Coronation

By Debadrita Datta 

"I woke up to the well-acquainted, chafing sound. The drizzles haven't stopped playing the lullaby yet. But my alarm clock didn't hesitate a bit to interrupt the harmony.

I rolled to the other side,

tugging myself into the blanket's warmth.

But the coziness felt less warm than Ma's hand doused in cold water that used to clutch me by my neck,

compelling me to get out of bed.

I grabbed the pillow and tried to drift away in dreams once again

Until my conscious mind screamed, "Your leave expired yesterday."

Reluctantly, I forced my sleep-burdened eyes to open and glimpsed the clock pointing seven.

"Maa, your lad is a big man now, yet he wants to bunk his nine-to-five job, putting the rain as an excuse." I smiled.

A day before, the sound of clarinets and euphonious waves of laughter

filled every corner of the house.

Yet, Ma's absence echoed the most.

The chimes of her anklets and the tinkling of those bangles remained unheard, harboring the silence.

Amidst the sweet aroma of night jasmine and roses,

I craved the old familiar scent: The scent that had abandoned the home with her,

turning it into a mere colossus of stones and bricks, a Palace cursed to live without its Queen.

""Maa, your daughter-in-law is a songster,

the one you always dreamt your son to be.

At last, this tuneless man fetched some melody in his life.

I wonder how astonished you would have been

if you had witnessed the 'devil-may-care' chap you left taking vows for eternal commitment.""

Like every other time, quietness heeded my queries.

The daybreak was a bit more exquisite.

The spring had witnessed her first downpour.

 The rain-drenched amaryllis was blazing in a crimson hue,

 just like the pious red dot Maa drew on her forehead.

 I sighed and sat near the window, losing myself in her memories, till I heard a familiar tinkling.

My bride entered with silver anklets tied to her henna-laden feet.

She smiled and sat beside me.

""Here, take your tea""-She handed me the cup. Bangles of conch and coral clinked at the sway adorning her delicate hands.

I took a sip of the too-bitter beverage, her first try indeed.

But it tasted like love.

I looked at her impatient 'kohled eyes' and flopped her cloud-like tresses, revealing the vermillion illuminating her forehead.

''Was it that bad?''-She asks in a concerned tone.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into an embrace.

Her fragrance drove me nostalgic, and I gasped in realization.

The abode was no more a mere colossus of stones and bricks.

The palace witnessed the coronation of the Queen.

Once again, it turned into a home."