Art By: Nikita Gautam

Same old street, same old people….Walking down the same road every day is kind of boring, but I didn’t know that my life would change so much from just a meeting with you.

I didn’t know where he was from. I didn’t even know his name, yet I fell in love with him.

It was a normal day. As always, I picked up my pace and headed towards my apartment. On the way to my apartment there is a place that I call my own, a place where I feel at peace and enjoy myself. So as always, that day as well, I went to that place without heading straight to the apartment. I feel happy to be the only one to know that place. It’s like my secret hideout. When I reached there, I was shocked to find a boy of my age. As it was in the mountains, I thought that the place only belonged to me but I was wrong. I suddenly felt that the place didn’t belong to me anymore. Filled with thoughts, I sat down by the side. I thought it was just a coincidence, but the same thing happened again when I reached to that place the next day and the day after.

One day, I gathered up my courage and went to talk to him. As I began talking, I started to understand him. We started meeting continuously at that place. We talked about things that didn’t belong to this world. We let our imaginations run wild at that place. We slowly started to make that place our own world. We used to talk continuously until we were out of breath, and when the time for me to go back would come, I used to feel chills down my spine.

One day I was late, but he waited for me. I started to feel that we were the only two people in the whole world. I was very happy that I could share my thoughts and dreams with him. Even though I complained a lot, he would listen to me talk patiently. Even though it had only been a few days, I couldn’t stop falling for him.

I didn’t know that falling in love was such a great feeling. I slowly started to change; I started to admire the surroundings and every little thing happening around me. I started to take notice of other people, who before, didn’t even exist to me. I was once known as a lone wolf but then I was called friendly.

I finally thought of confessing my feelings for him. That day I bunked my school and waited for him. I waited and waited but he didn’t come. Being optimistic about the situation, I thought that some work might have made him busy and might have prevented him from appearing that day. The next day and the day after as well, I waited and waited but he didn’t come at all. We didn’t even get a chance to share our names.

It’s been 5 years now. I still cannot find him. I have started my college life. Now, I have a large circle of friends and I am very happy. Even though, it’s already been five years, I can’t stop waiting. I go there frequently. Still, I can’t stop falling more and more for the place that we created.

But I have slowly started to forget. I have even started to think whether the time we spent there was just my imagination. Sometimes, small memories come as a flash back from time to time.

Even though I may forget the color of his eyes and the shape of his face, I will never forget the way he made me feel.