When I was a little kid, I used to go for grocery, fruits and veggies shopping with my mom. I hated it but since I was a troublesome kid she always preferred to take me along with her so that I wouldn't fight with my siblings and create a chaos at home. 

I hated most of the part of that shopping trip except one—a street vendor selling guavas. While my mom was busy picking the best pieces from his thela, he used to give me one of the best ones. The freshest, cut into four pieces and loaded with his homemade spices. That smell...fresh, that taste...so special. I have had hundreds of free guavas from his thela without paying a single penny for them. My mom used to scold him for giving me those simple treats and in turn all he did was 'smile'. 

Then we grew up and eventually stopped visiting those markets as I moved to another city for higher studies. Recently I was back in the city with my husband. We went for a walk as I wanted to show him around and tell him about my childhood stories. We went to that guava vendor's spot. There was still a thela full of guavas but to my disappointment, the seller was different. 

I was expecting that same guava uncle to be there. I wanted to introduce my husband to him. But he was not there. In his place, there was a 16-17 year old kid standing and selling guavas. Suddenly I felt that I had lost interest in guavas which once used to be one of my favourite fruits as a kid.

'Bitiya ko paka hua amrud mat dena, kachcha wala do khub saara masala daal ke...' (Don't give her a ripe guava, rather give her a raw one with loads of spices in it). The voice came from behind that thela. That was my old guava uncle, aged, wrinkled skin, shrunken body...but still the same smile and the same love in his eyes. I was so happy to see him. I introduced him to my husband and he blessed both of us while we had the guavas.

That day, I had a 'slice of the past'. 

P.S. He did not take money for the guavas he gave to me and my husband.