In Search of Harmony
I couldn’t see clearly through the heavy rains outside but I knew this place very well. Even after a decade, the sheer presence of the hospital across the street made my mind feel like a paper boat caught in a hurricane. Though the rain in Bangalore brought the temperature down, I was sweating in the humid air, completely unaccustomed to it after years in the Seattle cold. He sat across the table. His drooping shoulders carried the weight of several sleepless months. He kept shifting in his chair with a restless energy. He turned his gaze away from the hospital towards me. I saw his jaw clenched and my throat developed a lump. I dropped my eyes down to the table. “Nine years,” he scoffed. His sudden voice jerked my head up. “I wonder if the ashes were still hot when you packed your bags and ran. And now after nine years, here you are, visiting from your better life,” he said. I wasn’t sure if I was sensing resentment or disgust. A full day of flying to face him did not feel ...