Visiting a depression home

"When you go, please carry a mask. Please do not take this lightly," my friend Priti warned me.

I was planning to visit my friend Neha. Her dad recently died. As a social norm, I had to visit her family to express my condolences. Neha and I had been friends for several years but surprisingly I had never visited her home. Priti had visited before me and her warnings made me feel strange. I could not understand why would she say so, until I visited Neha's home myself.

I stood at Neha's doorstep waiting for her to open the door. Neha opened the door and let me in. Her home was dark even in the daytime. All windows were closed and curtains too were drawn. Plus the fans too were off. There was absolutely no ventilation in the house.

The air in the house was filled with various odors. Soiled food, old cooking oil, hair oil, counter irritant spray, mosquito repellent, and molds - all odors had mixed to add to the suffocating atmosphere. The odors were not tolerable. For my own safety, I put on the mask on my face. I silently thanked Priti for forcing me to carry the mask.

As I entered through the narrow passage, I saw the walls and ceilings covered in molds. The wall of the living room was covered in moisture which added further to the growth of fungus. While looking around my gaze turned to the floor. It looked like it had not been mopped in weeks if not months. A think layer of dust was on the floor. As Neha walked, her feet created a clean print on those dusty floors. When Neha was out of my sight, I quickly checked the condition of my feet - they looked brown as if I had walked a mile on a dirtroad.

Neha had gone to the bedroom to serve tea to her mom. I had been sitting alone in the living room. As I glanced around, I saw piles of soiled paper bag, plastic bags, and plastic containers in the corner scattered across the room. They looked like the takeout boxes. The containers too had a fungal growth over them. I saw a couple of roaches roaming around those boxes just a few feet away from me. Looking at that condition I realised why Neha had always been hesitant to call us to her place.

Meanwhile I heard a squeak. I knew it was a rodent. I saw a rat escaping the pile of takeout and running to the kitchen. This is when Neha appeared with her mother. They sat opposite me. I spoke with them and expressed condolence. I was trying to leave as soon as possible from the unsanitary conditions. I was worried that I would catch an infection if I stayed longer.

Neha and her mom both were completely unbothered by the conditions around them. After a while, Neha's mother went back to her room. By now Neha had figured out that I was uncomfortable. Neha said, "I know you must ben feeling uncomfortable. I know this is not a good living condition. I don't find it strange because I have always lived like this. Dad was in army. Whenever he would be away, my mom would be almost dysfunctional. She would sleep throughout the day. She would eat in her bedroom on the bed, leave her plate there. With no cleaning, everything started piling up. We had a full time maid when I was younger. She gave up the job because there would be too much of cleaning to be done. We could never find any maid to clean the house, they all would leave after some days. I try to clean but it gets overwhelming for me too. I am stuck with my mom who is friends with untidiness. I wish there was a way to keep this home neat. All the money in the world is still not helping me to keep my house clean and tidy". I understood Neha's frustration. She had accepted her living conditions.

I returned home and took bath with a strong antiseptic soap. I soaked and washed my clothes with antiseptic detergent. I had read about the depression homes but I had seen it for the first time. I wish I never have to see any depression home ever again.