Twenty One
☢️☢️☢️
Lily’s eyes stayed on the wall clock above the white board as students filed in.
‘Only three hours’ she thought, ‘It’ll be over before you know it.’
She leaned forward on her desk, covered her face with her arms and said a silent prayer. She sat somewhere in the middle of the room. A ceiling fan circled overhead but it didn’t help. She brought out her handkerchief and padded them on her forehead. And just in time to light up her world, she saw her best friend, Shangkim, enter. She’d shortened her hair and highlighted the ends over her shoulders with fiery streaks of red. Lily stood up as she approached her and they hugged. She took an empty desk on Lily’s right and asked, “How’s your preparation?”
“Scary.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry,” she grinned at her. “Are you going to go back and forth from the village in all the papers?”
“Yeah.”
“Doesn’t it exhaust you though?”
“It does but I’ll have it worse if I don’t stay with him especially during the exam. He helps me catch up and he’s the only one I want to be with for now.”
Shangkim smiled and nodded. “I know. No matter how much I miss you, it’ll be good for you to stay with him for a while. I just wanna get this exam over with and come back home too.”
“You could come over to Reiveihmai for a visit! You’ll love it. It’s another vibe out there and I miss you too.”
“I doubt that. Now that you’re with your brother you won’t miss anyone.”
“I don’t miss anyone else but you!” Lily countered with great emphasis and a warm smile.
“There goes my heart. Mothelshang asked about you. Did you really end it with him?”
Lily bit on her bottom lip and nodded slowly. Mothelshang wasn’t only her boyfriend. He was a great friend to both of them. Lily couldn’t help but feel she had betrayed a friend and Shangkim wasn’t going to be pleased with that. Things were not expected to remain as good as before and Lily just might have thrust their friendship in a very odd place. Lily fixed her eyes on Shangkim and waited on the impending chaos that was to befall on her. For a moment she was sure Shangkim wasn’t going to just let her go so easily. Not without a thorough session of emotionally-charged interrogation. Throw in a pocketful of chastising on what a stupid move she’d taken, how she might have unnecessarily broken the heart of a very good person, and there you have a natural, expected response. But Shangkim did none of that and softly asked, “Why?”
Lily had to swallow and contain her tears.
“I don’t know why,” she said. “It was nothing he did. I just felt like I had to get away from everything. I just felt so suffocated every time… didn’t wanna talk to anybody.”
“That’s alright. He understands. I talk with him often and he holds nothing against you. He was just curious how you were doing. Don’t worry about him. Is your brother waiting downstairs?”
“He is.”
Daniel waited in the empty hallway just outside the office of the Head of Department, who took notice of him furiously working on his laptop and immediately recognized his face.
“Daniel!” the pudgy, silver-haired professor called, standing by the door. “Why the devil are you sitting out here? Didn’t anybody invite you in for coffee? I should write a letter to the chancellor to have everyone here suspended for at least a year!”
Daniel looked up from his work and saw the man staring at him with gentle surprise and contrition.
“Good morning, Sir. Good to see you again.” Daniel stood up and explained himself. “I’m only waiting for a student. My sister’s writing exam and I’m driving her back home.”
“Well, come on in and have coffee with me. I never expected you to be here today. What a delight it is to see you. What were you working on? You seemed so serious.”
Daniel explained he was preparing a project report of his school, hoping to pitch them to NGOs and funding agencies for funds. Daniel had made the acquaintance of the Professor four years ago while in Delhi. He had been present in several conferences and seminars where Daniel had also been offered the platform to speak and present his ideas and studies. The Professor, a learned man in his late sixties with a slightly stooping gait, had been thoroughly impressed with the young man’s keen intellect and dedication the first time he heard him speak.
He saw that the boy had done the necessary work, read the necessary papers, and how well he laid out his thoughts and vision was beyond expectation. The boy was eloquent, well-dressed, handsome, full of life and intelligent with an impeccable charm about him. He was then only twenty-seven and teaching as a guest lecturer in a college. It was too bad for the Professor all of his daughters had married. He spoke with the boy at length during lunch and the rest of the day. Nothing made him happier when he confirmed that the boy was from his own state of Manipur. It was too bad. He would’ve loved to introduce him to one of his daughters if ever one of them had yet to marry.
Sitting in the Professor’s office, sipping coffee, Daniel had the pleasure of sharing about his school and how he meant to take it forward. It would be a joke to say the Professor was impressed. Half the time, he was jumping off his leather chair, face flushed, and speaking at length, offering inputs and feedbacks and directions for the young man he so adored and loved. The boy was always eager to listen to him. He had a teachable heart and he always learned well, which always melted the Professor’s heart.
“Anyway, I have spoken too much. Men in my age shouldn’t do that,” the man laughed and opened his drawer. “I wrote a short article, it’s yet to be published. Take a look at it and you give me your young man’s opinion. Corrections, maybe,” he said, giving him a printed paper.
“What better would I know to make corrections, Sir,” Daniel said humbly as he took the paper.
“No. Don’t be like that, Daniel. We know better. Anyone and everything can be corrected. Especially old men like me. But it’s our eyes, not the brain.” He winked and flashed a teethy smile at Daniel who couldn’t help laughing.
Daniel read and since he was asked, he shared his honest opinion. The Professor listened keenly and readily, and the two men discussed and chattered like two old friends for a half-hour before Daniel noticed on his watch it was nearly time for Lily to come out of the hall.
“How come I never knew you have a sister in our department? Your cousin? We don’t have another Ramai here. I would’ve noticed if we had.”
“Yes, she’s not a Ramai. Her name’s Lily Khaling. I lived with her family ever since I was a boy. They raised me like their son although we’re not at all related. After clearing my class ten exam, her father sent me to Delhi for further studies. He supported me until I completed my masters and got a job. She’s a Khoibu. I’m a Poumai. And our fathers were friends.”
“Huh.” The Professor nodded thoughtfully and said. “All families are made. Don’t you think? Sharing blood relation is not enough to make a family if there is no love. Love is practiced and cultivated in the family and that strengthens the bond. That makes a family. Otherwise, we’re just a bunch of blood related enemies cursing one another at every chance we get. That’s not a family. But you have a family.”
“I do,” Daniel answered surely. The older man did not fail to catch the quick flash of sadness in the boy’s eyes.
“Lily,” the Professor echoed. “I know this girl. Isn’t she the one who got into a terrible accident about a month ago?”
“Yes. She’s the one.”
The man shook his head gravely. “I know this girl. I see her in the hallways very frequently with her friends. She’s always in such a good mood. She’s, in fact, the only one in the department who can actually talk to me. I remember when she first came to this department. You know, it’s quite impossible to miss her in the crowd. One day she came into my office with a friend. They asked me to sign a few papers… must be for the library. So, I asked ‘Oh, you study in this department?’ and she told me ‘Sir, you always ask about me whenever you see me. This must be the fourth time.’ And then she smiled at me and told me to take a good look of her face and make sure I remember her the next time.” The Professor laughed affectionately. “I haven’t forgotten her since. She’s such a child. There’s something very sweet about her. It was so saddening I heard both her parents passed away in the accident.”
“They did,” Daniel nodded grievously.
“I am so sorry,” said the Professor, shaking his head. “For both of you. It must’ve been very painful for you too.”
“Well, they were my parents too.”
“True. Too bad.” The Professor shook his head again.
When Lily came out of her exam, Daniel was waiting for her in the hallway.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Not as bad as I expected,” she beamed at him gratefully. Daniel felt a wave of relief wash over him when he saw her anxiety hadn’t got the best of her. “They asked most of what you taught me. I couldn’t elaborate on any question for too long but I tried to hit the core points. I think I didn’t do so badly.”
“I’m sure you did great.” Daniel drew her into a half-hug and gave her a squeeze on her arm to assure her.
He hadn’t felt more proud of anybody in his life. It had been equivalent to torture to watch her walk into her exam after all that she’d been through, fear in her eyes and anxiety clawing at her heart. He felt he could finally breathe.
Lily smiled wider and tiptoed to give him a quick kiss on his jawline. “Thank you.”
☢️☢️☢️
Hi!
I'm still around. Things got really crazy where I live. If you're from India, you might've heard what's going on in my state. There's been some really terrible communal clash going on and internet has been completely shut since the beginning of May. So basically, I've been a caveman for nearly two months now, which is why I couldn't update anything. It must've frustrating for you to wait. I'm really sorry about all the wait but well, what could I do. Internet is still shut, I'm posting this from my friend's office (since offices need to have some connection somehow), so let's hope I can visit this place quite often.
I won't be able to reply to comments right now, but please leave them around as a gift for me when I get back 🫶
Love, Hermyne ❤️