The girl in Pink

I wish all what I saw was just a dream. These in reality can never be thought of. They never turn out the way they were supposed to.

Out in the fine morning sun, I decided to spend my Sunday in a rather effective way than just sulking at home. With my new pants on and a (girly) pink shirt to doll it up, bid goodbye to my dog who was lazying on his favorite carpet hoping that I would return home for a warm sweet hug. The hug is what I wanted but expectations were too a big thing for me. It’s always good to start a day with a peaceful mind and god’s own house was the best choice. 20 minutes in front of the idol and all the distractions were long gone. With this bright start, I was confident of a blissful time throughout my day. A memory which is too good to be forgotten took me to the busy market in search of things which my maid forgot to buy the previous day. Thanks to my bargaining skills for that runs in the blood, I was able to buy a lot of items at the most reasonable price I could ever think of. After a good couple of hours there, I decided to hop onto a juice center to relax off my muscles which did overcome a lot of stress in this small duration. A fan of mango shake and will always be, I ordered one big glass of it to beat this heat. As I was searching for my wallet for the money, a group of (bad) boys parked their two wheelers right near the place I was standing. As if I was an object of entertainment for them, started passing on comments from the dress I was wearing to the way I was conversing with the shop owner. I did not want to create any fuss since that was not why I came here for. Silently took my big yellow glass and the beautiful smell was great enough to cheer me up. Decided to take a seat on the corner of a bench kept outside, I moved towards it. It was not even a couple of seconds, one of them came in my way and “apparently” pushed my glass to the floor which was a mere “accident” caused by his “negligence”. Those were his exact words. He apologized to an extent that it seemed like he wanted to give me an opportunity to get mad at him. He even offered me his glass of juice with the background score of all his guy friends being a loud and a big “Ooooooooh”. Even the lovely yellow colored liquid seemed like a poison to me at that instant. Without giving it a second thought, I took the glass that he offered me and in the next moment you could see me splashing the entire contents on his face. I did not regret whatever I had done until one of them comes and starts swearing with the most unpleasant words, half of it I wasn’t even able to understand. Without knowing what I could possibly do, I simply stared at the shop owner expecting a support from him. This famous gang of the locality was a dear to everyone and he like everybody else in the market shushed off the things which did not matter to him and started continuing with his daily chores. This startled me to an extent that even a few drops of tears couldn’t hold me up. The noise got louder and the crowd was just the same; none in the vicinity of the place we were standing. I wasn’t this frightened in my life, ever. I was just plainly standing amidst the (undisturbed) crowd and hanging my head down in embarrassment and fear. I couldn’t even take a step further; my legs, my hands, in fact the entire body was trembling. Just in that while, I could hear the boys being very excited on hearing the sound of a familiar car. The celebration was in fact very huge as if it were their king who just returned from a battle winning it. I didn’t again dare to lift my head up since the master (assuming him to be their leader) is always better and experienced in their chosen field when compared to their folks. The voices started ascending towards me, loud and louder. Even a person with a poor hearing ability could hear my heartbeat. The boys started telling their master about all the happenings in the past few minutes, a laugh here and a swear there; all of these while they were approaching me. The master was silent throughout for he was waiting for the end to start his game. As he came closer, I could smell a familiar deodorant. Before I could go to the flashback pertaining to this smell, a slap, loud enough to wake up the sleeping dog nearby was all I could hear. Not wanting to miss this change in the scene, I raised my head slowly. A boy of a decent height, broad shoulders, a black shirt to add it up and with that familiar fragrance was standing facing his back against me. The next scenes were followed by a tussle between the gang and a round of scolding and counselling by the master himself. Another couple of minutes and I could see the entire gang of boys going towards their bikes with guilt and embarrassment and leaving their master alone. With teary eyes, I went towards him (his back still in front of me) and whispered a big thank you. He turned and what happened next was disbelieving.

After a “sad adventure” in the market and a beautiful sunset at the lake, I hopped onto my car and started to drive to my house. The entire long drive on my car wasn’t boring today; all thanks to the wide smile that stayed throughout. The school memories always fascinated me. I am a very friendly person and even a small kid in his/her KG section is always welcome for a chat. With a very big group of friends of all classes (here classes mean gender, caste, background etc. since that is the best way to differentiate one person from another, a practice followed from ages), we never made our lectures and laboratories boring and tiring. The long vacation came to an end and it was the time to enter the eleventh grade which is not considered important but a gateway to the 12th board which will subsequently decide our future. Puberty hit and feelings started getting developed everywhere. ‘A girl and a boy can never be just friends’ was the new trend which ultimately led to people getting into relationships with the opposite gender. It was then a “Valentine’s Day” almost every day at our college. From exchange of chocolates to winks to smiles to everything, I was a sole witness to this drama all by myself. I never believed in love and feelings; for me they were just temporary. I used to sit back and enjoy the scenes, laugh at their immaturity and pat on my back for standing unique from the crowd. Not to forget to give a mention to a new student who joined our school this year. He is called as “The Silent Chocolate Boy” by his female fans; I never bothered to observe for he was just another guy in the class. The exams were long gone and it was time for a good winter break. Our college decided on taking us to a winter trip to a resort nearby. What more could be exciting? Everyone went crazy and the packing of bags started and was done well before time. We girls, who’s considered to take a lot of time in packing luggage were also in the same line as the boys. Finally, the day arrived and all of us clad in our hoodies plus a couple of scarfs to get the winter feel started boarding the bus and fighting to share the seats with our lovelies. As expected, the lovers occupied the two seater rows and the three seater rows were occupied by a couple plus their mutual best friend and I was one among them. Apart from the “private scenes” of the respective couples, the bus journey was totally thrilling. Interestingly, the professors were kind enough to leave us (students) in one bus and they took another bus. They said we students were “mature” enough to handle things and don’t need any support from the senior faculty. After a long 10 hour journey on the road, we reached our destination. It was a treat to the eyes. A huge resort with a beautiful lake nearby and long ranges of mountains in the backdrop, we definitely were in the seventh heaven. We were asked to form groups of four and occupy the rooms given to us (males and females separately this time). We were asked to freshen up and gather for a small talk to be given by the senior-in-charge of this trip. After a long, boring lecture of the rules to be followed and the plans to be executed for the next five days, we were asked to disperse and enjoy with our pals with a condition given that all of us should be in our respective rooms on or before 12:00 am. Excited we all were, started exploring the place and found a lovely lawn near a huge tree and made that our “adda” for all the days of our stay in the resort. Like it’s always done, we decided to play TDS (Truth, Dare OR Situation) since it’s a game played in a group and will definitely give almost everyone a chance to take part in it. Before I tell the scenes that followed, I would want to share the crazy conversation I had with my best friends-turned-couple. Their reason to worry was me not dating any boy (which seems stupid). I never wanted to, first reason being, I don’t consider myself as a girlfriend material and secondly, I didn’t have patience. They stated that I was just trying to deviate from the topic and asked me to surrender to that fact that “No guy would want to fall in love with me”. This triggered me and left me thinking if I really was a person like that. I just couldn’t help but go against the stated fact. Not likely a person to accept my defeat in these silly matters, I boldly told them that the proof would be given in the night. Coming back to the game, we all formed a huge circle and started discussing on what dare or situation we would be giving to our peers just to embarrass them in front of the huge crowd. Meanwhile, I had to make some plans so as to prove myself to my friends who were constantly throwing glares at me. I looked at the circle of people just in order to find my “phantom love”. Surprisingly, half of them were already committed and the remaining half weren’t the type of guys I would possibly fall for. Not knowing what to do, I thought of going to them and telling them that I was joking about all what was told and would somehow shush the matter. As I turned back, I collided with that same “The Silent Chocolate Boy” and immediately an evil plan struck my mind. I started a conversation with him with a plain “Hi” and a smile which was deliberately made wide enough. After this, there was no end. I was quite surprised to see that he isn’t really a “silent” person we thought he was. As we were going towards the group, he, in fact told me almost everything he remembered about him till date. I somehow started liking his company. We joined the group and this time my friends were happily shocked on seeing me sharing my space with a guy and not my friends. The bullet hit the target. The bottle was spun and unfortunately Mohit (The Silent Chocolate boy who finally got a Proper noun) was the first person to get the chance. And the person sitting right opposite to him was none other than my best friend himself. I was just hoping that the “just started” things don’t go in waste. He chose Situation and I could see my friends smirking hearing that. My best friend goes and stands on the center of the circle and gives Mohit his part. The situation given goes something like this- “You are friends with a girl for five years and you know her more than anyone else. Things slowly started changing and feelings started developing. You wanted something more than “Just Friends”. So, finally you decide to tell her all about what you feel in the most romantic way you could. Basically, trying to convince her. So how are you going to turn your “Half Girlfriend” to your “Girlfriend”? And since there are many girls here, you have the liberty to choose anyone from these barring the already committed ones (with a wink to me).” Without any delay he stood and came to the center of the audience and started his play. He called me to join him in his task (with loud screams and howling in the background). He is very talented when it comes to acting; the fact we all got to know that day. And romance runs in his blood. I was enjoying just like everyone else and I equally participated. He finally convinced the boys who gave him this task and a showers of claps were given to him for he was the star of the day. But I noticed a strange thing that night. Was it really a play or some rounds of natural acting or was it something else? Days passed by and we started becoming closer. There’s not even a single moment you don’t see us together. For me, it was just a game and I wanted to be the winner but for him it was something else. On the last day of college, we all gathered in the auditorium to bid farewell to our mates and promising to stay in touch whatever it may be. Meanwhile, Mohit comes on to the stage and starts with his confession. He proposes to me in front of everyone. This was happily accepted by the audience. With loud rounds of cheers, they all asked me to go and make the frame complete. I was shocked. What I thought was a game until now turned into reality and I didn’t in any way wanted to be a part of this. Without any hesitation, I walked to the stage and stood in front of him. He came closer to me and spread his arms around to share a warm hug. Instantly, I pushed him away. He replied to this action with a grin assuming I didn’t like any sort of PDA. He bent and with one knee on the floor and holding a ring took my hand and was about to put it on my finger. This was going too forward than I expected. I don’t know what came on me, I gave him a hard slap which was the first and the last time I had ever done that; hard enough to leave a red faded mark on his right cheek which lasted for almost a week. He was shocked and started asking me the reason behind this “cruel act”. By then I had lost my cool and with a loud, screeching voice I told him, “Look, I never had any feelings for you. The first conversation with you was just the starting of a mission to prove that there existed at least one boy in this college who would actually fall for me. As I got to know more about you, I really liked the person you are. From something which was an accidental affair, it turned into reality and I actually wanted to be friends with you. Only when my friends were around, I was pretending to be close to you. Apart from that, I didn’t have any genuine feelings. I wanted to tell this to you from a long time but I liked the way you treated me, I liked the way I was getting the attention from you so I somehow procrastinated it. I am sorry to say this but this can never be possible” (This was told without a single pause). He didn’t display any sign of emotions, with a plain face, all he told me was “I always considered myself as one of the fine actors. But after this, I am not even close to you. You overpowered me in this as well”. He left after this and never turned back. I was hurt, maybe. But I shushed off everything and set off to enter a different path of life. I don’t remember having a sound sleep any night after that incident. Guilt and sadness never left my side. I tried my best to distract myself from them but all those material things on my table (he knew my choices well and never failed to surprise me) never let me succeed. The best solution to this was to talk it out to him and apologize for being a “villain” in his life. I tried contacting him, but, unfortunately, he had changed his number and didn’t keep contact with anyone in the college. “The Silent Chocolate Boy is buried with depression underground” was everyone’s say.

Wiping off the long stream of rivers down my face, smiled at the person sitting beside me on a bench in the park which used to be our favorite hangout spot. He has changed a lot, changed for the good. I could still see the pain in his eyes. Without reflecting that on his smile, held my hands and looked at the beautiful waters right in front of us. “Sorry”, was all I could say for I didn’t have the courage to say anything else. He did not reply. I said it again and this time it was in a loop. Few seconds down and I could see him crying, a sight which I never wanted to see. He turned to me and gave me a warm, big hug and I felt relieved. It was for the first time I felt a really weird feeling that triggered and I just made that hug last for a long time. After that, it was an awkward silence. All we did was stare at the sunset with his hands still on mine; Zusammen. As it was getting dark, we bid goodbye to each other and this time hoping that it wouldn’t be our last goodbye. He took a small notepad, wrote something on it and gave it to me, “It’s my new number. Accidently, I had lost my previous sim card”. When he was keeping the notepad back in his pants, something beautiful fell on the green grass and before I could tell him, he left, with his eyes still drained with water. I took up that and was shocked to see that it was the same ring he was to put it on my finger years back. I felt numb and this time it was more to the positive side. I reached home and Ruby (my one lazy dog) still with eyes half closed started wagging his tail slowly just to show how happy he was to me see again. I knelt over him and hugged him tight. Rubbing off the lickings on my face, I dashed to my room and picked my phone. This was the first step to the fairy tale which was waiting to be unfolded.

Six years down the lane and you can never see anyone happier than me for I married the man whose meeting was just a “coincidence”. What he had promised to me on that day in the college is still being fulfilled. He made me this person I am today. And the funny part, this love story of ours which was once told as a bedtime story to my son has become his habit and he insists on telling him this same story every night. I didn’t have the courage to tell him the girl whom he thought was the “villain in the story” is actually his mother.

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