Chapter 5

"These are memories I will carry with me for years to come. This is where I found so many friends. This is where I found love. This is where I found purpose to my life. This has been all my life for four years now, and I can't even imagine a life in the absence of all this now."

As he said that and got down from the stage, there were shouts of 'Amit Amit' from the crowd. He was mobbed. Some were smiling, and some were plainly crying. But the whole atmosphere was so hypnotic, so magnetic. It seemed so very impossible for anyone to be normal at this instant. As he was being mobbed from all sides, his eyes were fixed to a direction. He was silently viewing the most beautiful lady of the evening, Kalpana.

It was their farewell, and he had just finished his speech. Kalpana had been his best friend all through college, right from the first day, when they sat together as she was late to class, and had no other place to sit. In spite of being best friends with her, somewhere down the line, he had developed feelings for Kalpana. Everytime he wanted to tell her, he was terrified about getting rejected. The four year B.Arts degree hadn't done much to boost his self confidence in this issue either. Kalpana was known at college to be the epitome of beauty, and today she seemed unusually even more beautiful. He was drinking her beauty with both his eyes, wondering if he would ever get to meet her again, wondering if he would ever get the chance to tell her his love.

That evening, after dinner, the two of them went for a small walk. Kalpana started talking.
"It's been a rollicking experience of four years no?"
"Yeah!!"
"Remember the fun we had at Prof.Guna's class in the first year, or those pics we took at Malegaon in the third year? Do you remember how the lab assistant used to say hello??"
Memories had Kalpana in splits. But he was his subdued self.
Then she was like,
"Amit, tell me. You said you found love in college. Whom? You didn't even tell me, and I'm supposed to be your best friend. Fool!!"
"Yeah, I did find love in college."
"Tell me whom."
"No, pack."
"Tell me. Now!!"
Then, he knelt on his left knee and said," See, I'll be frank. I've been in love with you all through. I love you!!"
Then she said," Fool, no one proposes kneeling on his left knee."
She was mocking him! It was done.. His love had been rejected, or so he thought.
But then she said,
"But still, I love you too.."
He had no words to say. He just got up and gave her a tight hug. She couldn't see the tears of relief which clouded his eyes.

The memories teased through him, as he saw the helicopter making circles in the blue Tirupathi sky.