It was a gloomy day. Monsoon had arrived and was showering its blessings in full swing, quite literally. Clouds loomed in the sky, threatening to shower anytime soon.
Marine drive was the best place to be in such weather in Mumbai. It was the hub of couples, friends and photographers. The view of the sea and the Mumbai skyline was breathtaking.
However, today, the skyline failed to take my breath, as I strolled around the stretch of the sea. Everything seemed to dim down as I waited for him to arrive. He was my best friend till some week ago, but now he was just so much more.
My current favourite song, Demons by Imagine Dragons, played in my earphones as I walked the stretch of the footpath. I was humming along when suddenly the earphones were pulled out of my ears and a panting voice rasped “I’ve had to run for 200 metres because of you!” I looked at him and said “You know, you could have called me. Cellphones exist.” Of course he had forgotten about that and he grinned stupidly. I loved that grin, I loved that guy!
I just looked at him as he stole my water bottle from my bag. To think about how we started out and where we were now was funny, to say the least. He was my arch enemy in the beginning of junior college, but somehow he turned into my best friend. I was lost in memories when suddenly my phone rang.
“Sup bitch!” I spoke into it. My other best friend was on the line. She asked me “Did you tell him yet?” When I replied with a negative answer she breathed a sigh of relief. She told me to rethink my decision. I risked losing a friend. But me, being the stubborn bitch that I was, decided that I did not want a life based on regrets and ‘what if’s. I had decided to do it.
When I came back to sit beside him, he was almost jumping with excitement. I asked “Are you okay!?” and he said “Better! I need to talk to you!” I said “All ears, bitch. Talk to me.”
The conversation went like this:
“You know the girl I kinda liked, then hated, then liked?”
“Well of course. I have heard endless talks of her!”
“I asked her out!”
My heart stopped beating for a second…
“And?”
“Of course, she said yes! I knew she kinda liked me, I just wasn’t sure of that!”
His phone suddenly started ringing. I could see who it was from the expression on his face. I mustered a smile up and looked at my phone as he got up and started talking to her.
I was glad he couldn’t see my face, because at that moment I felt like a hundred knives were piercing my gut. You know that feeling when your heart seems to freeze and just pop down in your stomach? Like it just got… Displaced, and had no capability to feel anything (thought he heart doesn’t feel anything, it is the limbic system of the brain). That was exactly how I felt at the moment. My throat went dry, and all I could do to stop the tears from falling was drink water.
Suddenly, the rain came to my rescue. I stuffed my phone in a plastic bag and just let the tears slide along with the raindrops along my face, and hoped that he won’t notice. He didn’t; he was still on the phone.
That day, the skyline never grabbed my attention and the sea did not look beautiful. It seemed like a part of me had been washed off with the rains.
Marine drive was the best place to be in such weather in Mumbai. It was the hub of couples, friends and photographers. The view of the sea and the Mumbai skyline was breathtaking.
However, today, the skyline failed to take my breath, as I strolled around the stretch of the sea. Everything seemed to dim down as I waited for him to arrive. He was my best friend till some week ago, but now he was just so much more.
My current favourite song, Demons by Imagine Dragons, played in my earphones as I walked the stretch of the footpath. I was humming along when suddenly the earphones were pulled out of my ears and a panting voice rasped “I’ve had to run for 200 metres because of you!” I looked at him and said “You know, you could have called me. Cellphones exist.” Of course he had forgotten about that and he grinned stupidly. I loved that grin, I loved that guy!
I just looked at him as he stole my water bottle from my bag. To think about how we started out and where we were now was funny, to say the least. He was my arch enemy in the beginning of junior college, but somehow he turned into my best friend. I was lost in memories when suddenly my phone rang.
“Sup bitch!” I spoke into it. My other best friend was on the line. She asked me “Did you tell him yet?” When I replied with a negative answer she breathed a sigh of relief. She told me to rethink my decision. I risked losing a friend. But me, being the stubborn bitch that I was, decided that I did not want a life based on regrets and ‘what if’s. I had decided to do it.
When I came back to sit beside him, he was almost jumping with excitement. I asked “Are you okay!?” and he said “Better! I need to talk to you!” I said “All ears, bitch. Talk to me.”
The conversation went like this:
“You know the girl I kinda liked, then hated, then liked?”
“Well of course. I have heard endless talks of her!”
“I asked her out!”
My heart stopped beating for a second…
“And?”
“Of course, she said yes! I knew she kinda liked me, I just wasn’t sure of that!”
His phone suddenly started ringing. I could see who it was from the expression on his face. I mustered a smile up and looked at my phone as he got up and started talking to her.
I was glad he couldn’t see my face, because at that moment I felt like a hundred knives were piercing my gut. You know that feeling when your heart seems to freeze and just pop down in your stomach? Like it just got… Displaced, and had no capability to feel anything (thought he heart doesn’t feel anything, it is the limbic system of the brain). That was exactly how I felt at the moment. My throat went dry, and all I could do to stop the tears from falling was drink water.
Suddenly, the rain came to my rescue. I stuffed my phone in a plastic bag and just let the tears slide along with the raindrops along my face, and hoped that he won’t notice. He didn’t; he was still on the phone.
That day, the skyline never grabbed my attention and the sea did not look beautiful. It seemed like a part of me had been washed off with the rains.
