01 THE FIRST SPARK
The dream started long before the order.
Years ago, I went to a mobile store with my cousins and my uncle. I saw people buying iPhones and MacBooks—beautiful, premium machines that felt like a glimpse into a different world. I remember wondering what it would feel like to own something like that myself.
I come from a middle-class family, so a MacBook was never just another laptop to me. It represented years of wishing, working, and hoping I might one day make it happen. Spending around ₹1.85–1.90 lakh on one computer was a huge decision. But I knew exactly why it mattered.
02 FRIDAY · OCTOBER 9 · 7:25 PM
I finally said yes.
I placed the Flipkart order for the MacBook Air M5 with 24 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage. The confirmation arrived at 7:25 in the evening. After so much time imagining this moment, the dream had become a real order—and I was counting down to delivery.
I was expecting it on Tuesday, October 13. Instead, the delivery was attempted a day earlier, on Monday, October 12. I asked for it to be rescheduled to Wednesday, October 14, the day I had planned to be home for it.
03 THE WAIT
I knew what silence could feel like.
I had already been through something similar with a phone I had arranged for a tester on my team. That delivery was rescheduled, then the updates stopped for three or four days. I had no clear idea what was happening or when it would arrive.
So when the MacBook delivery changed, that old worry came straight back. I kept thinking: what if this turns into the same silence? What if this special purchase gets stuck in the system and I have no way to find out what is happening?
04 WEDNESDAY · OCTOBER 14
If I couldn’t get an update, I’d go find one.
I had work from home that day. Rather than wait without knowing, I searched Reddit for Ekart delivery hubs in Miyapur and found one. We went there in the afternoon. The morning-shift staff said they would clear the messy parcels and get my laptop to me by evening, so I went back home and held on to that promise.
After I finished my calls at about 4:30 PM, I set off for the hub again. By then the morning team had left. There were parcels everywhere, and the people there were not helping us find the order. I had made the trip because this was too important to leave to another vague update—but I still had no answer.
What I saw made the frustration worse. I saw delivery workers throwing parcels around, including packages marked “FRAGILE.” I recorded what was happening and posted about the experience. I tagged Flipkart on Twitter, but the response I got there felt like a bot. I also shared it on Instagram, hoping a real person would hear me and take the issue seriously.
05 7:25 PM · FINALLY HOME
The same time. Five days later.
At 7:25 PM on October 14, five days to the minute after placing the order, I finally got my MacBook. The wait, the uncertainty, and the journey to the hub were over. The dream I had carried since that day at the store was sitting right in front of me.
I opened it, took in the moment, and started with the things closest to my heart. I looked at my favorite pictures of God, listened to Ganesh Chalisa, and then Hanuman Chalisa. After that, I started setting up and working on my new Mac.
I took photos with it, including a Photo Booth selfie. I genuinely loved the experience. What began as a purchase had become a memory I know I’ll keep: a middle-class boy’s long-held wish, five days of waiting, one determined trip, and a MacBook that finally found its way home.
I’m Boya Uday Kumar, signing off.
Thank you. The dream is on.