Close Yet Distant
“It again started ringing,” I whispered, dizzy. I had just fallen asleep and it was already 6:00 a.m. My hand was tapping the mobile phone thinking it was the alarm, then the night cream, the water bottle; but somehow I was unable to reach the tablet.
No sane person in full dizziness can reach that tab easily for a reason, it was placed intentionally at a distance, so that it could perform its duties efficiently and I could perform mine.
“Why don’t you use it?” my niece asked one day.
“Because it doesn’t work the way it should.” I said.
“If you can make use of it, keep it.” Though I knew her response, I still offered it to her to use.
She tried for two minutes and left it at the same place from where she picked up.
I bought it when the same government was ruling the country, and now they’re back again after a third election. My blue tablet is my favorite thing because it was the first tab I bought. I travelled with it, scrolled through it, and have spent some of the beautiful days of my life with it. When I used to watch movies on it at full volume, my mom used to scold me. So I thought that it was a very good replacement for an alarm, unlike my mobile phone.
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It doesn’t give me the hassle of charging frequently. I love how it fits smoothly in my palms. The alarm bell has birds chirping, giving me a morning sign to wake up and start my day. It has been part of my routine for alomost ten years. It knows where I sleep, when I sleep and what I do to it when I wake up. It is the witness of my happiness and sorrows. My prayers and my self-talk. I tap on it daily, almost like hitting it, and still it’s there for me always, unlike some humans. Imagine hitting a human every day…
It knows I’m the owner. No one else uses it, and wherever I am, it’s there except when I’m travelling, when no one hits it. I guess those are the days it gets to breathe easily; otherwise, mornings are tough for it.
My beautiful tablet still shows me such cool colors and bright light. Even after ten years, its performance hasn’t changed much, apart from the browsers and apps running extremely slowly.
When it’s not charged sometimes, it gives me panic. I guess my tab enjoys being uncharged since it doesn’t have to get hit that morning. But I have a feeling it misses me too when it goes many days without being charged because how would it know what’s going on in the house? I know it’s interested in my writing, my communication, and my talks with family. It sits silently on my side table, but it isn’t unaware.
I love its blue color, so different and bright. I love its handy size. It has a crack on the screen now, which doesn’t sadden me anymore. After all these years, it feels like an object can carry scars too, just like humans.
With all its scars and slow processing, my tablet is still my favorite companion and an important part of my every morning. And I still keep it close to my heart — close yet distant.
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Originally published at https://farytude.substack.com on August 24, 2026.
