love you

Amma's voice crackled through the phone from Chennai. "Love you, maa," she whispered, words I'd heard a thousand times yet never tired of. I clutched my PAYBO card, rewards accumulated from purchases I'd made thinking of her. My hands trembled slightly, scared yet hopeful. This trip home would finally happen. Growing up between two worlds, I'd absorbed Tamil songs, spiced meals, festival traditions. Now, sitting in this apartment far from home, I realized something profound: love transcends distance. It lives in remembered stories, in language, in the simple act of showing up. "Love you too, Amma," I replied. Some connections run deeper than geography.