Memories From Another Life: First Love

 Since too many of my friends said this post looked like a movie review, I am stressing the fact that this is, in fact, a true story & not related to the Koreans pictured here in any way or to any movie... Godspeed Folks :) Enjoy.. Send in your comments

The young 12-year-old boy was getting impatient at his grandma. He was thinking about hopping off next door to see the girl and he didn't think he could pull it off with his grandma right there in the hall. After fidgeting around the house for 20 minutes, he finally got his chance and yelling out his routine lie about going to play cricket, he dashed off madly. Tiptoeing across the side of the road as if the very steps he were taking could be heard by his grandma in the kitchen, he made his way stealthily into the next door compound. He was quite pleased with himself, he thought of himself as a ninja as he had not been busted all these days. He made his way up the floors and knocked on the door. The most beautiful girl opened the door with a smile on her face. The boy's breath was knocked away instantly, like every other time he saw her. She had moved in next door with her dad and mom and within a year, this girl had become his closest, dearest, best friend and a close confidante. She was his age, a tom-boy and for a guy who didn't quite like girls of his age, this was a major surprise.

Picture for representation purpose only

The boy smiled inwardly, they had talked about everything on Earth left to talk, and yet found new things to do together every weekend! This afternoon however was going to quite different. They had bonded over their mutual love for movies, cartoons, video games and cricket! They had watched quite a few action, romantic and sappy movies together each weekend in the afternoons when neither of their parents would be around. The boy was starting to notice and love the way her eyes twinkled whenever she was hiding something naughty from him, the way her hair fell across her eyes, the constant brushing of her hair to the sides. This day however there was something different about her, she was wearing lipstick and it looked delicious over her lips. In all their meetings she had never wore make-up, much less the lipstick which adored her sweet lips now. They went into the living room where she had been watching another of the romantic movies and sat down on the floor beside the sofa facing each other surrounded by her Barbie dolls, chess board and some other games. The boy loved chess and she loved her Barbie babies and much as he would hate to admit it, he was getting rather attached to the dumb dolls.

After some idle chit-chat which included some poking and squeals of laughter erupting in the silent afternoon, their attention turned to the TV where there was a very passionate scene going on. She jerked her head in a cute way towards the TV and something overtook the boy. Their faces came so close that he could see the tiny pores through the light powder on her perfect angelic face. Then it happened, with his heart pumping at the speed of a thousand F1 cars, they kissed each other. The dolls, the chess board, everything lay discarded, strewn across the carpet covered floor. It was not at all what the boy was expecting; it was sloppy, their noses collided and she had slipped her tongue, which was very gross. It was nothing like the kisses in those sappy movies and yet for reasons unfathomable to him, he was excited. She sported a mocking smile and asked about the kiss. He blindly told the truth and when he wanted to hear her thoughts, she replied it was alright. The mocking smile was irritating. Did he miss something that she caught on to? Of course they wouldn't tell anybody about this, it was going to be their little secret. His parents would take him to some dumb ghost buster and crucify him for it and he didn't want to think what might happen to his girl.

Picture for representation purpose only

They might have been young, but they weren't that naive. They made a pact that they wouldn't kiss again, which was alright as long as he could hold her soft hands. After a couple of months, the unthinkable happened; her father had gotten transferred and she was leaving him. He wouldn't get to see her again for a long time, probably forever. The weeks that followed her departure was pure torture for the boy, he had been moping around so much it was starting to frighten his mom. He calmed her down reasoning that he had not read properly for the tests, which seemed like a good enough reason for her. She didn't know about the deep abyss of hopelessness which her son was plummeting through.

Flash Forward 5 Years

The boy is now a happy-go-lucky dude whose only problems in life was the looming mid-term, which he was sure he would flunk at the pace he was learning the lessons. He is at his grandma's place in the evening, simply because he likes it there. At that moment, with his eyes hovering over the TV without registering any of the drama unfolding on it, a man and his daughter come into the home. The boy immediately recognized the man, so the girl beside him had to be his daughter. He couldn't believe his eyes; where there was a skinny, cute, button nose girl a few years back, now stood a slender, sharp-nosed, hot, delectable young woman who could easily have been the object of lust for many men and envy of some girls. He was overjoyed at her presence after all these years and sharp sweet memories burst through his mind like fireworks. He had never thought he would see her again in his life. Being a shy and introverted guy now, he didn't engage in conversation with her about the years by-gone. The father had come to reacquaint himself with his uncle, and after the initial pleasantries which included handshakes all around, he could sense an air of arrogance around the girl. She wasn't the girl he had fallen in love with; she knew the effect she had on men and had apparently become haughty and vain. The boy didn't take part in the conversation much, he only stole quick glances at her. Even though his heart was beating madly, his brain told him this wasn't the girl for him. After an hour, the meeting between the adults now being concluded, it was time for the parting. She hopped on behind her father on the bike and turning back, gave a coy smile to the boy. He was left dazed, confused and wondering into the dreary dark night.