My Safe Haven
by Chandu Singathi
As my warm skin comes in contact with the rough wooden bench
and my skinny fingers
feel the bumps in the old tan-colored paint, feelings of
familiarity and freedom stir inside me.
After what feels like an endless week of hard work,
experiencing the closeness of the nature
surrounding me brings back my sense of comfort and belonging
and makes me feel at home. The
subtle winds bring chills up my spine and shift the position
of my hair, tickling my bare neck
ever so slightly. As I observe the departure of the sun for
the day, the sky slowly breaks out into
hundreds of shades of red. Peering between the cracks of the
tall oak tree’s array of leaves, I
catch glimpses of the giant descending ball of fire as it
goes on its daily retreat. Stunned, I shift
my gaze from the sky to the variety of multicolored leaves
slowly dying on the oak tree, and I lay
my eyes on exuberant reds, oranges, and yellows becoming
illuminated under the setting sun’s
rays. Whenever feelings of stress take over my mind, I
retreat to my deck, taking in the
peacefulness of the atmosphere and temporarily freeing
myself from worries and problems.
While I bathe in the beauty of the nature in my backyard, my
thoughts begin to flow more freely
and I speculate on various issues, or I sit with a still
mind and simply observe the slightly
overgrown grass covered in fallen leaves as well as the aged
oak trees scattered around the area.
During most Friday evenings, the addicting aroma of my
mother’s famous chicken rice makes its
way to my position on the largest deck in the community, and
I remember the familiarity of
eating that same dish almost every Friday for the past ten
years. The burning sensation of the
onions’ scent mixed in with the fresh smell of coriander
stimulates my thoughts and memories,
but I do not become shaken by these feelings. Instead, I
remain on the wooden bench and peek at
the back doors and windows of my neighbors’ houses, suddenly
obtaining the sensation of being
watched. Seeing no one and feeling completely separated from
the world, I take a few deep
breaths and inhale the fresh scent of the marigold flowers
sprouting in the garden a few feet
away from the deck, and I almost taste the revitalizing
flavor of the mint leaves growing beside
them. The natural green pigment of the mint leaves brings me
to my senses, invigorating me
from within and releasing any last knots of tension inside
me. Before I know it, the crickets’
consistent chirps and the fireflies’ sudden bursts of light
signal the coming of night, and I realize
that dinnertime arrives. While I make myself taller and
approach the back door, I hear the
hooting of an owl from a distance, and my attempts to
glimpse the owls results in my sight of
nothing but tall, dark oaks with a few crumpled leaves
remaining on them. As I make my way
back inside my house, the cold wood under my bare feet sends
chills up my legs, pushing me to
increase my speed. While my nearly-frozen fingers embrace
the door handle, I hear the familiar
voices of my favorite Indian television actors and actresses
along with the noise of my family
members in the kitchen, and I scurry into my house before
all the food is gone.
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