Unreal Connections

At ten-thirty, the sun was still faint in the morning of January winter like a pale moon in the middle of an ocean of clouds. I was brushing my teeth. I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, I was in my school uniform with a school bag on my shoulder.

I was never conscious in brushing my teeth nor did I bother about taking a school bag in the bathroom. My mind was totally lost with a smile playing in my lips. I couldn't believe how happy I felt with just a friend, his close one, a backpack, and a golden co-incidence. It was like nothing else mattered in the world. Sometimes, moments that seem unreal can make us feel so alive that we don't want to let that moment go. That's when we decide to keep those memories in our heart forever, where they can never fade away. The more I thought about it, the happier I was. Every cell in my body longed to experience that moment that was running in my mind like a movie.

I plugged in my phone to the charger and watched the battery icon fill up. I knew I would need all the charge I could get for the long trip ahead. I went through my closet and pulled out a white T-shirt, a hoodie, a black pant and a pair of black sneakers. I threw them on without bothering to iron or match them. I glanced at the clock and gasped. I was late. Very late. I skipped breakfast, grabbed my phone and the bag that I had bought from hostel on the day before, still unpacked, and ran out of the house. I jumped on my cycle and pedaled as fast as I could to my cousin's place. He was waiting for me, and he hated waiting. As I crossed the gate, I heard my mom's voice behind me. "At least comb your hair!" she shouted. I ignored her and kept going. I could almost feel my cousin's glare burning into me.

I apologized profusely for my laziness to Galiv, my cousin, hoping he would understand. He is an engineer who recently started working for a company before getting married to his partner. He lives in another town and comes home every weekend. During vacations, he hangs out mostly with us. He looked at me with a stern expression, then softened and smiled. He unlocked his car and asked me to get in. I threw the bag in the trunk, next to Suraj's bag that we had gotten from the hostel the day before. We had come home last night for our winter vacation, and I'm pretty sure that he hadn't unpacked his bag just like me, judging by the oversized condition of the bag. Ashraf carried a polybag. We carried bags for some spare clothes that we might need. I joined the others in the back seat: my cousin Galiv, my friends Ashraf, Suraj, and Masum, who was Galiv's friend. We three, Ashraf, Suraj, and I, had recently started our B.Tech journey in the first year, while those two had jobs, yet we still hang out together. We were heading to Masum's place for his kid brother's birthday party. I didn't know Masum very well, but we had hung out a few times through Galiv.

As the car sped along the highway, leaving behind the rice field on both sides of the road. I felt a cold breeze on my face as I rolled down the window and gazed at the cloudy sky. The others in the car were chatting and laughing, enjoying the music and the company. I reached for my phone and checked my whatsapp, hoping to see a message from her. Nothing. I sighed and thought of her, the girl who had stolen my heart. She had come back from her hostel a few days ago and we had been in touch through whatsapp and phone calls since yesterday. But I wanted more. I wanted to see her, to hold her. I had only met her twice in person and both times, we had fallen deeper in love with each other. The last time was seven months ago and it felt like an eternity. She was in a different hostel, in a different school, and we had no chance of meeting anytime soon. But I didn't give up hope. One day, I would meet her again for sure.

I leaned over to Galiv and whispered, "What is the name of the place we are headed to?" He told me the name of Masum's hometown. My heart skipped a beat. It was her hometown too. The girl I loved. And who loved me back. I felt a wave of joy and anticipation. Could this be our chance to meet? I took out my phone and sent her a message on whatsapp, but she was offline. I wished that this trip would bring us together, to embrace each other, to exchange a few words. I wanted to tell her that I was coming to her town, but she was offline. Maybe she was busy watching TV or her mom had taken her phone.

As the car zoomed past the green fields and the cloudy sky, I felt a pang of longing in my chest. I was thinking about her, the girl who had captured my heart. She stays in a hostel, just like me, but in a different school in the same town. We only got to interact with each other during the vacations only through digital means, and even then, it was not easy. No one knows about us except for a few. Our society looks down upon love at this age. They might think of this love as a trendy love like most others, a way to look cool. But they might never understand. Our love was different. It was real. It was pure. It was true.

She is Sarina Alam, a twelfth standard student. She is so beautiful that I can't take my eyes off her even while looking at her pictures. Her eyes sparkle like stars, her face is like a flower, and her voice is like music. She is a year younger than me, but she is more mature than most girls of her age. She is kind, caring, supportive and respectful. She always encouraged me to pursue my goals and never doubted me. She always appreciates me for who I am and never tried to change me. She is a rare gem, a treasure, a blessing. She is one in a billion for me.

Ash's voice snapped me out of my daydream. "Wahid, are you okay?" he asked, "You look like you're in another world". I blinked and saw that everyone was staring at me. I had been sitting quietly, gazing out the window, lost in my thoughts. Suraj, who was next to me, put his arm around my shoulder. "What's wrong, man?" he asked, his voice gentle. "Nothing, I'm fine." I said forcing a smile.

Galiv pulled over to the side of the road, "Do you need to throw up?" he asked. Even Masum, who had been deeply focused in Netflix, paused his show and looked at me.

"No, no, I'm totally fine. I was just thinking about the project." I said, hoping they would buy it. "Are you sure?" Galiv asked, not convinced. "Come on, I am fine. Look at me." I said, a bit annoyed, emphasizing more on the word fine. "Okay, okay, chill." Galiv said, starting the car again.

I didn't know what to do next, so I turned to Suraj and asked, "Wanna play efootball?" "Yeah, sure." Suraj said, brightening up. We started playing, while Ash took out a chips packet and Masum went to continue the series and passed the time until we reached our destination.

We arrived at Masum's house and got out of the car. Galiv drove off to find a parking spot. Suraj and I were still glued to our phones, playing and arguing over who had the better team strength. Ash had enough of our nonsense and snatched our phones away from us. He acted like he was our guardian or something. Masum chuckled at our childish behavior.

"What the heck, are you serious?" Suraj protested as Ash took our phones. "Dude, it was an important match, are you out of your mind?" I complained as if it was the final match of the FIFA World Cup. Ashraf looked really annoyed. He had to put up with our pointless arguments and friendly fights over a video game the whole way.

"Will you two please keep quiet? Look around, there are a lot of guests." He said, gesturing to the crowd of people in the house. "Who cares?" I muttered. "Man, I was going to win." Suraj grumbled. "You guys are funny." Masum said and laughed as he led us to the party room.

As we walked down the corridor, I saw a few people at the party. There were a couple of 'Make-ups', 'Cool dudes', grown-up men, women, and a few kids. "The guests are yet to come. The party begins at night you know." Said Masum. We nodded our heads and entered the room. Masum introduced us to the birthday boy, Arif. The room was beautifully decorated with balloons and streamers in blue and red. On one side of the room, there was a big banner that said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIF" in decorative fonts, cut out from thermocol. Looking at the color scheme of the decoration, Blue and Red, I said, "Hey Suraj, the room is giving out a Barcelona vibe, isn't it?" "Yes, it is." He said, looking around the room, mesmerized. "Hey, where is the gift?" Ash asked. We turned and looked at him, "Gift? What gift?" I said. Suraj tapped my head and said, "We are at a birthday party, dumb head!". We looked at each other and realized none of us had any gifts. Just then, Galiv came in with the gift that we, the responsible kids, had forgotten in the car. We gave it to Arif and wished him happy birthday and Masum took a photo of us, which was not necessary.

We followed Masum to his room, the only one that was free from the crowd. Suraj and I reclaimed our phones from Ash, who glared at us with a stern look. We smiled at him cunningly. Ash was like our big brother, ever since we started our hostel life. We loved him for that. He had always bailed us out of the messes we made in the hostel with our nonsense acts. He had even taken the blame for us once and faced the wrath of the warden. Of course, he had given us a good scolding later.

We resumed our efootball game, eager to settle our unfinished rivalry. Ash went to the bookshelf and picked up a book to read. Galiv spotted some of his old school friends and joined them. Masum brought us some lemonade and said, "Come on, you dumbasses, have a drink." I teased Suraj, "Hey, he's calling you." Suraj shot me a murderous look. Ash smirked and said, "Don't act innocent, you are not an exception." Masum laughed and so did we. We sipped our lemonade and chatted with each other. Then I saw someone entering the room I hadn't seen in a long time. It was Sahin, my old friend from seventh grade,back in my high school days. I leaped out of the bed and high-fived and hugged him. "How are you doing, mate?" he asked. "I'm good, what about you, BLACK-RIDING-HORSE?" I said, using our old nickname for him. he said, using mine. Everyone laughed. Masum introduced Sahin as his cousin. I was surprised to learn that. Sahin explained that he was my classmate and also Masum's cousin. Both Masum and I were surprised to know that.

I told them the story behind our nicknames and we all laughed. Sahin invited me to visit his home, which was nearby. I agreed and followed him. As I was leaving the room, my phone buzzed with a notification. I hoped it was her. I had almost forgotten about her, distracted by efootball. But it wasn't her. It was one of our teachers, reminding us about the project in the class group. I felt a surge of annoyance.

We got to his house and he introduced me to his father, who greeted me warmly. He recognized me from our school days and we chatted for a while. He told me to make myself comfortable and left us alone. Sahin took me to his room, where I saw his impressive collection of novels. He offered me some tea and we talked about our old times. I couldn't stop thinking about her, though. I wondered if Sahin knew her as her home is in the same town and if he could help me meet her. But I suppressed my feelings and tried to relax. We were having a good time until his father called him. He came back and said, "Buddy, I have to go with my dad to the bank. There's some unfinished business we need to take care of. You can watch TV while I'm gone." "Okay, fine, no worries. I'll stay here. I don't feel like going back to that crowd anyway. It's not that crowded yet, but the party starts at night, right?" I said. "Yeah, that's right. Cool, I'm going then." He said and took me to the TV room.

As soon as I stepped into the room, my eyes fell on a girl. She was sitting on the couch, watching TV. It was her; it was really her, the one girl that was going through my mind all day long. I felt a jolt of shock and disbelief. What was she doing here? Or speaking else, what the heck was Sahin doing here? Was this her home? Or was she just visiting guest? But she didn't look like a guest. She was not dressed like a guest; she was in her casual dress. Was that a new fashion? My mind was in a great confusion. "Wahid, if you need anything, just ask my sister over here. Or you can call me. See you later." Sahin shouted from afar. "Yeah, bye. See you." I muttered, Sister? Did he just say sister? Was I hearing things? What the hell was going on? I had so many questions in my head. I looked at her and she looked at me. She must have heard my name from Sahin's voice. I saw a mix of surprise and delight in her eyes. She was as stunned as I was. She couldn't believe that I was in her house, out of nowhere. I noticed another woman next to her, watching TV. She saw me too and asked me who I was. I introduced myself as Sahin's friend. She invited me to sit down.

My eyes followed her as she put the TV remote on the table and got up along with the woman, smiling at me, and went out of the room. She was wearing a cozy blue sweater over a floral dress that hugged her knees. A white snowy cap topped her head, enhancing her beauty. She looked like an angel, a radiant angel flying over a snowy forest, spreading light wherever she went. An angel whose beauty surpassed any imagination. I had no idea what to do and I was even more confused to see her go away as soon as she saw me. I hoped I wouldn't screw things up, as I often did, at least not today. But my mind was already slipping away. I regretted that I almost asked Sahin about her. I took out my phone and scrolled through the app vault aimlessly. I felt my hands trembling as if someone had attached a motor to them. I tried to figure out in my head,

"If she is Sahin's sister and Sahin is Masum's cousin and Masum is Galiv's friend and I am Galiv's cousin, then that makes me...no, no it's not like that, I need to calm down."

Just then she came back with a glass of water and sat next to me and asked, “How is my cute knucklehead doing?”. I stuttered, “Huh, me? Fine…. I…. I am…. Fine.” I felt like I was losing every last drop of my presence of mind. She gave me the glass and I drank the water. It helped me cool down a bit. Her voice was mesmerizing. Every word she said sent shivers down my spine. I could feel my cheeks glow up. I didn't know what to say next. Do I ask about who that woman was or her reason to remain offline all day long or maybe her relation with Sahin? I was in a great dilemma. At last, I came up with a very unique and enhanced question to follow with, “How are you?”.

She smiled and said, "Oh, I'm doing great and I'm so happy that you're here, by some miracle!"

"Yeah, I mean, I came for the party.", I said, hesitating.
She asked, "Arif's birthday?"
"Yeah, exactly, Masum is my cousin's friend and mine too, so I'm here." I said, my words still pausing.
She grinned and said, "Do you want more water? You look very nervous."
"Yes, I mean no, I mean yes, I'm a bit nervous. But how come I never knew that you are really Sahin's sister?" I said, confused.

"Well, I did mention my brother's name a few times. Don't you remember? Wait you know him?" She said.

"Hmm, you did mention, but I never thought that he was the Sahin you were talking about. I mean, he was my classmate in my old school, we're good friends.", I said.
"Oh, I see, that's nice.", she said
"Nice? I almost messed up. I was going to ask him about you and if he knew you, since you live in this town.", I said.
As we talked, the confusion between us melted away and I felt a surge of confidence. She explained why she had gone missing in whatsapp for so long. Her mother had confiscated her phone as a punishment for some of her mistakes just as I predicted.

She was willing to talk to me so was I, although I was nervous. She shared a tale of how she had gotten into a trap at her hostel and managed to get out of it. I narrated one of my hostel memories, following her lead. I was mesmerized by her voice, her gestures and her radiant expressions. It was like being in a dream, sitting on the grassy lawn of a castle with a princess by my side, surrounded by blossoming flowers. The sound of birdsong and the splash of the fountain filled the air, and a rainbow glowed over the water splash. Butterflies of different color danced around her as she spoke, enhancing her charm. Everything was beautiful.

She waved her palm in front of my face, breaking my daydream. “Wahid, Wahid!” she said with a hint of annoyance. “Are you listening to me?”

I blinked and looked at her trying to hide my embarrassment. “Uh…yeah, yeah, of course…I’m listening,” I said, hoping she would buy it. “You look very tense.” “No, I’m fine. I just got lost in thought for a moment, that’s all,” I lied, trying to sound casual.

“Lost in thought? About what?” she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “You weren’t ignoring me, were you?” “No, of course not, it’s nothing like that, trust me,” I said, panicking. “Really?” she said, pausing for a few seconds. Then she burst into laughter. “I’m just messing with you. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you remember what’s on the sixth of October?” She changed the topic, and I felt a wave of relief. She had me scared for a moment. I racked my brain, wondering what was so special about the sixth of October. A festival? A historical event? I felt my anxiety rising again. What was it? I couldn’t remember. Then it finally hit me.

“Um…it’s your birthday, right?” I said, smiling nervously. “Is it?” she said, giving me a dubious look. I froze, fearing I had messed up. “Yes, it is my birthday, you dummy!” she said, chuckling. “So, you do remember, huh? Good boy!” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Yes, I do, how could I forget?” I said, feeling relieved. “So, I wanted to tell you what happened on that day,” she continued. She told me her story, how she had celebrated her birthday and how it was also a holiday, co-incidentally. She also told me how much she had missed me and how she had tried to reach me several times, knowing that I only had access to a phone at a nearby shop every afternoon when I was out of the hostel.

As her voice trailed off, I felt a surge of nostalgia. That day was still vivid in my mind. "You know, I wished you happy birthday on Instagram that afternoon," I said, "I had sneaked out of the hostel and bought a gift for you."

She looked at me with a hint of disbelief. "A gift? You did?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I did. I somehow wanted to surprise you at your hostel."
She gasped, her eyes widening. "Oh my God, that would have been a disaster! You know how strict they are at the girls' hostel. You could have blessed us with a huge trouble." She shook her head, as if trying to erase the image. "Yes, and that’s why I changed my mind and didn't do anything stupid.", I said.

I was about to change the subject, when suddenly I remembered something. I reached for my phone, intending to call Suraj. But before I could dial his number, his name appeared on my screen. He was calling me.

His voice came through the phone, "Hey, where are you?" he asked sounding amused.

"Yeah, I was about to call you," I said.
He chuckled. "I think I asked a different question," he said.

"Oh, right. I mean I'm at Sahin's house," I said with a sigh.

She mouthed, "Who is it?"

I shook my head and mouthed back, "Nothing important."

She frowned, sensing something wrong. "Is everything okay?" she asked As I finished the call after a couple of minutes.

I nodded, trying to sound casual. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I just have to go back to my place for a bit. I'll be right back, okay?"

She nodded, "Ok”, “Let me walk you to the gate," she said. I saw the doubt in her eyes, but she didn't question me further.
We walked to the gate. I was thinking of holding her hand as we walked, when she reached for mine and clasped it. I felt a jolt of electricity in my body. It was an amazing feeling. I felt my cheeks heat up. She looked at me and smiled. Her mother had gone to Masum's place. There was only a woman and her grandma in the house. Hopefully, they didn't see us.  "Be careful," she shouted as I let go of her hand and ran across the street
"I'll be fine," I shouted back. Just then, I stumbled over a concrete block and almost fell. "Are you okay?" she called out. "Yes, yes, I'm good. Don't worry, I'll be back soon," I said, hiding my embarrassment. I kept running and cursed the block and my luck.

I got to Masum's place and saw Suraj waiting for me at the gate. "Did you bring the car key?" I asked him as I approached. "Yeah, but why do you need my bag? It's still packed." He said. "That's perfect. You won't believe what I just found out. It's Arif's birthday, Sahin is his relative and neighbour, and your bag is still packed. This is more than a miracle." I said, my eyes shining with joy. "Are you high, dude? Or did that Sahin guy give you an illegal dose?" He said, puzzled. "No, I'm fine. Come on, let's go to the car." I said.

I leaned closer to him and whispered, "I have some secrets to share with you, but you have to pay attention." He nodded eagerly; his eyes wide with curiosity. We walked out and scanned the field for Galiv's car. "Where did he park it?" I asked. He shrugged and looked at me helplessly. "How should I know? I didn't drive it." I glared at him. "You bought the key, you should have asked him where he left it, asshole!" I snapped. He held up his hands defensively. "Hey, calm down, okay? I'll just call him and ask."

As I reached for my phone, I felt a vibration in my pocket. I pulled out my own phone and saw a message from her. It was a simple 'Hey' with a waving hand emoji. I smiled and typed back, asking her how she got her phone back. She replied that her mom had come home for a while and she had snatched it from her. She also wanted to know why I had acted so strangely earlier. I told her that that was nothing to worry about and that I had a surprise for her. I hoped she wouldn't freak out. She sent me a surprised emoji and asked me if I was serious. I assured her that I was, even though I was not sure and nervous as hell. "I love you" she said, with a heart and a kiss emoji. "Love you too", I said, feeling a warm glow in my chest. I wished I could say those words to her in person. Being an introvert, it sucks.

Suraj hung up the phone after talking to Galiv. He turned to me as we made a run. “What were you talking about? Some secret of yours?” He asked, as we headed to the car. I smirked,  “It was nothing. Just a joke.” I said, teasing him. Suraj didn’t buy it. He nudged me and tried to get me to spill the words, I was hiding. We ended up having a playful fight on the way to the car.
As we opened the car, we saw Suraj’s belongings scattered all over the seats. Suraj clenched his fists and glared. “Who did this?” He demanded, his voice rising. “How should I know? It was fine when we left.” I said, shrugging. “Give me the bag.” I said, reaching for it. He handed me the bag and looked around, trying to figure out who had messed with his stuff.

I explored through the bag, looking for the thing. It was nowhere to be found. I checked every pocket, every zipper, every corner. Nothing. “What are you looking for? It’s my bag, you know.” He said, watching me with a puzzled expression. “I know your bag better than you do.” I snapped, feeling the panic rising in me. “I put that thing in your bag because mine was too full.” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “Where the hell is it?” I shouted. “What is it?” He shouted back. I told him what I was looking for, hoping he would remember. He examined the bag carefully and then said, “It’s your bag, you dumb-head.” I looked at it and realized he was right. It was my bag indeed. Our bags looked identical, since they were given by our school. We often swapped things with each other, so we never paid attention to which bag was which.

We searched the car for his bag, but it was not there. Suraj was more anxious than me, since his wallet was in his bag. We both freaked out. “What do we do? We have to hurry before they come back.” I said, my voice trembling. “Call Ash, he might know something.” He suggested “It could be a thief’s work.” He added.  I dialled Ash’s number and asked him if he had seen the bag. He said he had seen Galiv carrying it. We ran to find Galiv, who was hanging out with his friends at a nearby shop.

“Where is my money?” Suraj yelled as soon as we spotted him. “What?” Galiv said, confused. I smacked Suraj’s head and said, “He doesn’t know the whole story, you moron.” Galiv looked annoyed, thinking we had gotten into some trouble. I explained the situation to him and asked him for the bag. He said he had left it in Masum’s room.

“Why did you take my bag from the car?” Suraj asked, still puzzled. “I carried the gift in your bag, because the polybag was torn and I couldn’t carry the thing with my bare hand all the way.” Galiv explained. “And sorry, I threw some stuff out of your bag.” “That makes sense.” I said  feeling relieved. “You should have told me, man. You had me worried sick.” Suraj said. “I did tell you, but you were too busy playing video game then.” Galiv said. Suddenly I remembered the reason we were after the bag and dragged Suraj away from the place.

I snatched the object from Masum’s room and dashed out of the door, making sure that Suraj didn’t notice me . As I sprinted towards her house, I imagined how she would react when she saw it. Was I being foolish or romantic? A sudden fear gripped me. What if Sahin was back? What if he caught me with this in my hands? I decided to check with her first. I whipped out my phone and typed a quick message: “Is Sahin home?” She replied instantly: “No, why?” I felt a surge of happiness and ran even faster. I ignored all the beeps from my phone, probably her messages, as I was almost there.

She was waiting for me on the veranda, sitting on a couch. As soon as she saw me, she rose to her feet. I could tell by her face that I was in a big trouble. Her eyes were blazing with anger. I approached her cautiously. She fixed me with a stare that could melt steel. She reminded me of Nobita’s mom when Nobita gets 0 marks in his test.

“Are you okay?” I asked, mustering all my courage.

She glared at me. “Of course I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? First you show up suddenly and then disappear for an hour, you even ignored my texts…” She ranted on and on, and I stood there, speechless. I couldn’t get a word in for several minutes. Finally, she quieted down and I told her the whole story of why I was late. She took me to the room, still in doubt of my explanation. Then she noticed the thing I was holding. It was a black container, medium-sized. “Is this what you were looking for?” she asked. “Yes, it is,” I said, “Do you want to open it and see what’s inside? I brought it for you after all.”

She lifted the lid of the container and gasped. Inside was a small box, wrapped in bright orange paper with a flower on top. She glanced at me, her eyes shining with curiosity. She tore off the paper eagerly and opened the box. A smile lit up her face, the smile I loved so much. It was a Fastrack wrist watch, coral pink with a fuchsia rose pattern. She looked at me again, this time with gratitude and affection.

“Is this really for me?” she asked, her eyes shining with joy. “How much did it cost?”

I shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Don’t worry about the price. Actually I bought this for your birthday as a gift, I’m glad you like it. Although it’s very late.”

“Thank you so much, love you,” she said, drawing out the last word. “You’re welcome,” I said with a smile.

I suggested her to try it on and see how it looked. She nodded and slipped the watch on her wrist. She had taken off her sweater earlier and I noticed that her cleavage was exposed. I had never seen such a sight up close. My eyes were drawn to it involuntarily. She had such a perfect body, every curve and contour was mesmerizing.

“Excuse me!” she snapped, breaking my trance. She turned away slightly. “What exactly were you doing?”

“Ok I am sorry, I shouldn’t have done it.” She stared at me for a few moments, then burst into laughter. “We still have time for this, don’t we?” she said, giving me a naughty smile. I was speechless, I couldn’t utter a word. I just looked at her, feeling my face heat up. She laughed again. “Anyways, how does this look on me?” she said, holding up her wrist. I cleared my throat and focused on the present. “It looks good on you. You look as beautiful as a blooming rose,” I said. She smiled sweetly. “Thank you,” she said.

She looked at me with a tender smile. “You are the same Wahid as ever, aren’t you? You always appreciate me and love me the way you always do in chats,” she said. I smiled back, feeling a warm glow in my chest. “Yes, maybe. It’s just who I am,” I said.

She tilted her head and gave me a playful pout. “As usual, you text me then we talk for sometime and then you vanish for hours,” she said. “Just like today, you came we talked and then vanished.” I chuckled, remembering how I had went to get her the watch. “Well, I had a good reason this time,” I said. She nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Yes, and I loved it,” she said. “I know it’s late but I don’t care about it. You bothered to gift me is all that matters. It shows your affection towards me. And thank you very much for not coming to my hostel.” I felt a surge of gratitude and relief. It meant a lot to me that she understood and appreciated my gesture. All I could say was thank you to her, but I poured all my feelings into that word.

“By the way where were you last night? You said that you would text me after dinner, didn’t you?” she said.

I felt a surge of guilt as I recalled how I had forgotten to message her. I had been too engrossed in playing efootball with Suraj, and then I had fallen asleep on the bed. I tried to come up with a possible excuse. “Well, I was about to text you, but…” I stuttered, hoping she would believe me.

“But what?” she pressed, leaning closer to me.

“Umm, you see, I had a little network issue back then,” I lied, avoiding her gaze.

“Really?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, yes, that’s why I couldn’t text you,” I insisted, cursing myself for being so careless.

She shook her head and smiled knowingly. “Don’t lie, let me guess. After dinner, you played that game and then slept, right?” she said confidently, as if she had read my mind.

I was amazed by how well she knew me, and how I could never hide anything from her. I sighed and admitted the truth. “Uh, yeah, you caught me. I’m sorry,” I said apologetically.

She reached out and touched my cheek gently. “No, it’s okay. You should spend some time with yourself. It’s totally fine,” she said softly, making me feel even more guilty. “Just inform me that you are going to do this or that, don’t make me wait for you, okay? I hate waiting, you know.”

I felt a wave of gratitude wash over me. I thanked God for giving me such a sweet girl, who understood me and forgave me. “I’m sorry once again. I promise, I won’t make you wait again,” I said sincerely, looking into her eyes.

“Good,” she said.

She smiled at me and said, “It’s almost lunch time, you know. You should eat something.”

I nodded, feeling a pang of hunger in my stomach. “Yeah, I guess they’ll call me soon.”

She tilted her head and looked at me with curiosity. “You skipped breakfast this morning, didn’t you? You guys came here so early.”

I felt a jolt of surprise. How did she know that? She was so good at reading me, it was scary. “Uh, yeah, you got me,” I admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She shook her head and said, “Then you definitely need to have lunch. You can’t starve yourself.”

I shrugged and said, “I’ll wait for them to call me.”

She grinned and said, “Okay, then. How about we do a little dance before they call you?” She sounded excited and playful.

I blinked, stunned. Dance? With her? I had never danced in my whole life. How was I supposed to do that? And how could I say no to her? I had no idea what to do next. “Um, why don’t we skip that? Wouldn’t it be weird?” I objected, hoping she would drop it.

She frowned and said, “Why would it be weird? It would be fun, come on.” She reached for my hand and pulled me up from the couch.

I resisted and said, “You should think twice about this. I can’t dance, you know. I’ve never done it before.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “I know, and that’s why it’s fun. Please.” She looked into my eyes with a pleading expression. I couldn’t say no to that. I gave in and said, “Okay, fine. But don’t make it too hard, okay?”

She clapped her hands and said, “Great. Let me play a song and you just follow my lead, okay?” She picked up her phone and tapped on the screen.

I nodded, feeling nervous and awkward. She played a romantic song in a low volume, so that only we could hear it. She took my hand and put the other one on my shoulder. She moved closer to me and started to sway to the music. She taught me some basic steps, but I was clueless. I just tried to keep up with her. We danced for a while, and I felt her breath on my neck, her body against mine, her eyes on my face.

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound coming from the song. I gasped and everything went black. The sound became louder and louder, and everything disappeared. She was gone, too. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in my hostel, lying on the floor. The sound was my alarm clock. I had fallen asleep after the mini party we had last night with my roommates. I turned off the alarm and saw that I was late. There was no one in the room. I recalled everyone was here sleeping with me on the floor, yesterday night. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, put them on my bag’s water bottle pocket and put on my uniform T-shirt. I ran for school. When I was about to leave the room I recalled that today was a holiday and that mini party was to celebrate today’s unexpected holiday.

I remembered my dream vividly. It felt so real, I was confused for a moment. I was in shock. My mind was blank. I felt like I was in a trance. I had seen her in my dream for the fifth time this week. But this one was different. It felt like it actually happened. I had even bought the gift for her that I saw in my dream for real. There was no way that was a dream. I couldn’t believe it, but I had to accept it.

I took my brush and toothpaste and went to the bathroom. I was never conscious in brushing my teeth nor did I bother about taking a school bag in the bathroom. My mind was totally lost with a smile playing in my lips. I couldn’t believe how happy I felt with just a friend, his close one, a backpack, and a golden co-incidence. It was like nothing else mattered in the world. Sometimes, moments that seem unreal can make us feel so alive that we don’t want to let that moment go. That’s when we decide to keep those memories in our heart forever, where they can never fade away. The more I thought about it, the happier I was. Every cell in my body longed to experience that moment that was running in my mind like a movie.