First salary

The notification came

while I was brushing my teeth.

₹52,214 credited.

I transferred ₹20,000 to my mother

before I ate breakfast.

She called an hour later.

Didn't say thank you —

we are not a thank-you family —

just asked if I'd eaten.

I said yes.

She said okay, beta.

I went to office.

Did standup.

Reviewed a PR.

Ate lunch at my desk.

The day was completely ordinary.

That was the point.

I had done the extraordinary thing

quietly, in the morning,

before anyone else was watching.