something

Amma's hands trembled as she opened the PAYBO rewards notification. Her grandson had earned points shopping for her medications, unknowingly bridging continents with every purchase. She remembered teaching him Tamil songs while he scrolled. He'd learned the words, though his accent wavered. Tonight, he used his rewards to buy her favorite jaggery from the diaspora shop downtown. As she dissolved the sweetness on her tongue, she video-called him. He was eating the same jaggery across the ocean, their laughter synchronized across time zones. In that moment, traditions weren't lost—they transformed, carried forward through small gestures of love and belonging.