'Solah Baras ki...' the song plays on my I-Pod, from the movie 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye'. After all these years, it still is one of my favorite songs that I can't get enough of. Ahhh, the sweetness of first love!!
I was 15 when he moved across the street from my maternal home. This was during the summer vacation, and everyone in his family joined later. At first, it was nothing but curiosity about the new neighbours. It was not the case of love at first sight. He was very handsome, two years older than me, entering college. There was something attractive about him, whether it was watering the plants, riding a bike to run errands, or playing cricket with his friends. When I returned from school, I would always see him outside. I looked forward to the moment when our eyes met, everyday. Then there was music that he would play on his stereo for me, turning up the volume.
I was falling for him a year later and it felt very special. For the first time in my life, I was a girl hogging stares so we started our little game of flirting harmlessly. We would look at each other and smile. No exchange of words, just gestures. He was good, with words and gestures, he mesmerized me. I was happy, very happy and my future was clearly etched in front of me. I would study hard as I always did, become successful and spend my entire life with him.
Every night, we would settle down to study after dinner at each others' rooms (front rooms of our homes), open the window, play the 'night lamp' game (again, from Ek Duuje Ke Liye) to signal our arrival. And then we used to study some, stare and gesture our way well until past midnight. We shared everything from study tips to secrets. He was my best friend. Three years of courtship and sweetest moments of my life!
But there are ups and downs in every relationship, and I was going through a blank frame of mind often and the daily veranda flirting failed to cheer me up. I ignored him sometimes, and it pained to see him hurtful. But there was also some evil pleasure within me to see him pining for me. All these created some misunderstandings between us, and the notion that I had fallen for another guy. This was the same time when his parents found out about our relationship, but they questioned no one. Our nightly meetings vanished, we still cared for each other, but the magic was gone. His parents made the decision to move their family to another city and they left. I never saw them again.
The first heartbreak I went through the next two years was unexplainable. I waited for him to come by, hoped for some kind of communication, there was none. I then knew that he was the 'one who got away', and it was too late. It is almost like he vanished into thin air. Maybe he promised his parents not to see me again. I understood that it was not meant to be, and it ended for a reason. Time passed by, I finished my education, landed a nice job and slowly got over him.
To quote 'The Notebook', first love changes your life forever and no matter what else happens, the memory of it stays with you. He was a breath of fresh air, (like Aamir Khan's song 'Behti Hawah Sa Tha Woh') who gave all for a girl who couldn't love him back as well as him.
