Sohan got up before his usual time, his first day as a 13 years old boy. He smiled recalling all the wishes he received at 12. There was more to come throughout the day.
Sohan was not going to school, much to the displeasure of his father, and much support by his paternal grandparents. His mother chose to remain neutral in the matter.
His parents however left for work and Sohan had the entire day with his grandparents and his grandparents were quite happy to get this whole day with their grandson.
Sohan got many gifts from his family, some of whom lived in the same city and would come by later for celebration in the evening. Amongst all the gifts he loved his grandfather’s gifts and they always came with something special.
In their house with three floors, Sohan’s grandfather would plan a treasure hunt for Sohan. There were several clues which came with small gifts and as Sohan would proceed further and reach the end he would come across the primary gift.
Sohan’s grandparents enjoyed planning it together. They knew one day the boy would grow up beyond the walls of the house and will he still care to have this time, was unknown.
As time passed, Sohan grew up, Sohan’s grandfather started to lose his memory of life. The treasure hunts as Sohan knew them, had ended, but Sohan loved the memory of it while it lasted even though he had discovered a whole world out there with his friends and new hobbies.
There would be an occasional gift from time-to-time which Sohan would find hidden in his cupboard among the clothes or in one of the drawers of his study table. His grandfather could no longer recall when was Sohan’s birthday, so he would think of any random day as the birthday and get a gift to hide. The gifts slowly became like those which were given to a 13 years old Sohan, but Sohan cherished them nonetheless. Some of the gifts, the last ones, still remain packed in wrapping papers to this day.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Hidden Treasures
Early Morning Memories 