Amidst my bustling school life, amidst the assignments and stress, there existed a quiet yet profound tradition that shaped my schooling years — the exchange of éclairs with my grandmother. Captivated, stunned, and eager, I eyed the glistening gold and purple packet of éclairs as it rustled in my feeble grandmother's quivering hand. My grandmother, a quiet woman fluent in Punjabi, suffered from Parkinson's disease at the time. Although I too am fluent in Punjabi, her Sialkoti accent converted her words into meaningless sounds for me. Even when she directed simple questions to me in her hushed tone, careful not to bother anyone with the sound of her words, I would have to run to my mother for a translation. This complicated process of communication eventually led to us communicating with silence, and I only heard her whispers when she spoke to my mother.

One thing, however, remained unchanged: the provision of that spherical, sticky caramel enclosed by the glimmering purple-gold wrapper that my grandmother handed to me on all of my visits to her house in Faisalabad. Through that half-empty package handed to me in silence, conversations were spoken. As her trembling hand chose me to be the recipient of the prized packet of éclairs amongst the sea of her grandchildren, she desperately conveyed to me what her words could not: "I care about you." My sticky, satiated grin responded with a reciprocation of that love, and my greedy eyes affirmed that I wanted more of it.

With time, the éclairs became our only mode of communication. One summer I did not visit my grandmother, but my father did. He came back home, opening his suitcase to reveal that same radiant purple-gold foil. Embossed on the front of the packet was not just the iconic Candy Land logo, but my grandmother's silent message of love. Today, on the third anniversary of her death, as I savor the same chewy, caramel éclair in my mouth, the memory of my grandmother lives on. The crinkling of the wrapper repeats the loving sentences my grandmother spoke to me, except this time, they are not gibberish to me. The twinkling purple-gold wrapper exudes the same twinkle harbored in my grandmother's eye. Through the chewy delight, I relive my grandmother's memory. Her silent expressions of love will forever be fostered in that amber sweet enveloped in her ever-living purple-gold love. Though she may no longer be physically present, her memory and the enduring symbol of our love, encapsulated in the purple-gold wrapper, continue to guide and inspire me in my academic journey and beyond. Whenever I am under stress, a bite of the éclair teleports me into a world of tranquility, as I reminisce about the joyous times I shared with my grandmother. Truly, love transcends all hardships.