The Dining Table Saga

It was one of those rare and strange circumstances when silence reigned at the dining table. Usually, there was non-stop chatter. Arguments and hot debates were quite frequent. But today, there was absolute silence. 

Amit cleared his throat. "May be it is not a big deal like we are making it to be." 

His wife Chitra nodded her head, lost in thoughts. "Yeah... This is just a new phase and we need to adjust to it."

Mehta, Amit's father, said. "Do not go all alpha on her if she comes home late. It is Anju's 14th birthday and the child deserves to enjoy with her friends."

"Huh." Raaji, Amit's mother smirked and shook her head. Mehta turned to look at her sharply. "What was that 'Huh' for?" He asked, sounding irritated.

Raaji eagerly leaned towards the table, seemingly enjoying it. "When Amit came late one day, you blew a gasket around the entire building, approaching every flat and asking whether the family knew about Amit's whereabouts. You are the one to talk about not going alpha!" 

Amit cringed at the memory of the most embarrassing moment of his life. He sighed. "It is not about Anju coming home late. It is just that, we have been celebrating all her birthdays together till now. Suddenly she is a teen and wants to spend more time outside with her friends. Everything has changed. I feel like my own daughter is a stranger now."

Chitra slowly tapped her fingers at the table. "May be we need to change ourselves to bond with her." 

Amit nodded. "Yes. We need to change. To start with, you can cut down on your constant nagging. Even I get irritated listening to that."

Chitra's jaw dropped. "Oh, you had to say this, didn't you?" She sat up straighter. "You can cut down on the retro movies you make her watch with you, or the never-ending lecture on classics that you unleash on her from time to time! It is not cool!"

"What... you did not bring in my love for classics into this!" Amit turned around to face her. "Tell you what..."

"That is enough. Stop this bickering." Mehta said, sounding utterly bored.

"And you can stop with the millions of 'in my days' that you constantly bore us with." Raaji muttered while pretending to check her finger-nails. Mehta glared at her. "You can stop with the unasked for and unwanted fashion advice that you unleash upon the poor child. No one wants to hear that from you."

Raaji's eyes widened. "I am just helping the girl to find what suits her personality." 

Mehta smirked. "She obviously doesn't need to learn that from you." 

Raaji was about to reply befittingly until Amit raised a hand to calm every one down. "Listen everyone, we do not need to fight over this. All we need to do is to be a cool family for Anju and show her that she has our support, care and affection always." He looked at Chitra. "May be I should find out what movies and books she likes so I can relate with her better." 

Chitra lounged forward to place her hand on his. "And I should really cut down on the nagging."

Mehta nodded. "Yeah, and I will try not to bore anyone with my old-n-gold stories of yesteryears." He glared at Raaji who simply shrugged and said. "You all should definitely bring in this change in yourselves. I am perfect. "

Unknown to them, Anju was standing outside the kitchen and listening to their conversation. 

Torn. That is what she felt. Everyone talked about the Teenage Temper, Teenage Tantrums and so on, but nobody spoke about the torn feeling that teenage brought in. She was at the cusp of two worlds - a world of childhood that she had crossed but could never really leave behind, and the world of teenage that beckoned to her temptingly but which scared her too. There were those childhood games that she longed to play but she didn't because she felt that she was too grown-up for the games. There was exhilaration in going to school with friends but there was the nostalgic sadness of not having her parents drop her to school like they used to. She missed the ride in her Papa's scooter. She missed the smile that her Ma often had when she would come to pick her up from the school. 

Too much was changing and too soon. And while she was excited about the change, it terrified her too. There was the comfort zone beckoning her to not to change and still live in the world of her childhood. There was the exciting world of teenage that dared her to come forth and experience life as a grown-up. 

Her friends and peers were the only people around whom she relaxed and with whom she could relate. And that was why she spent more time with them. 

But now, listening to the conversation at the dining table, she knew that her family was as much in turmoil with the change as she herself was. She took a deep breath and stepped in.

"You snored, and you snored deliberately to disturb me, knowing fully well that I had wanted to watch that movie since a long time!" Raaji was angrily wagging a finger at Mehta who was shooting daggers at her. Anju smiled. This scene was endearingly familiar. 

"Hey princess.... you are back!" Amit said with a smile. "Had a great time with your friends?"

Anju nodded, wanting to snuggle up in his lap like she often used to, but feeling too grown-up now. "At what time do you and Ma leave for your morning-walk usually?" She asked casually.

Chitra exchanged a look with Amit before saying. "6.30".

"I will join you both from tomorrow. I need the fresh air." and time to spend with you both... She said it in her mind. "Will you wake me up by 6 tomorrow?" She asked Chitra who nodded with a smile. 

"Good night everyone. I am heading off to sleep now. Got to wake up early tomorrow." She hesitated a second before hugging Amit who hugged her back fiercely. She hugged everyone.

"What possessed you to decide to wake up at unearthly hours and torture yourself with a walk?" Raaji muttered in Anju's ear while hugging her. Anju laughed and went to her room.

May be, it isn't about lamenting what has been lost and staying stuck up in nostalgic memories. May be it is about grabbing the moments of the present, living in the now and creating happy and new memories to look back to!

The End