My Mom is super worried about me crying for an hour. She awoke my dad while trying to please me with my favourite Elephant toy. My dad opened his eyes and looked at first my mother’s worried face, then my loud cry. He took charge of me and tried to console me with some summer salt-like things and make me jump into the air and sort of other things, but nothing worked. I’m still crying even after a small smile, looking at what my father and mother are doing for me.

They just sat with tired faces and came to the conclusion that they couldn’t do anything about it and called my grandmother, who used to take care of me most of the days after my dad went to the office. My mother went to the hospital, so she was their final destination to consult on how to stop my cry.

She inquired about my temperature and was happy that it was not a fever. Then did he sleep yesterday? My Mumma said yes. Maybe crying for food. My father said he ate super good in the morning, too, so that too not the reason. My grandma asks her to check everything like Huggies, my body temperature, and all. Then my grandma told my dad to match my gum line, and I’m getting more baby teeth, and my father felt I was chewing his finger super happily and stopped crying for a while. They found out that was the reason I’m getting my baby tooth, which was irritating me. My father asked my grandma, “What now? Should I keep my finger in his mouth all day long ?”

Grandma ” No, No, that doesn’t work for more time. You should do some other thing to make him not cry”

My father and mother sat upset on the bed and thinking about what to do. My mother is super worried about me, and her eyes are filled with tears. My father never wants to see my Mumma’s face like that. So after seeing those tears, my dad assured her, that don’t worry, you, sensible lady. I took care of it and made sure he would stop crying soon.

He took a deep breath and got an idea about what my father likes the most in his childhood 3. Things come to his mind 1. Music, 2. Motorcycles, and 3.Good food. So he asked my Mom to play some songs on our music system, but it didn’t work. My father himself wants to play the guitar he learned in college to please my mother(I just made my parents feel nostalgic, and at the same I made them use things they kept in the storeroom). That too didn’t work, So they concluded that music won’t work for me.

So he wants to try how I react to the motorcycle rides. My mother’s fingers are crossed, but my father is super sure that I would like motorcycles. My mother is just hoping somehow her husband will make her boy happy. The only thing she concerns more about is for me to stop crying and wants to see me happy. One more happy thing is my father was not taking my mother on bike rides for so many days. So she is also missing her good old long motorcycle rides in college days with my father.

My father took his royal Enfield keys and came out of our tiny house, taking my mother and 17-month-old baby. My father instructed my mother to hold me carefully.

Why should she not care about me? She loves me so much that she didn’t go to the hospital for so many days to look after me. Still, due to some shortage of doctors, she should go at that time. Also, she went unwillingly, leaving me in my grandmother’s hands.

My father kick-started the bike and rav the engine. Though I am used to that dug-dug sound a few times from my baby cradle in the living room. I didn’t listen to that sound this near and louder. At first, I stopped crying with shock by listening to that big sound of that machine I always wanted to stand upon. My Mom and I hopped on the bike, and my Mom held me in her hands super protectively.

We came out of our big iron gate. Until then, I rarely crossed that gate. Only a few times when that neighbour, aunty’s daughter, take me to their house to play with me. They even secretly made me taste a little bite of chocolate for the first.

We are passing the houses in the MVP Colony in Vizag. Every home in our street has seemed busy and doing their respective work. I can see a few kids like me coming out of balcony windows to see one fellow kid going on a bike ride. ( Probably they won’t, but I imagined like that they would come to see me since for the first time I am coming out of my house right?). And a few dogos here and there. I forgot to mention the guest appearance by one most energetic dogo who chased and accompanied us until we crossed our street. After crossing our street, my dad accelerated the bike, and booommm we were riding at full speed. (Maybe we should go slow in our surrounding places. That’s why my dad came that slow in our own streets I don’t know)

We entered Rk Beach Road.

My Mom shifted me from her arms and made me stand in an upright position between my Dad and Mom. Now I can feel the sea breeze and see big waves coming in that water, the ocean. that was much bigger than my bathtub. At first glance, I really want to bathe every day in this big bathtub. I’m super surprised with that view and that fresh air and empty roads.

My mother and father too forgot about me crying for an hour. They, too, started talking about some random stuff. After a while, my Mumma exclaimed Shekar “Chinnu stopped crying, and he just smiled instead. “My Mom is super happy by seeing me happy hugged my dad (She only wrote this in her diary)

My Dad ” It’s working, then I know it’s gonna work Chinnu is probably my type. He loves to travel” Then they started arguing about whom I would represent most? “my father or mother…”

Then we stopped at the shore and sat there for a long half-hour. My father had his Tea ☕ and enjoyed my first motorcycle ride and my first visit to the ocean. Later those rides continued for more days until my dad transferred to Vijayawada.

That was the day I actually met not one, but two loves for me. One is motorcycle rides, and the other one is the Big Ocean. I didn’t know I would miss the ocean that much Until my family moved to Vijayawada from Vizag.
Time flies super fast. That little kid who was surprised by seeing the ocean for the first time learned how to surf and play on the sea. And travelled to Leh-Ladakh on his own. I really look forward to writing those travel stories too—my Ladakh trip and my sea surfing stories in the coming blogs Comrade.

This is Ravi Yalavarthi and I will see you soon, Click here to read about other women who influenced me