The ordinary call

Appa called while I was finishing an assignment. I almost declined because I had work to do and the exams are coming and the record works are already piled up. His calls usually followed the same pattern..it was either complaints about neighbours or updated about the local shop and the questions about whether I was eating properly.

I answered anyway. He spent fifteen minutes explainjng a minor disagreement he had in that morning. I barely contributed, occasionally saying "Hmm" while continuing to work. Before hanging up, he reminded me to sleep early.

Later I wondered whether he had called because he had something important to tell me or simply because he wanted to hear my voice. I will probably never ask. There are people whose ordinary conversation become previous only when they are not longer part of our everyday lives. I don't want to wait until then to listen properly.

What's one ordinary thing someone in you family does that you think you will miss everyday?