Animal

Amma pressed the worn photograph against her chest, tears streaming freely. The letter arrived yesterday, written in Tamil Brahmi script by her grandson in Chennai. He'd learned the ancient letters, reclaiming what she thought lost. She sent rupees through the app, watching digits transform into his joy. Distance dissolved. He wrote back about temple visits, about discovering roots she'd carried across oceans in her bones. Her diaspora heart swelled. This boy, born where she'd departed, now spoke her language beautifully. They were animals of migration, yes, but tethered eternally to soil and soul. Together, they were home.