Beyond Language and Boundaries - Fiction
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| image by ChatGPT |
Sitting in her favourite spot on the balcony, Susheela felt really good. She had just spent the last hour speaking to her daughter, who was in Düsseldorf, Germany, pursuing her postgraduate course. It was Sunday, the day she usually connected with her daughter who lived abroad. Of course, they chatted daily and sent each other voice notes throughout the week, but Sunday was reserved for the conversation they both looked forward to.
Susheela looked at the expanse of green rice fields and orchards of fruit trees that she was fortunate to own and care for. She loved spending her days outdoors, busily guiding her farmhands, who lived in the next village but came to help her throughout the week. She was proud that, despite the ever-changing world, she had managed to hold on to her land and still make a living from it. She had been tempted to sell a plot of land to pay her daughter's fees a couple of years ago.
However, her daughter Nidhi was a capable and enterprising 23-year-old who had secured a student loan that was quite manageable. She had also acquired a scholarship covering part of the registration fees. The German university was reasonably priced and, between the loan and Nidhi's student job as an assistant to her professors, her living expenses were covered.
Susheela's joy lay in hearing her daughter's voice. She was extremely attuned to her daughter's energy and could tell that something was wrong simply by looking at her face or listening to the way she said 'Good morning'. Today, she could see that everything was fine. She had listened patiently as her daughter told her about all the friends she had made recently and the week she had had. Susheela tried to repeat some of the German names her daughter pronounced, but failed miserably. She laughed as she watched her daughter giggle each time she mispronounced a name.
Just as they were about to end the call, Susheela blurted out something that Nidhi didn't understand at all. She asked her mother to repeat it. There was an awkward silence as Susheela slowly and deliberately repeated the words. Now that her daughter was looking at her intently and seemed to be listening closely, Susheela lowered her eyes, feeling shy.
Nidhi listened incredulously as her Hindi-speaking mother, sitting in her village back home and looking all coy, said the words 'Ich liebe dich', meaning 'I love you', through the phone screen. She was holding the phone in such a way that Nidhi could see the expanse of green rice fields and fruit orchards in the background. Sitting in her heated room, where the cold managed to still penetrate through her sweater, Nidhi suddenly felt as though a warm embrace had enveloped her.
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