Ting Tong!! Annie rushed to the
door to welcome her friend. She was very excited to meet her as she was
patiently waiting for her for an hour. Both of them had a full day plan of
shopping, movies, spa day, dinner date etc. etc. etc.
They were very thrilled and what
fascinated them was Annie’s new mobile. It was amazing. It tracked her friend’s
journey in the last one hour, it booked tickets for them with just voice
instructions, and it showed them all the shopping options with just a click. It
also reminded them about all the activities they planned for today. Both the
girls gave an enthusiastic smile and took a selfie. And guess what? It got
instantly uploaded on FB, Insta and Snapchat.
After an eventful and tiresome
day, Annie was back to her pavilion and felt contended. She fell to her sofa,
plugged in her earphone and closed her eyes to enjoy the music. After 2 songs,
she felt someone’s hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes instantly and
squealed with joy. She was missing her old man and there he was… giving her a
SURPRISE!! She tightly hugged her Grandpa and they exchanged compliments. Annie
was very happy with her day. She and Grandpa shared their life’s events
up-to-date. After making plans to go for a morning walk, Annie called it a day.
Next Morning, the sun rose with
all smiles and Grandpa was opening the window’s shutter to wake his girl up for
the morning activity. Whilst enjoying the garden, grandpa saw some kind of
watch Annie was wearing and she was constantly playing with it. Grandpa called
her to ask what it was but there was no response from his grand kid. He slightly
patted her shoulders; Annie tapped her watch, removed something from her ears
and then responded.
Grandpa: Annie what is all this?
(Pointing towards watch and a device in her hand)
Annie: Oh god Grandpa! U scared
me! I thought something happened (Eyes rolling). It is called smart watch. It
calculates your heart rate, number of calories burnt, how many Kilometers did
we cover, direction of the garden, when to take a water break and so many more
features. I find this to be really amazing. And this device is called Bluetooth
headset which is connected to my phone. So I can listen to all my favorite
songs without interruption.
Grandpa: Oh! That sounds
exciting. But then, don’t you think you are missing the whole purpose of
enjoying the nature and experiencing its peace early in the morning?
Annie: Grandpa… that’s so old
school. We come for morning walks to stay fit and healthy. Who has time for
observing nature and all? I will get you the smart watch as your birthday
present. You will love it! Grandpa just nodded his head and both of them
continued their walk in their own way.
After 2-3 days, Annie saw grandpa
sitting on the balcony chair all alone and he seemed to be lost. Annie went to
the balcony and hugged him. She sat beside him.
Annie: Grandpa! What happened?
Why you feeling lost?
Grandpa: I miss your uncle and
his family a lot. It has been almost one and half years and they have not come
to visit me.
Annie: Oh god Grandpa! With high
tech world, who still thinks of meeting someone? Wait! Let me Skype Uncle and
you can talk to him as much as you want.
They had a Skype call with the
entire family and Annie’s cousins showered their love to grandpa and told him
how much they miss him. Annie’s uncle got a call from his office and he
disconnected the call.
Annie: Grandpa! Are you happy
now? Look how excited Mary and John were to see you!!!
Grandpa: But still Annie… feeling
someone’s touch, hugging them, enjoying their smell, being there when they are
hurt… you don’t get all these in your digital world rite….
Grandpa then cheered himself up
and asked Annie if she wants some Coffee. Annie nodded and was completely lost
in what Grandpa said. She understood what he meant and felt bad for him.
Next morning, the sun rose with
all power and brightness. Grandpa was surprised to see Annie is his room
opening the window Shutters. Grandpa wished her “Good morning” and looked at
her in astonishment. Annie giggled and shouted “SURPRISE! Get ready soon! “.
Grandpa couldn’t control his curiosity and got ready swiftly. When they entered
the garden, Grandpa was shocked to see Annie without any of those weird
devices. She was looking around the garden and smiling at people on their way.
Grandpa wasn’t able to understand what was happening. He asked Annie about the
surprise.
Annie: Grandpa! This is the
surprise! After our little chat yesterday, I thought to myself: “why not give
my 1 hour of morning walk and enjoy it like how you do?” So, today I did not
carry any of my “devices” and thought of enjoying the beauty of the garden.
Grandpa: OMG! This is indeed the
best Surprise for me (his eyes were moist).
They chatted for 1 hour about
different birds, plants and their medicinal value, played with the kids,
observed different people and their lifestyle. When they came back, Annie
definitely felt so light and good. She thanked Grandpa for making her
experience this. And she was off to work. Little did she know a small surprise
awaited her when she returned?
Grandpa greeted her with a big
smile and exclaimed: “I have a surprise for you…” Annie instantly got excited
and searched the house for her present. Grandpa made her sit on the couch and
switched on the TV. He had connected the TV with his mobile. With a click, he
group called his family members. When everyone was online, he played a video on
the TV which narrated a story of Annie from her childhood to their recent
morning walks.
Annie was in all tears and his
entire family applauded him. He proudly told them he made all this by using
different apps and took Google’s help. Annie hugged him tightly and a tear of
joy was floating from her eyes. She thanked her Grandpa from the bottom of her
heart and claimed her grandpa to be the “Best Grandfather of this ERA”.
Grandpa was in town for the next
two days and their morning walks continued along with their digital world
exploration.
Finally the day came when it was
time for Grandpa to bid adieu. Both of them had an emotional moment and
remembered all their memories. Annie took a quick selfie and uploaded on both
their accounts. As the day went by, Annie was engulfed with her digital world. She lost the sight of garden as her smart
watch and Bluetooth headset gave her company. She found time to talk to her old
guy once in a week and spoke to him on Video Calls. Even though grandpa liked
the new world, he somehow was not comfortable and wanted to go back to his old
self. He sat on his old chair and missed his kids miserably: imagining all of them to visit him frequently
and spend some quality family time. But all he got was some glimpses of family
time on Video calls.
After some years, Annie thought
to herself: no matter how advanced we get, generations keep changing and we
keep getting stuck into this world of adaptability or austerity. Life must go
on… so instead of complaining or trying too hard to adapt, just enjoy life as
and when it comes. When you are with your generation, behave your age; when you
are with your kids generations, behave like them; when you are with your
grandpa’s generation behave like them. That’s the beauty of life…
Lovely. Keep writing!
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