Frozen In Time...

People in love often ask each other, "Why do you love me?". When has there ever been rhyme or reason to love? For example, Arya and Meenal weren't even supposed to meet. They came from different worlds. The only link between them was Nikita, Meenal's cousin and Arya's classmate. Those days, Arya had been seeing this girl, Noorie whom he'd met right after breaking up with a girl he'd been really in love with. So, it was just a rebound and Arya kinda knew that there weren't any great things in store for Noorie and him. But he hated being alone and Noorie was decent company, kinda goofy but decent.

Then one day, while Noorie and Arya were visiting Nikita's place, they met Meenal. She wore an orange salwaar kameez, had a husky voice and spoke in a strange tone that made her sound like a fat boy bully. She was so different from the women Arya came across every day. He was smitten, and he was smitten hard. Later on the same day, Arya called Nikita up and told her he had a crush on Meenal. Nikita, while apprehensive at first, told Arya that she'll check with Meenal if she liked him and get back to him.

Nikita took her own sweet time to respond. When she did, Nikita asked Arya to meet Meenal at a cyber cafe nearby. Meenal needed some help with her homework and Arya had to help her. They met, they talked and they laughed with each other. Arya had bought a new perfume and Meenal really loved the fragrance. She just came close to him while sniffing the perfume, making his heart beat faster. For the next date, Meenal sent a word through Nikita, asking Arya to meet her after school.

Up until that point, Arya hadn't realized that Meenal was still in school. He was taken aback, seeing her in her uniform. She was in eleventh standard and seemed like a kid when he saw her in skirt and slacks. Of course, Arya himself was only a couple of years older, but since he'd passed out, he saw school going people as children. But Meenal with her husky voice and that jolly personality, was just charmingly seductive. They started talking over the phone, landline because she didn't have a cell phone yet. Her words would keep him captivated, while her smile made him feel free. 

Teenage romance is so naive and that is what makes it so pure at times. Meenal and Arya were 16 and 18 at that time, their whole lives waiting for them beyond the horizon. But this brief romance felt so complete. The two talked about everything but they had no plans for their relationship, which come to think of it, is pretty normal for teenagers. In the course of the few months where Meenal and Arya were an item, they only met a few times, once at the cyber cafe, once at the school, once at the museum and a couple of times at Meenal's place, where she sneaked him when her parents were out of town.

They'd kiss, they'd talk, they'd look into each others' eyes and they'd be lost. But sneaking around wasn't that easy for Meenal, since she was still in school and didn't have a cell phone to reach Arya when she wanted. So, Arya bought her a tiny mobile which she could hide in her bag and call him when she was free. They did end up talking more and more after that. 

After a few months, Arya had to move to another state to pursue college. Meenal returned him the cell phone, as she couldn't keep it anymore, with him gone. It was a bittersweet moment, their parting ways that day. Both of them knew they'd not keep in touch. It was over and it wasn't. They just left it there, hanging, frozen in time. Arya threw the cell phone away on the way to the airport. And that was that.

Ten years later, when Meenal's friend request popped up on Arya's inbox, he was ecstatic. Arya had always wondered how life had turned out for Meenal. And now he knew. She looked healthy and happy. She still had that twinkle in her eyes, even though she'd put on a few pounds over the years. She IMed him soon after and then they talked over a call.

She was employed with a prestigious bank, she was ten years older but she still spoke like a boy bully, the same husky voice, the same caustic laughter and the weirdest of accents when she spoke in Hindi. As they spoke, Arya browsed through ten years worth of her pictures in her profile. She had a wide toothy smile in all of them. He loved that about her.

She was engaged to be married. She was very cordial, for old time sake. They discussed the the old days, with nostalgia. He asked her if she remembered why they'd broken up. She told him they hadn't. They'd just moved away. That brought a smile to his face. Arya had changed in the last ten years. He wasn't naive anymore. He now knew what heartbreak meant. And the fact that this was one relationship where there wasn't a bitter break up story made him feel good about himself. Meenal and Arya parted ways one last time, for good.