Pareekka’s Smart Phone

Short story

Pareekka came out of the room after hearing his daughter’s morning chatter, “Dad…. let me go down, I will be late today to reach the office.” It takes about an hour’s drive to reach her office in Jebel Ali. She has three children. However, even her small worries are still a source of sadness for Pareekka. “Would you like to leave the daughter with Dad?” But Pareekka did not try to do so. The daughter’s verdict is that her father is too old to drive a car.

Taking the coffee placed on the table, Pareekka slowly moved to the balcony. It was January, and it was getting cold. However, there is a silver tower standing proudly opposite Pareekka’s building, the Future Museum, he must see it. There begins a day of Pareekka. It is at this time that all the scattered pieces of memories are connected. The balcony is decorative though. Though figurative, the armchair placed in the middle of the garden on the balcony is the content creator of Pareekka’s every day. Even at this old age, without five paise, he will travel all over the world in this armchair. The journey starts from Sheikh Zayed Road, which is wide below the balcony. It then ends in different countries.

His smartphone helps Pareekka in this. The little children joke that Abbas and the smartphone are Pareekka’s cousins. He takes advantage of the endless possibilities of Google and YouTube to see and know countries. Although he is a little slow to type, it is solved later. “Grandpa, we don’t have to worry about typing like this. We have Siri; if you ask Siri, she will tell you everything and give you everything.” So he became a disciple of his five-year-old grandson. Pareekka is struggling to keep up with the times. But he kept trying not to stumble. She reached the UAE by sea in the 70s, and now this country is like his motherland. That is why he is staying here even in his old age without going back to his own land.

He got up when the calling bell rang twice with Arabic music. Abbas, on the other hand, is known to be a regular visitor of Pareekka. Pareekka’s relationship with this Palestinian is as old as his youngest son. When his daughter and grandchildren are gone, he spends a small part of his day with Abbas. He comes to do maintenance work on the building. Even though he is retired, his family background forces him to work here. He speaks only when necessary. Abbas has a personality mixed with a lot of experience and a wealth of reading. Pareekka did not feel old age as a shameful period since meeting Abbas. Abbas will be with her like a companion. The mixed stench of sweat and cigarettes was a problem at first, but later it became a habit. Sometimes it seems that Abbas was brought down to this earth by Patachon to impart knowledge. The conversation without boundaries often took Pareekka’s old age to youth. He was pleasant to listen to Yasser Arafat’s historical stories. Abbas returns with a mountain of positive energy in every encounter. He did a lot of great things for his family with joy and satisfaction. Every time Abbas tells these stories, Pareekka is surprised to count the zeros of three thousand dirhams he gets. A green man who forgets the bitterness of toil in fulfilling his duties.

As always, Pareekka opened the door to the cold room for Abbas. But today Abbas was very distressed. He became silent like a defeated warrior. Pareekka’s curiosity became unbearable. It was painful to start a conversation. There was silence between them, and then Abbas started, “Ahlan Sadiqhi, ana sa arhal min alimarati khilal bida’at ayam” (Hello friend, I am leaving in a few days). “What? Why this sudden decision?” Pareekka asked in the language of Abbas in complete surprise. Abbas continued in an insensitive tone, “It’s not a sudden decision, my friend. I decided to go months ago. But I didn’t want to tell you earlier. Now is the time. Having spent three-quarters of my life here, I want to spend the rest of my life with my family.” Pareekka was nodding his head with the reply, “Quite reasonable.” Many questions were stirring the mind like a boomerang. Abbas’s vision for every problem that arose in Pareekka’s old age was as beautiful and fragrant as jasmine flowers. Each passing moment was longer than hours. Always predictions about life are often not possible. The fact that the meeting between him and Abbas was only today made Pareekka’s mind come alive. Silence fell again.

Pareekka went to the room and hurriedly prepared the gift package for his beloved. Silence quickly fell all over the place. With a heavy heart, Abbas bid farewell with his dear friend’s gift package.

Pareekka again moved to the balcony to catch a glimpse of his dear friend’s car as it passed through the exit gate. He held the balcony grill tight to prevent herself from falling. He struggled to keep his eyes from watering at the thought of losing her two twins in old age. The great man named Abbas and his smartphone, which he had shown the world to, disappeared from his sight. As a beacon of knowledge, they went to another stage.

“Grandpa….” the little grandson called from behind. He has come from school. “Grandpa…. I have someone to do my homework…. come on. I’ll show you” The five-year-old boy said. Pareekka was brought back to youth by the astounding wonders of ChatGPT by the five-year-old boy. Yes, age is just a shift between two numbers.

Shaheena Azeez, Dubai