THESE STORIES ETCHED IN NOTHINGNESS

Just a Few Memories

Shree walked down the road in her school uniform for the last time. The last day of her school life was finally over. Students were thronging everywhere, the air was heavy with the joyous shouts which were a subconscious attempt to mask the nostalgia of all these years and the subliminal sadness that weighed upon every student's heart today.

The wide smile was still etched on her face, as she engaged in the shouted farewells which were being exchanged by all her classmates. Finally, the crowd slowly dispersed as everyone went on their own way, and Shree made her way towards the road that led to the way home.

In her absent-mindedness, she accidentally bumped into a man at the bend. "I'm so sorry, uncle!" she said sheepishly and headed to the alley she had always loved walking down.

The alley was strewn with leaves, with a touch of colour here and there from the fallen bougainvillea. Shree's black shoes etched their prints among them for the last time, as her mind travelled back to the years of joy, sorrow, so many people, so many lessons, so many experiences.

Her friends. Shree could easily communicate and make friends with people, but could never get close enough to call anyone a best friend. Someone who she knew she'd always remain in contact with, someone who she could always call upon - no, Shree hadn't been that lucky. But.. she did make friends. Good friends. Even close friends. Years of shared experiences - no, she could never dare dismiss them just like that.
No- she was lucky...just in a different way.

What weighed on her mind was that she would probably lose contact with most of them. That was the trouble with not being 'best friends', you see- once it's over, it's mostly just over. No promises to keep seeing each other, no heartfelt commitments. Just- a pleasant memory.

Unbeknownst to her, the smile reappeared on her face as she recalled all the experiences, all the little moments, all the experiences she had shared with her friends, her classmates, her teachers, all the people she had known sometimes with completely random people whom she had never met more than once, all the lessons, all the memories.
She had finally understood. All these moments, all these memories are each as precious as the other. You can't always hold on to the people you shared them with. Sometimes the connection you share is for a lifetime, on other cases it is all packed into a single encounter.

In the end, all that remain are just the memories.

A single tear quietly made its way down from her eye. The smile still on her face, she took a good look at the streets, the alleys, and the trees for the last time. She wouldn't be coming back here, but the road would keep somewhere in its heart the musings of a young girl who had the habit of thinking far too much.

Nostalgia flooding her mind once more, she closed her eyes and took a whiff- of nothing, for bougainvilleas aren't fragrant, of course. Countless faces flashed before her eyes all at once, some whom she had known well, others whom she had not. Some who reminded her of pleasant times, others not so much- but still, memories all the same.

Her heart spoke silently, addressing all those faces, all those streets, all those walls, all those classrooms "Probably we will never meet, ever again. But just, somewhere, even if it's in a remote dusty corner far at the back of your mind that you never visit...just remember me, will you?"
After all, it's the lessons and the experiences that stay. And of course, the memories.

"I will. I'll remember you. All of you.
So..don't forget me either, please?"

The crunch of the dried bougainvillea flowers sounded again as the girl in the school uniform and black shoes finally departed on her way home.