Lucky Charm Words

1. “Never go to bed with wet hair.” She often said this to me whilst combing out my chilli pepper red curls, my father’s hair.

She would sometimes wonder aloud - how she carried me for nine and a half months, only for me to turn out looking like a near replica of him from the photos. I shared her eyes though, shaped like an almond with pupils the jet black glimmer of an onyx.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, I must share some of yours, I would always tell her back.

2. “Wear red for luck.” She usually said this during specials festivals and holidays. Or before we visited my grandparents. Or when it was cold out and I had a foot out the door. The last contained in a shout, quick steps, with heart red scarf waving in hand.

“But we’re going hiking this time”, my friend Karthik exclaimed, “he’s gonna attract a bear or something.” But she ignored this and simply wound the knitted scarf around me tighter. Each stitch a little prayer - for safety, happiness, inclusion. Then she bent down to my height, and our souls mirrored for a second, before she stood up and shooed us out. But I knew she would watch in the doorway till we were out of sight, as the two of us, with excitement in our toes, set off for our next adventure.