Nani Ki Beri : The zizyphus tree in nani's courtyard

There was a huge zizyphus tree in my grandma's' courtyard, we used to call it "beri ka ped"!
It had the tastiest ber (zizyphus) hanging from its branches.
The afternoons were mostly deserted as my grandparents took a short afternoon nap....anything that had to happen...be it playing in the sun, or turning on the water hose and playing with water...all the mischievous plans came into action, as the soft rays of the late afternoon sun, sat on the eyelids of our elders, making them sleep like a log ;)
And it was one such afternoon, when me and my cousin who is a year younger, decided to climb on the beri (the zizyphus tree) and relish the fruits to our hearts content.
A great plan as it seemed, needed a lot of preparation for it to be a success....making it come out well, sans thrashing from the elders.
An iron ladder, which often worked as a train when laid down was the first tool that we used to work out the plan....
Cousin: You climb up first and drop as many fruits as you can then I'd take my turn!
Me: Alright, but hold on to the ladder or I'll slip.
Cousin:Ok (quite unsure about his strength)
I climbed on the ladder with an unbeatable zest and............slipped back with even greater force!!
Both of us were in a shock as the broken ankle and the noise of the dropped ladder were enough to wake everyone up!!!
Nana came running out of his room....
Nana: What happened !!! what was that chaos about!!!
Nani: I heard it coming from the Beri (tree) !
Us: Beri !!!!!!!!!!!
We ran as fast as our legs could carry us and hid next to the pile of coal lying in the backyard!
Well, I think what we learnt that day was the fact that it's very difficult to fool your elders....
Caught red handed, with our clothes smeared in coal, we were taken to the courtyard, where the adult team cornered us from every side possible and we what then looked like the emblem of innocence , tried to wear a long face...as long as it could possibly be!
Nana: Do you like that fruit!!
Me:No nana!
Nana: Then what were you doing up there.....dancing on the tree???
Cousin:Aaaaaa, we were trying to collect some fruits for you....it's your birthday!
Nana: There's an year to go!
Me: But this fruit is seasonal isn't it????
Laughter broke out from the vessels full of anger and we like sprinklers of joy, danced ( I with a slight limp) around relieved but not without punishment....
We had to press grandpa's legs until he fell asleep :(
With Iodex smeared on my ankle and a slight limp, I was a centre of some extra care...much to my cousins dismay, who had to hear the advise against climbing trees..repeatedly..for as long as the topic was hot! But not for long, as we were good at giving a new reason everytime ;)
Memories, the piece of our past that lingers on and flashes on the road towards a new tomorrow...giving us light when we need to find our way through darkness!