Barren | ✓

y e l l o w

it had been far too long.

we sat in a café, munching over sandwiches while the aroma of masala chai swarmed around our table, encapsulating us into a time where this was common stance.

"ah, you haven't aged a day since i last saw you, kabir, and that's definitely not something I can say for myself."

i smiled.

indeed i could see that it was not the case with the person opposite me.

shashank was  barely six month older to me but looked six years apart, his temples graying and forehead sporting victory lines against life.

but that didnt mean that i wasnt a part of the process. my looks were constant but i could feel my back betray the vibrance of my youth.

we sipped on our cups of tea and smiled.

when was the last time we'd seen each other? seven, eight, nine years back?

we were bros for life in college, and the promises we made to be in touch were etched in gold. when did we stop talking exactly?

shashank happened to recently visit town owing to the demise of his father and our entire batch happened to pay their finale respects to him.

not the ideal situation for a reunion.

but he remained in town to sort his legal entities and the weight of responsibility could be seen upon his shoulders. years ago all that could be seen was his slick backpack with iron man on it.

despite the circumstances though i couldn't say that i wasnt happy to see him.

when we first entered the cafe, it felt as though we'd quite literally stepped back in time.

this was where we would hang out daily, bunking lectures and lunch breaks alike.

we were quite literally what made the cafe popular amongst students.

the cafe still had its dandy appearance even though the faces around had changed drastically.

our booth was empty though, as though in wait for the prodigal sons to return.

we sat and stared at each other in the booth for a very long time, a thousand questions in mind.

there was a vibrance of awkwardness, a certain distance that I couldn't explain... perhaps we were disconnected from each other for far too long for natural conversation to just flow.

and beyond the usual "what have you been up to", nothing else seemed to take the conversation ahead.

until our cutting masala chai was served.

the world of topic couldn't stimulate a connection and yet the first thing that slipped after that first sip my lips was

"the world has changed and yet even after all these years, nothing has come close to this chai..."

shashank looked at me and smiled.

the joy of remembrance had melted the ice.

we spent the rest of the hour quite literally talking about where we'd last left off, and after a point it felt like we'd never even left.

life is strange indeed.

this time when we parted from the café, we made the same promise again.

only this time, it was etched on the napkin of the café.

🌻

- the joy of meeting an old friend

🌻