Dear Home,

I’ve constantly wondered how you can stay so charming despite having seen so many flaws, having to put up with so much drama, wrapped up in sporadic chaos gathered behind that handful of walls. The sheer amount of joy you spread is what I long to return to every year; as a moth tends to a flame like an ocean tends to shore, you are the anchor that keeps me from drifting away, the one that I always adore. 

What can I say about the eagerness, nostalgia, and comfort your thoughts alone cater to? About 86 billion neurons in the mind rejoice, making it hard for the poor feet to stay grounded and twitching muscles to cope with an unbounded sudden emotional rush. You compel me to smile, laugh, cry, holler, and sometimes curl into a ball like a baby after inevitable brawls.

Flying back to you is always special, returning to slightly wrinkled smiles, more slightly grayed dearest parents’ hair, and greatly missed people and places invoking the inner child, yearning to live those cherished snippets yet again. Some of the instances are backpedaling to everyday family banter and confusion, ending in multiple silent dinners and leading to ‘let it go’ next-day brunches and many fun-filled gatherings with loud, exciting, yelled-out cricket victories, which gets the wholesome, ‘I’m finally home’ conversation going on.

A phenomenon you introduced in my life is the concept of familiarity. You bring in familiarity with such grace encased in a trove of mixed emotions with some reality checks here and there to ensure I do not get carried away. I look for what you cater to me worldwide, a little piece of you ingrained in my chromosomes. 

You are admired, loved, and respected. Like a northern star in our interconnected galaxy, you are always in my life, navigating one phase after another.

Love,

Your human.

Samanvitha Oruganti is an avid storyteller who likes narrating stories about people, emotions, and places. She believes our world has innumerable tales, some hidden, some not, but all waiting to be told. She can be reached via email at samanvita.krishna@gmail.com