This is a true story.
As an obedient kid during my childhood, getting flowers for the Friday Pooja was my duty.
I used to generally take a walk across the road in the morning before school and meet up with the old flower vendor.Jasmine,Rose,Thulasi,
Later when I joined work which required me to stay away from my hometown, I could not do the weekly chore and meet the flower vendor.
After a few years when I came back to my hometown I visited the same flower vendor. Now this time I observe that she has much older look on her face which was already wrinkled earlier. To my surprise she did recognize me and enquires about my family and my well fare.
I visit her again later in the week and she enquires about my wherabouts, my family and my job. I go about answering and bragging about what I do in life not even realizing the listener might not even understand what I actually do. She smiles and wishes me luck with a blessing gesture that elders usually give to the young.
After that I used to visit the shop quite often and every time she has the same set of enquiries”How are you, what do you do, are you studying or working, how is your sister”. I politely acknowledge her with the same answers everytime.I still get the good luck gesture.
It took a few visits for me to realize that she was losing her memory, the memories of recent past but not of earlier ones. I came to understand that she has vivid memories of me as a child but she is not able to register anything that has happened in the recent times
Tears fill my eyes every time this realization occurs, though I do nothing about it.
The only thing I do is keep answering her repeated questions whenever I visit her without a cross face and receive her warm wishes.
This is to the Flower Vendor!!!
