her walk she stepped forward stepping over some dry leaves. The sound seemed to have caught the attention of a dog and Geetika wasn’t afraid of dogs except this one was charging towards her so she decided to run and she ran successfully for quite a while before running out of stamina and stopping. There was no stone or stick nearby to try and scare the dog, Geetika braced herself for the attack that didn’t come.
Bloom had returned to Mr Trivedi quite some time back so Geetika had been running for a while for no reason.
“Are you fine?” asked Writu to Geetika who was catching her breath
Geetika looked around and Bloom was far, standing next to Mr Trivedi who was worriedly looking at Geetika “That dog..”
“I saw,” said Writu, “I don’t think it’s coming back”
Geetika looked at her watch, “its almost 7, I can use some coffee,” then she looked at Writu, “want to come?”
“Did you recognise me?” asked Writu
“Yes, Writu I recognise you,” replied Geetika and the both walked away, maybe towards a rekindled friendship.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 