MARKET

I wake at a feeling of a sudden jerk, my eyes fly open and I take a deep breath. Isn't it morning? Why is it this dark? I check for the time on my phone. 2.30 am? It's only 2.30 am and I feel like I slept for ages. Anyways I go to answer nature's call and then sleep, which is fast to come.

Morning:

"Kriti!!! Wake up, it's 7 am!" I open my eyes and in the front appears my amma, happy. "Amma, it's only 7 am and it's my vacational holiday. Let me sleep please!" I pull my blanket over my head. "Yes I know it's a holiday but we need to go to market, get up and get ready".

I don't wanna go. I pull the blanket tighter over my head. It's a lucky day today that my amma is not angry. And now I know I'm never getting my sleep back, so I get up and go about with my morning routine.

I see my dodda searing on the wooden bench sipping her tea. "Hello!". My dodda lifts her eyes and nods in my direction. We don't speak to each other and it's not an awkward silence. "Kriti go have your breakfast. You don't want to hear anything, do you?" In a stern voice. "Oh God amma calm down. I'm going". I go to the kitchen and the fragrance of chicken curry hits my nostrils, that spicy, full of flavors, and of course, we have dosa. Yummy.

After breakfast, my amma and I get ready to market.

It's so hot, so sticky, and so much for enjoyment! We buy a lot of stuff, starting from all the necessary items for the household, then to clothing stores to buy a Kurti for both. You know it's like a ritual that whenever we come out to market we definitely go to the cream parlor to have ice cream under the chilled air-con. So we do go there, I order my favorite tiramisu, and amma orders a gadbad.

It was noon time now and both of us are thoroughly exhausted. both of us just wanted to lay down, we were done for the day. We take an auto-rickshaw from the market and reach home after 15 minutes. Neither of us spoke the entire time. We enter the home to see my eager brother wanting to see what we brought for him, "stop it! you behave as if I don't feed you enough!", and my brother is out of the room. my mother just glares at him. I go and freshen up as my mama sought out the items we brought.

"Akka, did you people bring anything for me?". I look at him and "we brought clothes for you for house wear", he looks at me with disappointment flooding his face," and..?". "Ask amma". He goes to the room but comes out fast. "What?", he looks a bit scared, "amma is angry about something and it's not because of us". Well, shit! when I thought today I will get no scoldings nor an indirect taunt, something have to happen.

For the rest of the day, I try to avoid speaking to her, as sensitive amma is very scary to speak with.