Yesterday ended on a difficult note.
I went to bed carrying a lot of emotions, but thankfully I managed to get a good night’s sleep.
This morning, I woke up around 7:00 a.m. Although I was awake, I couldn’t really sleep or stay fully awake either. I kept turning around, getting up for a while, and trying to fall asleep again.
Finally, around 8:30 a.m., I got out of bed.
By then, my roommate was awake too.
The three of us decided to head to a nearby restaurant for breakfast instead of ordering food to the room.
Just like yesterday, I ordered a masala dosa, and it was just as good.
Breakfast turned into more than just a meal.
We started talking about life, family, and the different challenges we’ve all faced.
One of my colleagues shared an emotional story about his mother and everything she had sacrificed for him.
For a few minutes, our table became much quieter.
Sometimes listening to someone else’s story reminds you to appreciate your own family a little more.
After breakfast, we returned to the room.
Just then, my Pappa called me.
She had found a small window of free time, and we spoke for a while.
During our conversation, she told me something that had happened at home.
Her mother had asked her to eat breakfast even though she planned to wait and have lunch instead.
A small disagreement followed.
Then another incident happened.
Her brother complained harshly about the food, speaking to their mother in a way that deeply upset my Pappa.
Listening to that honestly made me emotional.
I have always believed that parents deserve kindness, especially after everything they do for us.
Hearing someone speak disrespectfully to their mother never feels right to me.
More than anything, I wanted to comfort my Pappa because I knew how much it had affected her.
So I asked her to join a video call.
I told her she didn’t even have to say anything.
“Just listen.”
For the next twenty minutes, I joked around, acted silly, and tried my best to make her smile.
Little by little…
She laughed again.
And seeing that smile made me feel much better too.
After our call ended, I decided to continue watching Idhayam Murali, the movie I had started the previous day.
Unfortunately, the print quality wasn’t very good, so I switched to another movie instead.
While deciding what to watch, my grandparents called me.
As always, the conversation instantly made me smile.
They asked how I was doing in Dubai, whether I was eating properly, and if I was taking care of myself.
I told them about the perfumes I had bought yesterday.
Grandma immediately reminded me,
“Don’t forget to bring something for everyone back home.”
That simple sentence made me realize how much they’re waiting for me.
After our conversation, I returned to my movie.
Even though I’d had a heavy breakfast, I felt a little hungry by the afternoon.
So I ordered a Fattoush salad while continuing to watch.
Once the movie ended, I scrolled through a few reels before deciding to take a nap.
I slept from around 4:30 p.m. until about 5:40 p.m.
When I woke up, the three of us planned to go out for tea and snacks.
Originally, we wanted to go swimming, but the pool was crowded, so we changed our plans.
Sometimes weekends are all about making new plans every hour.
We enjoyed our tea, chatted about random topics, and returned to the room.
While all this was happening, my Pappa had told me she was going to church with her family.
Later, I messaged her to ask whether she’d had dinner.
There was no reply for a while.
Out of curiosity, I checked her location and realized she was still out with her family.
I smiled to myself.
“She’s enjoying her evening.”
A little later, she replied saying they were heading home.
That was enough to put my mind at ease.
Around 8:00 p.m., my teammates and I went out for dinner.
I had three parottas with kurma.
It was simple but satisfying.
While we were eating, my Pappa sent me a photo of herself holding a drink.
Seeing it immediately brought back something that had been worrying me for weeks.
Ever since I left Chennai, she has been struggling with a persistent cough.
There were days when talking for even a few minutes made her cough continuously.
Watching her go through that had been painful because our calls are one of the few ways we stay close while living in different countries.
When I saw the drink, I became worried.
From my perspective, I feared it might make her cough worse again.
So I asked her if she could avoid it until she had completely recovered.
I wasn’t trying to control her.
I was simply scared of seeing her health get worse again.
But sometimes, worry doesn’t sound like worry.
Sometimes it sounds like frustration.
And that’s exactly what happened.
The more we spoke, the more emotional I became.
She apologized.
But I wasn’t looking for an apology.
I just wanted her to understand why I was worried.
At the same time, I realized she probably felt that I wasn’t understanding her side either.
The conversation slowly became heavier.
Neither of us wanted to hurt the other.
Yet somehow, we both ended up feeling hurt.
Eventually I told her,
“Let’s stop talking about this for tonight.”
Not because the issue had been solved.
But because I knew continuing the conversation while both of us were emotional would only make things worse.
Before sleeping, we still wished each other good night.
The messages felt shorter than usual.
There were no playful emojis.
No long conversations.
Just a quiet “Love you.”
Sometimes silence says more than words.
As I sit here writing this blog, I realize something.
Love is easy when everything is going well.
The difficult part is learning how to love each other when fear, worry, misunderstandings, and emotions all arrive at the same time.
Today, I wasn’t angry because I wanted to win an argument.
I was scared because I care.
Maybe I didn’t express that in the best way.
Maybe she didn’t fully understand what I was trying to say.
But tomorrow is another day.
Tomorrow gives us another chance to understand each other a little better than we did today.
That’s what relationships are built on.
Not perfection.
But choosing each other again and again, even after difficult conversations.
For now, I’ll close my laptop, get some sleep, and hope tomorrow begins with her smile.
Good night, everyone.
See you in tomorrow’s diary.