"Hello" the answer came back, the voice a little dull.
"Hello Ma" I said.
"Hello Papa" she said, Papa being a generic word for daughter or a girl in my native language. Mom typically called my older sisters that. In my case, she usually used my nickname when talking to me.
"Are you ok Ma? You're sounding a bit down. Is everything ok? " I asked, concerned.
"Yes I'm ok, just dealing with a minor bout of cold. Otherwise I'm doing ok" she said.
"How's the pain in your knees. Have you been taking the medicines on time?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm doing ok. I did run out of them, but I got a refill yesterday. How are the kids doing?"
"They're doing ok. They're playing outside, do you want to talk to them?"
"No it's ok. Let them play. I don't want to disturb them". And we talked some more about weather and the like.
Before I got lost in the chit-chat, I wanted to make sure I discussed an important matter that I had earlier discussed with my older sister, who lived in the same city as my Mom. Now, I was not sure if my sister had already called my Mom on that matter.
"Did Akka (older sister) call you today?" I asked.
"Which Akka?" she asked.
"Jyothi Akka, I spoke to her yesterday, she said she might call you or come home" I said. (Jyothi is my one of my older sisters).
"Which Akka?" she asked again.
I knew she was under the weather, but I was irritated.
"Akka Ma.. Jyothi Akka" I said, the irritation evident in my voice.
"Papa .. " she said slowly. "I am sorry, but I don't know who you are talking about".
I was confused.
"Ma .. is that you? My name is Suneetha" I said, now not sure if it was indeed my mother at the other end of the line. She did sound different. I thought it was the cold.
"Sorry Papa.. you may have dialed the wrong number. " she said, realizing the mistake her end too.
"Oh I'm so sorry Ma'am, I thought I was talking to my Mom. You sound so much like her. I must have dialed the wrong number indeed."
"That's ok." she said, laughing gently.
"It was nice talking to you Ma'am. It really felt like I was talking to my own Mom. You have a nice day" I said.
"I felt that way too, I thought you were my daughter. You have a nice day too, my dear" she said and we both hung up.
I later called my Mom, dialing correctly this time and told her what had happened. We both were amazed as to how similar probably that mother's conversations might have been with her daughter, that we kept up with the wrong call for a good 5 to 10 minutes before realizing the mistake. My Mom said to me that day, that I might have made the other Mom's day, by calling to check in on how she was doing.
That was a few years ago. It's been a while since I lost my Mom now. I was reminded of this conversation today, when I was thinking of her. I wish I could dial her number and hear a voice at the other end of the line again, even if it's not her. I wish some Mom would make my day. I want to call you Ma.
