True stories - suicide

True stories - Suicide

I was having for a week long break from Chandigarh and was heavily devouring all the variety food mom cooked for us.

That evening we were at the dinner table, I am serving myself huge portions of her Mushroom and Palak Penne pasta, when I saw dad sitting opposite to me, struggling to open the ketchup bottle with the bottle opener.

I was in such a hurry to start eating, with all that wonderful aroma entering my nostrils, that I said, "Kya kar rein aap, idhar dedo.... (what are you doing, gimme that!!)", grabbed the bottle from his hand and in one smooth swift experienced motion, using the teeth of my right side (beer bottle style..), bit opened the bottle, as if I was doing the most routine thing of my life, and handed it over back to him, crown cap flying away.

There was a sudden silence in the room but for the clattering of the crown on the floor a few feet way, and I realised my stupid mistake. 

Dad was staring at me with this shocked expression, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, but no sound coming out, while mom to my right was totally oblivious of whatever was happening around her. The rest of the dinner was spent in silence, me not even looking up from my plate for the whole of my meal which had pasta but no ketchup . 

That was the day my dad realised that his daughter has come of age.