13. Flashback

Almost every organism on the face of this planet remembers its past encounters or experiences and thus learns a thing or two about the particular situations and is supposedly better prepared to tackle them if ever they arise again, during his life. Except for one maybe, I never learn!!

I almost completed my schooling in Calcutta, right from Nursery to Class 11th, but not 12th. Mom got transferred and I had to come to Delhi.

In Calcutta, I changed my school once, in class 6th. This was because of my mother’s transfer. I was too young (read pampered) to be left alone. Thankfully, both schools provided me with great friends. And in fact, it was in KV SL only, my first school that I had my first crush.

I was maybe in 5th standard at the time, when I met, rather saw Preeti for the first time. She was a fresher and had just joined the school. Her smile was electric and I could feel the shivers travel down my spine every time she looked at me with that smile. In her impeccably well ironed blue skirt and white shirt, shoulder length hair held flawlessly with a red hair-band, she looked straight out of heavens. Funny?? Not really considering I was only 10 years old!! It was the stuff, my dreams were made of!!

I don’t exactly remember how and when started talking but as soon as we did, there was no looking back. We got along really well and used to play stupidest of the games imaginable (they seem stupid at this age, but back then they were the ultimate source of fun). It was nothing short of heavenly. I was just about a decade old and already I was having a peek at the ‘‘biggie’s’’ world, I was in love!! Before I knew it, I was singing songs to myself whenever I saw her and tried to steal as much time as I could, from wherever I could, just to be around her, be with her.

Gosh! Was I stupid or what!! It sure is embarrassing to write all this down but then it is also probably the fondest memory I have of my childhood, it was my puppy love, as they say.

But I had never imagined what lay ahead.

My mother got transferred to another school and considering my age she thought I was too young to be left alone in a different school. I wonder if her decision would have changed had I told her about what all was going inside my tiny little head!!

To say the least, I was shattered, my heart broken…

I confided in a common friend of ours hoping he would keep it to himself. But obviously he couldn’t and broke the news to her, actually not only her, the entire class!!

Since I was not in the school anymore, she became the soft target. I had so wanted to kick him but I thought since I wasn’t in school anymore, everybody would soon forget about it. And everyone did. But she didn’t.

She once confronted me about this and why did she have to hear it from someone else and not me? Besides, she rightly pointed out that I should be studying. Believe me when I say, I don’t remember much more than that about our conversation.

She came to my place on two different occasions, the first time with her sister, when we were in the same school. I was hyper-active and all pumped up.

The second time, alone, when she was leaving Calcutta. We were in class 8th then.

I hardly said a word, while she was trying to get my head straight. I think I wasn’t handling rejection all that well. [ :p ] I still remember what she said to me,

“Someday, when you sit down and think about this you will probably laugh. I know you’ll not realize it right now but in some years time you will!!”

Rubbish, I had thought at the time. But now I know how correct she was. Girls definitely are more sensible than us.

After that I just lost touch, didn’t hear from her or tried to contact her.

But never could forget her. Something or the other always kept reminding me of her. More than the love stuff I guess, she was more like a true friend, someone I could trust with my eyes closed.

Its always said, you don’t realize what you have until you loose it. I learnt that the hard way. Even after leaving school I was in touch with her, used to call her up in a month or two. But once she left for Bangalore, there was no communication.

And it was not until 2006 that I finally found her again!!!

Thanks to Orkut, it truly is a wonderful site.

I was skeptical at first, whether she would even recognize me, but not only she did, she was also pretty excited to hear from me after a decades gap!!

The best thing was that we still were the same, nothing changed except for maybe the love coefficient , so now we are more like friends, great friends actually!!