Sweet Summer Souvenirs – Mira Sehgal

July 10^th

Dear Diary,

The landowners came in today. As I stood in one corner of the café, I could feel a thousand emotions flowing through my body at once— nostalgia, anguish, delight, uncertainty and friendship (well, lost friendship).

My worst fears have come true. I can feel all the naughty memories: filled-to-the-brim cold coffees, rush-hour sounds, and bootless scolding slowly weave into a fabric of unwanted souvenirs that will eventually get lost in a pile of broken red bricks.

My heart cannot comprehend the actuality of this.

I need to sleep.

 

July 13^th

Dear Diary,

The carpenters came in today. They started disassembling the furniture— the dirty brown sofa, the walnut-coloured work desk, the partially-lit signage board— everything. Yes, the same brown sofa which hid all those coffee stains, the same work desk built on hundreds of copied notes, and the same “catch-me-if-you-can” lights that used to light up our entire day.

All those years— vanished in just a few hours.

I wish I weren’t alone here, witnessing this atrocity.

 

July 17^th

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is probably the last day of this café. The packers and movers had been continuously moving in and out today to ensure that not a single item was left out. I saw them clear out the entire lounging area in a span of just a few minutes. The flowers that once brightened up the entire place like a heavy necklace did a simple outfit now, and lay wilted inside a nearby garbage can. The delicate windchime that jingled on a dry, windy summer afternoon to remind us to go home was thrown recklessly into the truck. I noticed, however, that the white creaky chairs were not packed away.

Perhaps, just like our friendship, some things were just not meant to be forgotten, and some things, were just not meant to be.

 

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit, Jody got married
I should’ve known, we’d never get far

Oh, when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life.

~ Summer of ’69, Bryan Adams

– Mira Sehgal, Amity International School, Noida

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