Why bars of dark chocolate are hidden between layers of saris in my home?

Why bars of dark chocolate are hidden between layers of saris in my home? I am pretty sure, if Sherlock Holmes was tasked to solve this mystery, he would fail. This is because Sherlock Homes never had children. I am also sure that all parents having kids between 9 to 15 years of age are nodding their heads in understanding. They know, there is no safe place in the house to hide treats. No matter where you hide them, you won’t be able to prevent them from magically disappearing in a few short hours. Every time my husband or I open the fridge to snack on something delicious and unhealthy, we face this mystery. The maid, the children and even grandparents included have no clue where all unhealthy things disappear.

Tired of losing my favorite chocolate to these mysterious, ravenous monsters, I finally decided to safely hide it in between layers of old saris. Ingenious, isn’t it! I can happily say that I have managed to increase the lifespan of one chocolate from a few hours to a total of 3 days 16 hours and counting. Today, before leaving for work, after making sure there were no monsters lurking around, I stole a bite from the chocolate. For some reason as the chocolate melted in my mouth, I had a vivid flashback. In the flashback, I could clearly see my Mom dressed in a pale yellow suit locking a large tin of home-made Besan ladoos in the dark blue Godrej steel cupboard in her room. I could see a 10 year old me, peeking from behind a wall to see exactly where she had kept the tin. After my mom had left for office, I saw myself trying to pick the lock of the Godrej cupboard to little avail. Godrej has a brand to honour, after all.

As the chocolate traveled into my gut and the scene slowly disappeared, I realized the root cause behind the mystery of disappearing goodies in our house. The reason was simple. The reason is called “karma”. What I stole as a child, will be stolen from me as I grow old. The recent events in our home, were a reinforcement that the karmic law always apply. This realization lead me to a sadistic thought. I muttered under my breath, “Steal as much as you want! Wait till you have children of your own. You will not get a single bite of your favorite dessert! It will be me, from my grave, who will have the last laugh then!”

As soon as those words were out, another realization struck me. It was not me but my Mom who was having the last laugh now, even while she is alive. How satisfying it would be for her to see us face the same misery that we made her undergo all those years ago!!

P.S. – Matrix I was laughing aloud while drafting this one. I hope you have a good laugh too! Love you Mom!