A Vacation Sans Screen
“Appa! We have been to Yercaud thrice. Why again?” whined Sundari and her brother Gopi as their car ascended the Shevaroy hills.
“All other vacation spots are fully booked. Amma has also managed to join us this time despite her hectic work schedule. After a long time we are on a vacation as a family,” said Swamy, their dad.
“Hmm, okay,” mumbled Sundari.
“Come on! It’ll be exciting this time. Appa has booked a treehouse in a coffee estate,” said Susheela, their mom.
“Treehouse?” remarked Sundari and rolled her eyes. Gopi shrugged.
Soon they reached the coffee estate in Yercaud.
The property manager welcomed them and offered home-cooked food. He then gave them the keys to the treehouse.
The treehouse was perched on the tallest tree amidst a mountainous landscape. A wooden bridge connected a serpentine road to the entrance of the treehouse on one side. The windows of the treehouse overlooked the surrounding mountains offering breathtaking views.
“Great views, but how long do we gaze at them?” asked Gopi as they entered the treehouse.
“Don't worry Gopi. We can watch a movie,” comforted Sundari.
“But there's no TV here,” said Gopi as he looked around.
“Let's watch something on the tab or mobile then. We need to charge all our devices first. They are in power-saving mode. The signal here is weak too.”
“Kiddos! I forgot to mention earlier. I missed the bag containing all device chargers at home,” said Swamy.
“Oh no! Then what do we do? It's begun to rain so we can't go sightseeing either.”
“We can play Uno, hum songs, or take turns narrating ghost stories,” said Susheela.
“Great idea!” said Swamy.
“Appa, we are not toddlers anymore,” said Sundari raising her eyebrows.
“In that case, Amma and I will play Uno. You both may continue to kill time by complaining.”
Swamy and Susheela played Uno singing their favorite film songs.
Sundari and Gopi stared at them in silence.
After a while, Gopi decided to join the game though Sundari glared at him.
The three seemed to have a lot of fun.
Sundari just gazed outside for a long time feeling angry and bored.
“Sundari dear! Come and join us. Why are you punishing yourself instead of having fun?” asked her dad.
“Ok! I will join since you insist,” said Sundari half-heartedly.
“Yay! Let's have a blast,” said Gopi.
Slowly, all her anger melted as the four played Uno and sang songs mashing up lyrics from different languages. At the stroke of midnight, they took turns narrating horror stories and made creepy shadows in the darkness using a torchlight. After a long time, the family spent quality time together.
“Let's repeat this tomorrow too. It was nice to be away from the screen,” said Gopi.
“He's right. I think we should do this often,” said Sundari.
“Absolutely,” said Swami and Susheela, giving them a group hug.
The vacation at the treehouse turned out to be fun-filled and memorable.
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