My Reunion

When Mama steps into the light, I do not think twice about proper shoot etiquette. I drop my mic and run across the stage, and the next minute, my face is buried in her arms. She hugs me tightly, while I cry and cry and cry. 
Maybe stupid COVID kept her away from me, while she was stuck in Jalandhar and Papa and I were in Mumbai, but I have something to say: not even a pandemic can break love. And the love I have for Mama and Papa and Sayra and everyone else—it has never broken apart and it never will. The reunions happening on the set this day is proof. 
Mama holds me the way she does if I get hurt or I feel sad. I hug her the way I did when I saw her in the hospital holding Sayra. 
“Mama,” I whisper. 
“I’s okay, beta, I’m here,” she says, smoothing my hair.
Papa gets up from the parents’ seat and goes to Mama. He hugs her as well, and I realise that he has missed her more than I have. 
Suddenly, Sanu Sir pulls out his mic and starts singing. I do not know which song it is, but Mama and Papa do and they both start dancing on stage. I grin. Everything is back to normal. Mama and Papa are together, and the whole family is together—no, wait. Where is Sayra? 
My question is answered when the break occurs. Mama runs backstage and brings out my little sister, and I scream in joy and run to hold her. Sayra is saying ‘bhai’ over and over again, and it warms my heart and almost lifts me off of the ground. I reach out to hold her, and the minute she is in my arms, she starts crying, which makes me cry as well.
“Oh, Sayra,” I murmur in her hair, “I missed you so much.”
Sayra pulls back to get a good look at me. I laugh a little. She’s looking at me, big-eyed and trying to figure out what was with my costume and my makeup. She then reaches out to touch my face, and I smile ear-to-ear. I kiss her cheek and decide to let Mama and Papa take her for the rest of the show. But I can still feel the family love radiating from the parents’ seat as I am sitting with Varangi Ma’am. 
This has to be one of my best days ever.
Signed,
Melody Vega

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