Quarantine

This quarantine I lost a few things.

The struggle of locating car keys in the morning got replaced by a quiet cup of tea while dad read the morning news out loud.

The scramble to cook and pack breakfast and lunch into multiple tiffin boxes slowed down into serene hours spent in the kitchen learning and swapping recipes with mom, getting a glimpse of the secret ingredient she never forgot to use (it’s love, in case you were wondering).

The mad rush of traffic punctuated with continuous honking horns gave way to leisurely hours on the terrace watching the world pass me by.

The daily excuse of too much work or connectivity error preventing me to even revert to texts from friends melted into video chats and online games, reconnecting over shared fun and frolick.

Yes, this quarantine I lost quite a few things.

And found myself anew.