..Like A Song From the Past

Recently, i've been finding myself staying in on Saturdays. With the exhaustion of the week piled up, in addition to the fact that my other half lives abroad, sometimes there virtually is nothing to do without feeling like a third, or even a fifth wheel in some cases.. So on this particular Saturday night, i found myself watching a TV game show with mom and dad.
I am still not sure precisely how the game goes, but participants mainly guess songs based on word excerpts taken from original songs, and they end up singing them. So for over an hour, my parents and i were genuinely  entertained listening to various songs; old and new, in all languages..
Towards the end, in the midst of these classics, and sitting in between my parents as they would reminisce over one song and get excited about another, one classic arabic hit by Warda popped to my mind.. Batwannis Beek..
When i was a little girl, i used to love spending time with my grandmother; my tati. I still adore her, but when you're just a child, well, you just tend to have more time for these little visits. Every day was full of surprises, and schedules, appointments, and time-management were never heard of.
Our time spent together had many forms; we'd sit together and watch TV, she'd knit while i'd describe to her the dress i wanted her to make for my doll, we'd play simple card games, we'd eat chocolates and cookies that mom would have frowned upon (if she were to find out)... We had many fun times together, tati and i. But my favorite of all was our time in the kitchen.
I loved sitting in the kitchen while my tati cooked. I can still  remember so clearly where i would sit, on the wooden chair with the uncomfortable hay-knitted seat. The open balcony door with the midday sun shining in... and Warda, singing through her old cassette player.
I can still remember the color of the cassette; blue and yellow. Tati would instruct me to slide it in the tape holder.. "trick".., close the holder.. "clack".. , and  press play.. "click".. And that's how those three simple steps marked the start of the best time my grandmother and i would ever spend..
"Trick.. clack.. click.." that's how those three simple steps marked themselves eternally in my heart..
The music would take forever before Warda's voice would actually appear, and i remember guessing "NOW!" and "no NOW!" many times before i actually guessed right. And my tati would smile, and sing loudly as i watched her prepare our meal of the day.
Nothing makes us feel anything, i tell my students while explaining the chapter on memory. It's the memory you attach to an object, or a place, or even a song that makes you feel anything. And this song from the past, with all its instruments and melody and lyrics, makes me feel good inside. This song that embeds the sweetest childhood memory that i have of me and my tati in the kitchen has etched itself in my heart forever and forever..
"Trick.. clack.. click.."