Invisible String

the string grows stronger

Maanav: Hey! I'll be there in ten minutes. Are you there yet?
Aabha: I've reached. I'll stand near the gate.
Maanav: Cool. See you there.

I still had time to mentally prepare. Or run.

I got a call from Arjun.
"So, date with your lost soul mate today?" He laughed.
"Shut up. He's not my soul mate and this is MOST DEFINITELY not a date. I think he might just show up in shorts now." I groaned.
"Don't worry. Also, reminder, today is THE DATE."
"Aah...yes. My two best friends go on a date today. Have a good time. And wear the outfit I picked out for you." I told him.
"Off course. Goodbye." He said and hung up.

"Hey."
There he was. Standing in front of me. Maanav Rao. Wearing a pink t-shirt and black...shorts? At least they were summer shorts. To be honest, it looked like he made more effort to look good than I did. So, I had no right to judge him.
He looked so different, yet so familiar. The only Maanav I remembered was the chubby one. The overachiever and everyone's favourite. My best friend.
I smiled at him and just as I stretched out my hand to give him a handshake, he opened his arms for a hug.
Shit. Awkward moment count: 1.
We froze for a second but then as I went in to hug him, he stretched out for a handshake.
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? Awkward moment count: 2.
He quickly hugged me back and we stepped inside the park.
We kept on walking silently for the next ten seconds or so, both of us trying to figure out what to say.
"So, after eight years, huh?" He broke the silence.
"Yeah. Long time." I replied.
"So, do you wanna sit or walk?" He said as we approached a bench.
"Let's just sit. It's summer anyways, we don't wanna be sweaty." I gave off an awkward laughter.
WHAT DO I SAY NOW? WHAT DO I SAY NOW? HELPPPP. I WASN'T TRAINED FOR THIS!
I placed my purse beside me and looked at him.
"How are you doing?" He asked me.
"I'm doing great. You know, finals just got over and 11th grade is coming to an end. Now the serious year starts." I said.
"Yeah, right. Boards' year." He nodded his head.
We fell silent for some time. Figuring out what to say next. My legs had started to shake subconsciously now. I did that when I got nervous. It just happened. Always.
"You've chosen Science, right?" He asked.
"Yeah."
Awkward silence again.
"So, you mentioned on text the other day that you remembered how we became best friends. Can you tell me that story now?" He asked me rather enthusiastically.
I narrated the whole incident to him, precisely, not leaving behind any detail.
That was a gift I had. Remembering memories crystal clear. Somehow, I didn't blame Maanav for forgetting me. Maybe it was me who remembered too much. So much that it hurt when I realised he had already forgotten me by the time I left that school.
"Wow. Nice." He responded.
Nice? I share one of my core memories with him and he says nice? Wow.
I felt a little offended by his response. And maybe, he realised that because of the look on my face.
Megha always would tell me that my expressions were very transparent. If I loved someone, it'd show on my face. If I hated someone, it'd again show on my face.
"Do you wanna see something?" He asked me excitedly while pulling out his phone from his pocket.
"Yeah, sure." I said trying to bring my expressions back to normal again, so wouldn't he think that I hated him or something.
"I clicked this at my native place. Isn't it beautiful?" He eyed me with a softened stare.
It was a picture of a really beautiful peacock.
"Wow! It's really pretty. That's a good click, Maanav." I smiled at him easing the tension.
He smiled back at me and put his phone back in his pocket.
That was one thing I loved about him. He wasn't on phone at all while the whole time I was with him.
We talked for an hour or probably more. As time passed by, the tension between us kept getting lighter.
"I really love this garden. It's beautiful. The flowers and all." He said while looking around and taking in the view.
"Yeah, I come here usually for reading books or writing poems. I love the feel of this place. It's like, it has its own soul and life." I gave him a gentle beam.
"You write?" His eyebrows shot up.
"Yeah, sometimes." I told him.
"That's a really wise hobby, you know. Seems like you're a patient person. Writing requires patience."
"That's a myth, my friend. Writers absolutely lose their minds while writing something. But calmly. I'm a pretty impatient person." I giggled.
"Oh, well. We'll see that when we meet next time. I'll come an hour late." He chuckled.
There's a next time? He wants to meet me again?
Now that I met him and knew him in person, I could say, he was not really that evil as I made him up to be.
It felt weird to see him so grown up.
"Do you know, once in first grade I forgot to bring my tiffin box? And the other girls, they were really mean to me. Never included me. I was sitting by the window in a corner with my head on the desk. Trying to hide the fact that I was feeling lonely. And you came up to me with your food. You brought a very yellow, delicious-looking fruit cake. You took out one slice from it and gave the rest of it to me. The whole thing." I narrated.
His face softened and his gaze tendered.
"Back then I didn't understand the value of a six-year-old kid giving up a whole cake just for his best friend. Now I do. So, thank you very much for what you did." I smiled at him.
"You really have a great memory. You're welcome." He simpered.
His phone suddenly started ringing and he answered it up.
"Yeah, sure. I'll leave in a few minutes." He said.
As soon as he hung up, he turned to me spoke, "That was my mom. I have to get going. She needs me at the bank for some work. It was fun to be with you." We stood up and started walking to the gate.
"It was nice meeting you after so long, Maanav. Text me when you get home or wherever you're going." I said.
"Yeah sure."
We shared a handshake and then he hired a rickshaw and left.

That day, that park, that boy, and this coincidence, all of those were magical.
Maybe too coincidental.
But I was glad I met him. I loved the person he had turned out to be. A really good-looking, soft-spoken boy. Just like he was back then.
Maybe it was his aura or maybe it was the spark in my mind that lit up after looking at him for the first time again. I wasn't sure.
But there definitely was something tying him to me.
Maybe an invisible string.

9 hours later...

(Arjun)

She looked.... mesmerizing. And ravishing. And indescribably drop-dead gorgeous.
She was wearing a black dress with black shoes. Her hair left loose in flowy curls through which the air from the AC ruffled. 
I couldn't stop staring at her as she walked to our table.
"Hey! Sorry I was late. You're looking really sharp." She winked at me, and I stood up and gave her a hug.
"You look beautiful too. Really beautiful." I said.
"I know. I saw you gaping from the doorway." She laughed. Why'd that laugh sound so good?
I pulled her chair to help her sit and then I got seated.
"I got you flowers." I handed a bouquet of lilies to her.
"Damn, thanks, Arjun." She pulled out a lily from the bunch and secured it gently over her left ear.
"How do I look?" She flipped her hair and laughed.
"Really pretty." I chuckled.
She made me happy. SO happy.