2014
Laila was elated. The summer vacation had been a blast. She had a crush on a guy, had
gone to Italy for the holidays and had recently gotten into playing piano. Now all she wanted
to do was tell her best friend about it. The next day at school, Laila entered her classroom armed with the biggest scroll of things she wanted to tell her best friend and lifeline, Natasha. The classroom seemed somewhat dimly lit. There were dark clouds rolling in, the outdoors blanketed in melancholic mist.
“It is quite gloomy for a day that is supposed to be full of post-holiday excitement of reuniting
with your friends”, thought Laila. In a few moments our protagonist will realize the crooked way in which the foreboding scenery was trying to warn her, prepare her.
The world felt too small, the air too stifling, a crushing pain in her chest because Natasha
had found a new best friend, her new desk partner. And that was Laila’s first encounter with betrayal. It’s a big word, B-E-T-R-A-Y-A-L. It entails a lot more than just a momentary feeling of disloyalty. It is a monstrosity, a dementor, with ominous shadows. Her eyes filled with rage and flame of revenge seemed to engulf her entire being.
It was two years before Natasha and Laila spoke again. Natasha was busy forging ahead,
making new friends, enticed by the promise of adolescent years. She wanted to be popular, wanted to climb up the ladder of social hierarchy. But there was always a feeling of loneliness, growing more intense with each passing day. Meanwhile Laila had found her comfort zone,
deriving happiness from seemingly mundane things. She loved to take long evening walks
which were quite symbolic of her life, following a unidirectional course with small bumps and
changes but a majorly constant tone.
2016
“Hey! Laila? Right?”, said Natasha.
“Um…..Yes!”, replied Laila.
“Would you mind passing me that pen?”, asked Natasha.
Laila felt her eyes grow misty. Maybe the cliché was true after all, “not friends, not enemies,
just strangers with memories”. Maybe it was never meant to be. The girl who seemed to
have forgotten her completely was the one person Laila shared her lunch with on the first
day of kindergarten, together they had belted out Taylor Swift’s songs in her bedroom, talked
about the careers they would pursue, the guys they would date. But now those memories
seemed so distant, so abstract. Only wisps of that wonderland left behind.
But this is where the story takes a turn folks.
Natasha remembered Laila. She remembered every make-believe tea party with their toys,
every late-night conversation, every dream they had shared. It was simply the butterfly
effect. She had never realised that one small decision of hers would be an avalanche that
would forever alter the course of their friendship.
2020
The day they graduated.
The stage was set.
The decorations were done.
The air was still as if it too could sense the finality of things. Laila wore her favourite red
sandals with flowers, butterflies and rhinestones on them. As she took excited steps towards
the seating area her ankle twisted and the sandal broke. As she looked up, Natasha stood,
offering her an extra pair with a big smile on her face. Natasha helped Laila and together
they walked ahead, arm in arm. Laila felt the cracks in her heart healing, the previously
omnipresent grief slowly retreating. Natasha had finally unearthed what truly mattered to her
in life.
2022 (second year of college)
Natasha’s phone buzzed with a text.
Hey Natasha! Laila here. How are you?
Years later…
The sunlight filtered through the window; the pearl-like raindrops gently fell on the lush green
leaves. Laila cuddled on the couch, pen in her hand, wrote:
During this arduous journey of life, we often become weary travelers. And friendship is
often a respite, an oasis in the desert. With time we realize how invaluable it is and
something that precious requires constant nurturing with humility and grace. Like all the
other things on this planet, friendship too has its ups and downs. It can sometimes be
choppy waters and sometimes a tranquil stream and that is OKAY. As we grow and evolve,
so do our relationships. It is of utmost significance that we persevere and have an unfaltering
faith in the fact that if it is meant to be ‘dear friend’ then even if our paths diverge transiently,
we shall meet again and share a warm embrace, maybe with different personalities or
mannerisms or opinions as before but still possessing the very same essence.
My friend, my biggest teacher, my most compassionate companion,
What my life will be without you I cannot fathom.
Together we have evolved, together we have grown,
You are my precious little home.
As this story comes to an end,
The doorbell rings.
The delivery man hands over a package to Laila. “From Natasha”, it reads.
Inside are a pair of red sandals with flowers, butterflies and rhinestones on it.
Written by Jasmine Arora
Edited by Vaishnavi Katiyar
Uploaded by Vaishnavi Katiyar
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