It was raining heavily when I got down at the airport and after the check out formalities were over, I hailed a cab home. I was excited to see my family and eager to reach home. The traffic was heavy and vehicles were moving at a painfully slow pace. I was overjoyed to be back in Mumbai after one year of staying in Frankfurt. I was deputed there on a work visa by my company to set up the new branch office there. Now that things were smooth and the operations were streamlined, I was able to take a flight home. I had kept the whole trip under wraps and wanted to surprise one and all.
I asked the cab to slow down near my house and checked once to see if anyone was around. Luckily, due to the heavy downpour, my pet dog Bruno and my son were not out. My wife was in too, maybe cooking. I paid the cab guy and carried my bags to the entrance and rang the doorbell. I was waiting to see their reaction when they opened the door.
Like always my wife opened the door with a stirring spoon in her hand, she was cooking as I had anticipated. The moment she saw me she screamed with joy and the Stirring spoon fell down on the marble flooring making a louder sound than it should. The sound and the scream both were loud enough to get Bruno and my son down from the duplex apartment. They came running down and before I knew I was on the floor with my son and Bruno both on me. That was our usual style of playing and Bruno had not forgotten it one bit. He was all over my face, licking me and wagging his tail. I could see the love and joy in his eyes. For 3-4 full minutes it was only Bruno and me. After he got the assurance that I had come back indeed and was there in bones and flesh, then he stopped wagging his tail and with heavy panting ran away to drink water. Then it was my sons turn. He had hugged me tightly and was almost in tears to see me after a year and so was my state, I had tears of joy in my eyes too.
After planting a kiss on my son’s cheek, I turned to my wife who was standing there waiting for her turn to hug me. The most important person in my life came close to me and we hugged as if we had never embraced each other. We stayed that way for centuries and the whole world came to a standstill around us. All I felt was the same familiar fragrance of my house and the warmth. I felt strongly that even the walls, the roof, the windows and the paint of the house too welcomed me with open arms.
Uttpal K
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That was beautifully penned down. I could visualize Bruno all over you 😉 🙂 Lovely tale
🙂 Tanya…
Very nice story.
Thank you Abhijit.. 🙂
Getting back home especially when you were away for a long time is really a different sort of experience. When I read this, It reminds me of so many journey’s and returning back to my home town.
Yes Reji… 🙂