its me

Meera stood before the temple's thousand-year-old stones, camera trembling in her hands. "It's me," she whispered, posting the photo to her distant friends. The responses flooded in—some dismissive, others harsh, a few genuinely moved. But standing in Srirangam's sacred embrace, she realized their words mattered less than this moment. The temple's intricate carvings seemed to welcome her back, acknowledging the woman she'd become. Her grandmother appeared, smiling knowingly. In that gesture lived everything social media couldn't measure: belonging, continuity, the quiet reward of reconnecting with something deeper than any heart icon could express.