Unusual Friends - 04

I was little late and she was already fuming a little waiting near the entrance. She was wearing a red cotton salwar with small black cut out imprints. It was not the best of hers but looked great with the yellow sodium light falling over her face and making her eyes twinkle a bit more than it ever do normally. She raised her left eyebrow and her hands in her whatsoever small hips as she noticed me rushing towards her. She had a small hand bag, a travel bag and a shoulder bag.

I parked my bike (Ok. Not mine!) And ran out to her with a big (really biggg) smile. May be people call it blush!

She was little puzzled and looked all over me. Checked my hands, shirt pockets, bike pouch and finally reached to my trouser pockets. After completing the search she said, “You dint bring me anything? Am moving out of town today… cha…” with little frustration.

I never had a thought I need to give her anything. In fact, no boy will have a thought to buy gifts for anyone other than their birthday! But I felt bad. This was a special day for her. I should have made it memorable. I still had time, but very little to go out and buy something.

I acted as if I have completely ignored her question and asked her, “Less makeup today?” with a witty smile as we both walked in the platform and found a small sit-out which exactly fit her and a very little of mine! She acted as if she ignored my question completely and said, “Little hungry. Shall we go and have something?”

“Yeah sure… Let’s go!”  I said and helped her with the travel bag and took the small hand bag. She suddenly pulled that out of my hand and said ‘I will take this!” in a little stern voice. I wonder what’s there with those hand bags girls carry!

It was a silent walk back to the platform sit-out after our dinner. She was walking silently beside me, no words uttered and I could sense her breath over me. It would have happened a million times in the past 2 years of college but never felt the difference. Without a word uttered a moment never passed for us. But the silence brought out something. I suddenly had a deep urge to propose her.

She suddenly started, “Why are you staring at her as if you are gonna propose her?” with a witty tone looking at a 'somewhat-ok' kind girl in the same platform. I know she was kidding. That was her nature always. That’s it, she proved me wrong! She was normal; it’s only I who got a difference in feel with the silence! It would be the last 10 minutes with her. I just wanted to walk alone a bit and I did.

Finally the time came, the announcements made very clear that the train would be there at the platform exactly 5 minutes. For the first two minutes we were busy searching her seat and placing her luggage. It was a window seat (as usual! I wonder how only girls get them!)  And she was sitting holding those window rims as I stand out watching her. For the first time, her eyes welled up. The final moments were the best for me with her; she show cased every emotion that she is capable of. A feel of separation – a little heavy heart – the way I would miss her came all the way in front of me.

The train started moving and she acted as if she had missed something. She took out something from her hand bag and gave it to me. Even I thought I missed something, hurried to my pocket and crushed the paper (platform ticket :-P) into her hands. The train moved away fuelled up with the steam from her tears.

It was a chocolate what she gave me with a small note stapled to the cover. It read,

I would miss those days with you,

But I don’t want to miss you…

Be Mine – Am Always yours,

Aarushya

I smiled to myself and thought – “she too would have read the same thing at the same time!!”

Not Just Friends – the Unusual…

Unusual Friends - 03

A mail length text message just flashed in my mobile. It read,

“Hey… you were always asking me out. Can you just come out today? I will be leaving to my home forever today. I won’t be able to see you till next year. I can manage staying without meeting you. I really don’t mind, but I guess you do. You do na?”

“I don’t! :-P” I replied.

“PEEEEM. Stupid. Don’t make me feel am behind you. This is my last msg. bye! :@” she responded with little anger which seem to be the cutest thing ever happened to me!

I would have been the happiest person alive at that moment. I have decided to go out the moment she asked me but thought of playing with her. I informed Sanjay that I will be going out with her for the first time. He seemed to be not interested with the first note but turned very happy with my words and mood. That’s friendship after all.

I was dreaming for an evening outing, little purchase, a short walk and finally a dinner before I bid her bye. I got ready perfectly with the best clothes I have the best shoes and got the best bike from… from… who cares? I took it from a guy who got that best bike. The clock ticked 5 – I waited, 5:30 – I still waited, 6 – I took out my mobile to make her a call.

“Hey, wassup? You asked me out today… remember??”

“It took this long for you to remember that and call me? I have my train at 8:30. You better enjoy your time with your ‘the Friend’” she responded without even a thought. She would have thought Sanjay has restricted me not to meet her. Which girl understands your friends for that matter?! And I wonder why girls can’t use names!

I don’t want to pull out yet a fight saving Sanjay, that too on her final day at my place. I started, “I was ready for the past one hour and was waiting for your call. Thought you were busy with your makeup and stuff, who knows?”

“Better don’t talk more than this now. Bye” and she hung up the call.

I could seriously not understand girls. They took things easy when I speak on a serious note and vice versa. It was fun for them when India lost a cricket match but it was serious emotional moment when they see a girl getting dumped by a boy in a movie!

Leaving aside those thoughts, I called her back. She picked up and without giving any chance for me to start, “Am sorry” with a puppy faced voice. I loved that. Don’t ever ask a girl why she was sorry, she will make you feel sorry!

“Cool. Shall we go out now?” I asked with little enthusiasm.

“It’s already 6:30… We don’t have enough time before my train.”

“Ok. Don’t waste time. Be there at the Railway Junction within 15 minutes…” I said and hung up the call.

Sanjay called out loud when I just started but I said, “Will catch up later, it’s really late. Sorry da… Bye!”

Expect the Unusual…

Unusual Friends - 02

June 2011,

In my childhood days, I don’t have any good friends to state. I was in search for a long time. I even thought I would be searching for my whole life. But when I was 13, I suddenly got one and its nearly 9 years now and I was the happiest person since then – he has never betrayed me, he never fails to motivate, he never lies, he never misses out to share even a single thing that happened on a day, never failed to crack a joke when I am off mood, we talked – played – enjoyed together and many more. You will definitely wonder at this stat – he is the first person to wish me for my birthday since I know him. To be short, he is the one every friendship forward mail and message portray and he is the one for everyone is proud saying – ‘I have a Friend’. He is the Friend who everyone wishes to have but unfortunately I am the only fortunate guy!

I don’t even remember when I saw her first. It has to be college, but I usually have a feel that God has sent her right away just after I was born. God has always been kind to me.

I was usually the busy guy in college. Most sought for person for every professor and it was not new to me; actually it grew up with me from “Duster and chalk piece” to “Projector and Screen!” I would do them without any hesitance with a simple thought to keep myself busy always. I was happy come, happy go kind of guy in my college with lots of people around me always.

She too was a simple girl from some far off city. So she stayed in hostel. One best thing about staying in hostel is you can get up late and even come late to classes. The reason could be as simple as no water, no tub, no mug, and no soap – only hostellers can give them. And they say them as if they bath every day!

Getting into a professional course, the first thing we learnt to do professionally would be ‘chatting’. We came little close only with that chatting habit. We need to thank Google for that! I usually take my college bus, so will rush up home just to make myself available in chat by at least 5:30 every evening. As a hosteller, she was not allowed to stay up in the lab for more than 6! That half an hour was enough for us in the beginning when we discussed mostly about subjects and maximum of movies. We would run out of topics within 20 minutes and I would be waiting for her to say ‘time is up. Bye’! She used to say that at last every day. Was such a kid then!

When I get into chatting, my time with Sanjay is much reduced. He usually says, “What is the need for a new friend? That too – a girl?” I would hate him for that second when he says something odd about Aarushya but later I would manage to get into some other topic.

I and Aarushya grew from chats to messages and will you believe if I say she made a call to me exactly a year after we started chatting! I would call her out on weekends sometimes but she would turn down and I would say ‘I was just kidding’ with a trademark winking smiley. But I never thought she would call me out on the last day of my semester exams – the last day of my college.

Expect the Usual…

Unusual Friends - 01

When my thoughts started travelling back, a subtle voice interrupted saying, “Hi... I am Renu”. Astounded with the sudden hush of words in the hall, I literally stared for a moment. 

She was wearing a wriggled pale green salwar matching her perfect not-so-fair complexion; her specs showed her a bit nerdy, her squiggle hair must be a follow through of her generations, her little chubby cheeks turned pale with continuous sob and eyes were filled with tears which showed the love and care she had for the person. Though I am not sure about the person who is under treatment, I felt she would have been in so much love with them – be it a father, grandfather, friend or whomsoever!

“Sorry, I was totally shattered with that accident and so could not reply you…” she continued with an apology.

“That’s fine. I too felt very low, that’s why thought I could get some help from you. Anyways, thanks for those words!” I said.

She replied with an ‘hmmm…’ and it was silence once again. I could not carry over the conversation. After a few hours, a doctor inspected and moved without saying a word to both of us. We looked at each other and she started, “Is she your friend, engaged or wife or…?” before she completed, I said “Yeah… She was… a friend… nothing more. She usually says that to me - I am your friend and nothing more. I would smile back coz I know she means to me more than what she thinks she is! You know how hard it is to see her like that…”

Before I complete, Aarushya’s face flashed for a moment and made my eyes blur in vision. I couldn’t guess why and how I started speaking about her so casually to an unknown. She replied with much concern, “Relax, she will be okay soon!”

“The guy? Who is that? Your friend?” she asked me with an intent to change the topic from Aarushya. But she never knew that he was more than Aarushya to me. I know Aarushya only for 4+ years, but he was there with me for a long time and also in the worse times.

“Yeah. He is Sanjay. The Friend. He usually wants me to say the word Friend in superlative when someone asks about him as I could just mean him rather anyone. Even I dint have many to compete him…” 

Renu iterated the same thing again asking me to be relaxed. It takes so much pain to console one when you too undergo the same state and thoughts. But she did, rather perfectly. “I know how it feels. Aakash was everything to me, he is there lying in bed unconscious…” she broke down. I had no words to console her but she seemed little matured enough to avoid tears in front of an unknown.

A few hours passed, doctor announced ‘we are trying our best and they are responding well to the medications provided’. Both of us felt a sigh of relief after those words. It was nearly midnight when the doctor left after the final rounds. No food, no water and that was not so bad than your loved one in a hospital bed. Moreover, it was quite late to get food and quite uncomfortable to get sleep in a hospital chair. We chose to stay awake.

“You say about them… I want to hear about Aarushya first…” Renu said with a smile and intent to hear a love story.

“I will say my story; it will have love, friendship and more than what you expect…” I said and started.

Expect the Unusual…