Taste from childhood

My dad and I love to try different things. If something is new in the market we definitely want to try it at soon as it is available. Let it be a new shop, new technology, new gadget, or new food item. If we see that something is new we definitely try it out. The other day, my dad brought biscuits from a new local Bakery that had recently opened. My dad came home and give me a biscuit to taste. I took a bite and it took me straight to my childhood.

I remember my childhood home. I saw myself entering my home. Iron across the living room and went directly into the kitchen. I saw my mother in the kitchen cooking something. I tell my mother that I am hungry and I want something to eat. My mother takes a plate gives me a biscuit and the snake that she was preparing. I take a bite of the biscuit. That biscuit tastes heavenly. I love its taste - it is sweet, little salty, buttery, and has rich vanilla essence. As I take a bite the biscuit melts into my mouth. It is simple but delicious. I remember telling my mother that this biscuit is delicious and we should buy it often. My mother smile let me and told me that this was made by a friend of her. I told my mother that, "we should tell aunty to prepare them often. Better yet, we should tell aunty to open a bakery so that we can buy biscuits from her". My mom just smile let me and told me that I should call up aunty and tell her how much I love her biscuits. I remember to calling up the aunty and telling her that she should open a bakery and I will be her regular customer. I remember that few days later aunty visited our place to tell my mother that she is going abroad with her family. My mother was sad because she was going to lose a friend. I was sad because I was not going to get those delicious biscuits again.

One bite of the biscuit that my dad bought opened the box of plethora of memories. One taste took me back into one of the precious memories of my childhood. It just took me one bite to remember how much simplicity was there in my childhood. A quick thought ran through my mind that what if that aunty has a returned to India and has opened a bakery as I suggested. I asked my dad about the Bakery and he told me that it is operated by a Parsi family. So the possibility of aunty opening that Bakery was completely gone. But still it did a good thing. It reminded me of that aunty whom I haven't even seen in last 25 years. I have not even heard her name in last 25 years.

I told my mom dad this biscuits are exactly how aunty used to prepare. This time my mum gave me a sad smile. I could read that expression.

It was quite unbelievable that how great our sensory memory is. It was really unbelievable how I could remember that taste of something that I had eaten over 25 years ago. Yet that taste brought back several memories and those memories also brought tears to my eyes. Now here I am in my bedroom eating the biscuits crying happy and sad tears together.