A Pair of Earrings

A simple pair of earrings they were, adorning your ears. I still remember the day I took their photo.

We had gone earring shopping for you and as you tried earring after earring, I had the important job of safekeeping this pair. That's when I took the photo, for the memories.

And I do have another memory of the day. As you tried each earring in the mirror, I would either approve or disapprove.

Correction. Only approve. You made them all look so pretty :)

Head and Shoulder

Your head nestled against my shoulder and a feeling of finally having someone to look forward to. 

Abiding memories of a long gone NY's eve :)

Happy New Year Diamond :)

In Person...

Happy Birthday Diamond :)

Just realized that for all the years I've known you, I've never been able to wish you, in person, on your birthday. Except once.

Rest of the years it has been through a via media, email being the most preferred option (though Whatsapp made its maiden appearance this year :D)

Anyways, rock on Diamond, as always :)

(PS: Did you know that the one time I wished you in person was also the day I realized I was madly in love with you?)

Last Call

From '55 minutes 34 seconds' of absolute random nonsense to a '10 second' goodbye. It remains the last time I ever heard your voice.

(PS: I still have a gift wrapped Lonely Planet guide that I have no clue what to do with.)

An Evening to Remember...

It started with a horrible cup of cold coffee (best forty bucks ever spent, I think, considering what happened next :D). Followed it up with an amazing glass of chocolate milkshake (your very first). Then a ticketless train ride (not a first for me) and a serene evening walk (a first for both of us). It ended with me missing the first half of a live Manchester United game (an absolute first for me).

An evening to remember...even after all these years :)

Sweet November

November has arrived and soon it will be November 9, a date which is indelibly etched in my memory.

November 9 (night): I've just come home to THAT email in my Inbox.

November 9-10: Email replies go back and forth (with some amount of color coding involved - Black, Red, Blue, Green).

November 10 (evening): I give in (well frankly, I was bullied into giving in :D)

Looking back, giving in was the best decision I ever took. I have nothing but beautiful memories of the rest of that November.

Actually, now that I take a closer look, November 9 that year was a Sunday too!!

Would love a repeat performance :)

Archive

It's been ages since I've had an email conversation tagged as 'Distraction' sitting in my Inbox. Let's see till when it remains sitting there before I archive it.

And then read it over and over again.

Flashback

It is often said that just before you die, your whole life flashes past you in a second. And I always thought that this statement made no sense as its truth could never be verified. Until recently.

As I lay bleeding and mangled on the expressway, hovering somewhere between the thin line separating life and oblivion, for a second I caught a glimpse of you. 

I don't know what this means. Was it the sum total of what my life had been till then? Or maybe, just maybe, what it could have been?

Joy

I scanned the crowds for a glimpse of you. It would be my first of you. After a long time. The last one being when I bid you farewell on this same crowded railway FOB. The evening sky was dark with ominous looking rain clouds.

Though it was a short reunion, I still remember that pure look of joy on your face when you saw me, that small gentle exclamation of happiness you gave when I surprised you from out of nowhere.

It never rained that evening though. 

And I never saw that look again.

Dreamer...

You looked at me from across the dinner table, resplendent in a light gold saree, and asked me to a smile. And the cynic in me only asked, "Why?"

And then I woke up.

(PS: I hope early morning dreams come true.)

Bombay rains...

Everyday, as I drive back home in these Bombay rains, I trace your name on the misted up windshield. And watch it slowly disappear, before my very eyes, as the air conditioner makes its effect felt. 

It feels like one moment you were there and gone the next. 

Smile...

It was one of those evenings when I was walking you home. Rush hour traffic all around, as could only be seen in your part of the city. But we walked together, oblivious to it all, our conversations veering from one topic to another, at random and with ease.

Suddenly, in the middle of all that chaos around us, you stopped, took a coin from your wallet and tossed it up. I could not catch whether you said heads or tails, the noise around us took care of that. Then you handed me the coin and started walking again, nonchalant, while I pestered you to tell me what all that was about. 

I still remember the smile that played on your lips. To this day, and its been a long time since, I don't know what all that was about. 

Wish you were here...

A moment of happiness but no one to share with. A swirling mass of humanity but still a lonely drive back home. A feeling of peace but a rough edge too. 

And a wish...a wish that you were here.

Melody for a Star

He would hide them for her just to see her smile when she would find them. The smile can't be seen no more. But he still buys them. For her. Five Melodies and a Five Star.

Drift away...

Every night he drifts away to a better place with her memories. And every day he awakens to her absence. Then he waits. To drift away again.

A child. A mother. A friend.

There were times when you were a child and I longed to take care of you. Then there were times when you were a mother to a difficult me.

And always a friend who brought out the best in me.

Happy Friendship Day Diamond. Keep smiling, as always.

Priceless...

Her vibrant smile against his brooding looks. Her bright presence against that rainy Sunday morning. Their only photo together. Priceless.

Just her..

Once in a while he wants something more than this world. But most of the time he only wants her. Just her. Nothing more. Nothing less.

A Walk To Remember...

She walked with him till she could. But he was always ahead of himself. Then she turned and walked away. Now he walks with her memories.

Time...

She was not someone who filled up his free time. She was someone for whom he would give up anything to make time for. And would still do so.