Just Friends

I tagged along my guy friend to buy kitchen items. For the beginner, I need those essential and basic things to settle down. I am going to start living myself, independently. We hopped from shop to another looking for something good but unfortunately ‘something good’ turns out to be very expensive and those falling under the range of my budget weren’t up to the marks. I needed the best one at reasonable price (Wink). Welcome! To real life of independence, where you started to own ‘spoon’ bought from the hard-earned money of yours.

One point, we dropped by internet cafe to buy ‘movies’ though I must admit that things have changed since I started working. I can hardly complete a movie without falling asleep; there were times when I used to stay whole night watching series, next day directly attending the class. I must have been ‘super girl’ at that time. It costs Nu. 50 per movie. ‘Whoahhh’ it is too expensive, I told him how we used to download every latest movies in the college. Meanwhile transferring, we casually talked with the owner of an internet cafe and my friend asked from where we can get gas stove in the market.

He replied question to us “Newly married? I immediately corrected “No…no…just friends” by laughing off and my friend too was laughing. It was not his mistake to think like that, we gave the impression of it; a guy and a girl shopping for the basic things to settle down, if I were him, I must have thought the same. It is the flaw of the society; no guy and a girl can be just friends, a society made a trend of judging that way. He is more of an elder brother to me than a friend, a caring one in fact. He addresses me ‘Chungku’. I can say a brother from different mothers though it will question the fidelity of my father, jokes apart.

In one shop, I met a friend of high school; she was also with a guy, buying buckets, ladle, cups and all. Seems, she too was settling down like a dancing dust after vibrant youthfulness in the sky. She asked me “Your husband?” Gosh! I thought “really?” what was wrong with the people. I said again “Just friends”. It turned out; a guy she was with is her husband. I congratulated them and went venturing the things I needed to buy.

My friend said his father was in town and he had some work with him. I didn’t accompany him knowing it will give only ‘one impression’, an impression of a couple. He didn’t ask me twice, may be knew how a mind of an old man works. I chose to wait for him in a bookstore nearby which led me to buy books though it wasn’t in my priority list at that time.

The next day I had to go and get gas cylinder early in the morning, so I was going for a sleepover at friend’s house that was going to accompany me. I couldn’t take things with me, so I had to keep things with someone I know. That Uncle notoriously asked “Boyfriend?” I shake it off and said “Guy friend.”

He wasn’t convinced because he asked about the other guy, confused, I asked “Which one?” from the way he looked I understood what he thought of me. I at least had a curtsy to answer his questions. I was little infuriated with the way some people thinks. I felt sorry for those who got only one track thought. He has a shop below my office; from there he can clearly see me walking up and down. I got couple of guy friends who sometimes drop by my office, sometimes in a group and other time alone. I always walk them till basement simply because they are my friends. I enjoy a company of good people that I don’t mind hanging with them in a bar till midnight even if I am an only girl. I feel so secure with them because they are the people worth trusting. What others think about me is none of my business, so I am letting it pass. An only thing matter is what I think of myself.

By the way being ‘just friends’ between opposite gender is the trending fashion in the world of friendship.

#Spring

If I was to love

I would love to love;

The budding romance of a nature

With the beautiful peach blossoms of a spring,

Walking bare feet on the misty grass,

Enjoying the divine odor of freshly woken earth,

Watching the crack of dawn and the emergence of sun.

Short Story: Odds and Even

She cracked her knuckles nervously, while tapping left foot unconsciously on the tiles beneath with her brown boots, her breath was punctuated by a long sigh of agitation, she looked around scanning the faces of a by passer. Her temper at that moment was way away from sweet unlike she is usually being referred. White linen coat barely prevented the chill from getting into her bones. She crossed her arms, occasionally rubbed her palms and blew warm air, puffed red nose and rosy cheeks didn’t hide a slightest fact that she had been out for a long time. Waiting was tedious in cold evening of a harsh winter.

“Fifteen more minutes then I will be gone.” It was the fifth time she said to herself. Who was she fooling? A second stretched to a minute, a minute to an hour and it almost felt like a millennium. Her head scolded her to stand up and walk away but heart begged to stay little more with ‘What if he turns up? He might have a reasonable excuse for being unreasonably late.’ Yet again, a head was in a lost battle with a heart.

She took out phone and dialed a number; she was flatly disconnected time and again. She stood up and walked straight to Memorial Chorten, her favorite place to seek solace. On the way, she dropped him a message stating she is on the way to home. Her feet did walking while her mind was so blankly engrossed in nothing specific. The beep indicated that she got a text. She didn’t bother to check, she was disappointed and disgusted.

Her temptation won as she read the text

Him: I am really sorry. Something urgent came up.  Where did you reach?

Her: In a taxi. (She lied)

Him: Ok. Travel safe. Can we meet tomorrow?

Her: I don’t think so, tight schedule. (She lied again).

Him: Ok. I am really sorry for today.

Her: It’s ok. I didn’t wait much. (She tried to figure out how much is ‘much’ in her perception, more than an hour was definitely not qualified in ‘much’)

Him: Reached?

Her: Almost. (The beautifully illuminated Chorten greeted her with countable head making rounds and she joined them trying to clear her minds off the shits of her life.)

Him: Ok then. Cya.

Her: Yaya. Btw where are you?

Him: Right besides you.

She instinctively turned back; saw him grinning like a fool, waving hand with a cell and closing the gap between then.

“Pretty little liar.” He pinched her nose in a playful manner.

“This is not funny.” she brushed off his hand, least hiding she was miffed with him.

“It was fun watching you all the way.” He was goddamn prankster, she usually found it cute but not at that moment.

“Were you stalking me all the way from park?” her anger rose to the level to match the explosion of volcano.

“I didn’t plan to, mean it. I was there on time. You were sitting on the bench, so engrossed in thoughts. I wanted to see more of your ‘lost in thought’ avatar.”

She made a face of ‘hardly convinced’ one.

“What was going on in your head while waiting for an hour sitting on that particular bench? When you took out the phone and dialed, I had to turn it in a flight mode, else you might have caught me there. ”

“Nothing.” She looked at him curiously, doubting whether he is the one she fought with just yesterday and swore to never see his face just few minutes ago before he appeared behind her like a superman.

“Pretty little liar.” He again pinched her nose, this time she smiled with the subsiding anger.

“What were you thinking when you were watching me from behind?”She asked making rounds.

“I was wondering what were going on your pretty little head.” He smiled and brushed off her head with his gloved hand; she could say that he was in the best mood.

He fetched Cadbury Diary Milk Silk from his jacket pocket and handed over to her. He has a habit of pampering her with chocolate knowing she couldn’t resist the sight of it. They walked in silence knowing that they have things to sort which wouldn’t be best if it was acted on impulse and rashly.

“It is getting late. I gotta go.” She said without looking at him.

“I will walk you home.” He said holding her hand “God! You are freezing.”

“Thanks to you.” She laughed this time.

He took out his left glove, coerced her to wear it, entwined her left with his right and put it in his jacket. Her hand brushed with note in his pocket.

“It is yours. You get to read it when you get back home.”

 She looked at him, falling in love all over again and silently thanking god for this wonderful gift in midst of a chaotic society.

“Your abode my dear. Cya, tomorrow. ” He hugged her tight and placed a light peck on her temple and walks off to his home, whistling with a beaming soul.

“Mom! I am home.” She cheerfully shouted unlike a girl in the morning, which walked out of a house like a zombie.

“Chunu, ajjo ta saro dillo bayo ni.” Her mother said looking at digital wall clock which reads 9:18 pm.

“I had some work at office.” She lied feeling guiltier than ever for having had lie many times in a day.

She sneaked into her room, opened a chit which reads;

Dear  Chunu,

The journey is gonna be rough but I guarantee you a happy ending. Stay strong till then. Remember we are gonna fight till end, no giving up in between because I won’t give up and won’t let you to.

                                                                           Love

                                                                           Tashi

N.B: Excuse my Nepali sentence in the story; I ain’t good with the language. The story turned out too cheesy. ROFL