A String From Past

There was a small restaurant nearby. It has been years since it closed. But there was a time when it was among the few restaurants in the area. The man who ran it, had this serious and angry air around him all the time. He took care of the payment and the take away food part over there. He had lost a leg, rumoured to be lost in a war by some or lost in some form of gang conflict. Rumours of children, not of an adult.



We as children back then were wary of him, we had found the perfect subject to associate all the ‘be aware of’ features that we had learnt in environmental studies. But lucky us we never had to talk to him; we went to the restaurant with our parents.



But traitorous life, it betrayed us. We grew up enough for our parents to send us out to shops, for us to explore the world and add to our experience. So, once in a while getting food packed from nearby was also part of it despite food delivery being an option.



The first time I handed him the money I tried not to make any eye contact and wanted things to end quickly. But when along with the change came a small bar of chocolate, I looked up properly this time and he was smiling. Who would have thought, the man who sat serious with all forms of rumours would turn out to be a person with one of the most unique smiles.



I wouldn’t say we became friendly with him over time, but there was that occasional exchange of smiles when I passed by or was at the restaurant. It was a nice addition to the life I had.



I assumed he was done with the business when the restaurant closed and also feared a worse outcome but I wasn’t mature enough to ask around.



Now at that place stands a small office building that has a few shops on the ground floor. There is no trace of the past. A few days back, going through some old photos that I had taken using my father’s phone I found one focussed on the sign board of the restaurant. 

Written by Anuran Chatterji

Hey, Connect with Us:)