A Million Little Things

She sat by the corner of her window, wrapping up the last lines in her letter –

"….and remember? Not once have u tried to console me when I was low. I loved the way you teased me, laughed at my ponytail, trying to cheer me up at those times. I guess this is all as much true today as it was that day. Those seemed like fleeting moments of eternal happiness. They came like a shooting star and vanished as quickly. How I wish time froze then. I miss you tons! Take care. Good luck for your exams and keep in touch!

p.s. You better not reply in 2 lines like last time. Or else, when we meet during semester vacation, you won't go back to college in the same shape. Like you always say, 'Dangerous girl!'"

She read through her letter once more and then sealed it with glue. She walked to the nearby post office and posted the letter. While on her way back home, she lost herself in memory of the days they spent together in school, 10 years back. The first time they met was in class 5 and their class teacher made this naughty boy sit next to her. It was the worst day of her life, or atleast she thought. They spoke little. Not even a part of their text book or a speck of eraser dust would be allowed to fall on the other's desk. And then, one day it happened. He came to class with a sling supporting his hand. She was instructed by the teacher to help him take down notes and so, she reluctantly obliged.

That day, over lunch, she softly asked him, "How did u manage to get that fracture?"

He smirked at her and said, "I thought this would be a cool excuse to make you take down notes for me!"

The next moment, he found himself holding his tooth in his palm and said, "Thath thooth haz bin shakin for a wik now. Dhanks for gettin itt off!" While one half of her insisted that he deserved it, the other half was shocked and guilty with the turnover of events. While she apologized to him, he winked at her and said, "Dangerous girl!" It was the first time they looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

They slowly grew into the thickest of friends. While she would teach him how to factorize polynomials, he would teach her his '20-best-excuses' for walking in late to class. She would draw diagrams for him in his biology record, while he would play book cricket. She was surprised how he managed to remember every member of the cricket team in the order of their batting line up, while she struggled to memorize the first row of the periodic table of elements.

That aside, the best part of their day was the lunch break. She loved the curd rice that his mom packed for him, while he loved the rotis that her mom sent. He would help her finish off her box of slimy ladies finger curry, and in turn, she had to drink up his bottle of chilled milk. But life's norms dictate that one better not get engrossed in the rosy side for too long. In their 9^th class, his father decided to shift him to another school closer to their home. That day she sat in one corner of the class, her face buried beneath her skinny arms.

He came up to her that day and said, "OMG! Look at your cheeks!! So damn red! Were you preparing to act as a clown in the circus?" She glared back at him and he continued, "Now come on. Stop this. Else I am going to start on how your pony is beginning to curl behind your back. See I can even hang my school bang in it!!" He pulled her pony and well anticipating her reaction, prepared for a dash. Her cheeks turned red with anger. She sprinted behind him along the corridors and down the staircase, until they finally reached the football ground and she could run no further. He stood jogging at a safe distance from her, laughing.

She sat in the middle of the ground, panting for breath and hot with anger. Finally, trying to control his laughter, he came up to her and offered his hand. She held his hand and lifted herself up. Once she was up, she gave him a tight fist on his tummy and he burst out laughing again. They walked across the ground to the canteen, and he got her an icecream. So easy it was to cool her down. Before they parted ways that day, he kissed her on her forehead and cycled towards his home.

She stood there watching him go. It was then that she realized how his entry represented a whole new world to her, a world possibly not born until he arrived.