True to his word, about a month after Kumar had dinner with the extended Rosenbaum family at their country club in Northern New Jersey, his mobile phone rang. Kumar was deeply engrossed in a book he had picked up from the college library, and so the sound of the ring made him jump. His initial reaction was to curse himself for not turning off the ringer as he normally did. But after picking up the phone and recognising the number, he was somewhat glad he hadn’t. Maybe the universe was telling him something.

There are more than 10,000 famer suicides reported in India every year. 2020 was the worst year on record. In the Punjab, 3 to 4 farmer suicides were reported in the local news every day. When the farmer commits suicide, the government compensates the family, however, if the woman commits suicide, there is no compensation. A woman cannot be considered a farmer. Source: Businessinsider.com.

“Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!” screamed Rosa as she flew into the kitchen where her mother and older sister were busy trying to perfect braiding a round challah. They naturally stopped and looked at an out of breath sandpiper, “Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!” she repeated again, “Timmy has a girlfriend! Timmy has a girlfriend!”

“Kumar! How nice to see you again. It’s been a very long time.” Kumar for his part had to steady himself. He knew if he took a step backwards, something he contemplated doing, he would’ve fallen down the stairs to the embarrassment of everyone. He immediately recognised the man. Yes, he was older. A few years older. A little more grey hair, but other than that, there was something different about Brinkmanship Rosenbaum.

“Mummy, what’s Gefilte Fish?”

“Oh, it’s awful!” answered Sybil exaggerating a shiver.

“Really?” Julia was surprised at her mother’s reply, “it says here in the Jewish Cooking Monthly that you have to be a Jew to like Gefilte Fish. Does that mean you’re not really Jewish?”

It wasn’t until 9 months after Kumar had met Stanley Kramer that he finally, on a rain-soaked day while preparing for an exceptionally difficult test, decided to pick up the phone and call him.

“Look Ma!”

“Rosa! Get out of the water at once. How many times have I told you that you’ll catch a cold. You still, after all the lessons I’ve given you, haven’t learnt to chase the wave as it’s going out to catch your lunch and not stand there looking foolish while the waves wash over your feet.”

I had a decision the night before I left Shangri-La and headed home to Pennsylvania. I could either get on the road at the break of dawn, what I have done before, or try something different. I opted for the latter.

I got up at my usual time, made my coffee and once ready, headed out on to the deck.

Kumar had a great deal of difficulty processing the speed at which, and what appeared to be the never-ending changes in his life. He was too scared though to process it thoroughly. The very fact that just a few short years ago he was running home from the school he attended in his village, where the only drinking water was a well built in the centre courtesy of a wealthy landowner,

Oh, what rapturous welcome I received this morning after I had tied my shoelaces and made my way down the stairs on to the sand. There, at the bottom was a small congregation of sandpipers.

“Good morning!” shouted one and I smiled.

It wasn’t until the next morning when Anton sat down in his chair in his large ornate office, that the full impact of what had happened the night before began to sink in. As usual, Audrey his para legal came in with the first of his endless mugs of strong coffee. But he noticed she didn’t have her usual smile which constantly adorned

After every couple of years, Chris would return to the village where he was born and grew up. Whenever he did, just before the bus from the large city terminal dropped him off not very far from his old home, his heart would begin to soar knowing that a rush of memories would fill his mind as soon as he got off the bus.

As he done on so many occasions in the past, Campbell lay in bed way after the alarm had sounded trying to motivate himself to begin his day. His mind played tricks with him. It was as if half his mind told him he was retired and thus didn’t need to be anywhere, while the other half told him that time was no longer a friend.

“Charlie, come on in here for a moment, please.”

Robert Bentley hung up the phone and sat back in his armchair waiting for his son and heir to his business to show up. As he did, Robert kept looking at the photographs of a newly constructed building while violently shaking his head. Finally, his son made his long-awaited appearance.

Mr. Levy came into Kumar’s office. “Good morning,” he said jovially as he put a folded newspaper on his desk. Kumar was surprised to see Mr Levy. He didn’t usually come into his office.

“Good morning, sir,” he replied standing up. Mr Levy smiled and indicated to him to sit down. Kumar looked at the folded newspaper.

The doorbell rang. Anton didn’t hear it. He was laying on a couch in his living room, which was in the back of the house with his eyes closed and the music cranked up to drown out the sounds of the everyday and allow him to decompress.

It was very late when Ian pulled into the motel car park. He smiled. ‘The ABC Motel,’ the sign said. How original he thought as he left his car running and went into the office. There wasn’t anyone there. The lights were on though.

There was a chance, nay not a chance but a great probability, that life would not turn out the way Dennis had planned. In fact, using the word planned is an insult not only to the word and its specific meaning, but also to those who make planning an art. It is to those people that Dennis owes an apology.

“Why do you sprint the last 100 yards or so at the end of your 2 mile walk?”

“Just to prove to myself,” replied Ian completely winded, “just to prove to myself I can still do it!”

It was deep winter when Marjorie finally met up with Kumar. The Northeast winds had that year decided warm winters were to be a thing of the past and had subsequently ushered in blizzard like conditions nearly every week.

It had been about 3 months since the two of them had last met at the country club.