The smile which keeps me going!

"It's time for you to sleep now. Just hang up the call and go to bed."

"But I’m not sleepy now. Why do you always do this to me? You’re a foe in disguise." said a pleasing voice in a low tone.

"Because we both need to wake up at four tomorrow. Go to sleep and let me sleep in peace too..... And it was you only who befriended this detractor. Now, will you sleep?"

"Fine. Winner as always. Have a good sleep."

Winning an argument against him was difficult. And finding a better person to tolerate her all time 'nautanki' was impossible! Yet the bond between them was perfect.

It happened in the year 2012. My life was like a weighing scale with books and a glass of milk on either hand. Just because I was a punctual student since childhood, being late always made me feel restless. And to add a cherry on the cake was a chemistry test waiting for me in my tuitions. I was bad at chemistry and those reactions seemed like a Japanese movie without subtitles to me.

Struggling between hydrogen fluoride’s reaction with ammonia and formation of covalent bonds, I handed over my answer script to my tuition teacher and started gathering my belongings which were lying on the table, as if it was my own house.

While piling up, I mistakenly grabbed a mathematics book of class 9. The guy who owned the book, sitting right in front of me, gave me a bizarre look. A person with such sharp looks, sobriety on his face and focus entirely on his studies - he seemed to be a typical 'padhaku' student, as we usually say, with so much of determination. He was probably the only person in my tuitions who used to take studies seriously, unlike the other batch mates.

Time flies really fast. It was December 2015 - the most fascinating time of the year. As the chilly winds touched the trees with their 'warm' greetings, the deserted roads had just two cheerful laughing faces, who were going crazy in that cold atmosphere. It had been three years since I’ve known 'him' and the conversation was no longer a formal one between us. This 'Serious stud' (as I used to call him) became a living example of the phrase 'First impressions are not always correct.

Sometimes chemical bonds need a catalyst, without which the reaction may seem to be impossible. When I speak about chemistry today, I don’t remember a single reaction taught in it except the importance of 'catalyst’. This was the only concept which I saw applicable in real lives as well - in case of emotional bonds!

It was back then in 2012 when I interacted with him for the first time. It was a completely formal gab where I had to borrow a mathematics book from him. Going to a random person's house to take a book was making me feel uncomfortable enough. As I ranged the doorbell, there was a bucket full of unnatural thoughts bombarding my mind. No sooner did the 'Serious Stud' opened the door, he handed over the book and bashed the door again.

It took me a minute to understand what just happened. "Seriously! Not even a Hello? Did he just try to get rid of the book and me together? How can someone be so austere and rude!" I murmured as I walked back home. There was so much of awkwardness squeezed in this first colloquy that I didn’t even dare to get across him again unless I could realize that Nature had different plans for us!

Our personalities were completely different from each other. We were like the two poles of a magnet - opposite and far. As physics and chemistry were not my cup of tea, I never bothered to analyze how the opposite poles of a magnet attract each other! It was only after meeting him did I realize that 'opposites do attract’.

After my first interaction with him, I had an image of him back in my mind - maybe he preferred not socializing much with people but he certainly was not of the introvert kind or was he?
But who knew that the so-called 'Serious Stud' had a devil hidden inside him?!

The chilly months of November - December were ideal for badminton lovers. I wasn't so good in sports but still, badminton used to excite me a lot then. Every evening I used to have a gala time playing with one of my friends - who happened to be a cousin sister of Mr. Padhaku. The evenings used to be very normal until there was a day when suddenly Mr. Serious Stud turned up to join us. As it is always said, maybe the universe was conspiring to make things happen.

We started to collaborate more and more as we proceeded with our game every day. But still, there was an exhilaration missing in those pillow talks, which came along with the universal golden topic of relationships and breakups. Sounds crazy but this is the reality right - we often get more comfortable with people once we start discussing about all the misdeeds we’ve done. I never used to believe in the phrase "Whatever happens, happens for good." But now when I bethink about it, I believe that things happened this way just because destiny had this cute little creature stored for me.

As the parameter of our amenity expanded, we landed doing crazy stuffs together irrespective of what others think. From judging each other and making fun of one another (though I was the only victim every time) to having sessions of deep conversations about life, we came across a long way over the last three years. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that a person who never spoke a word to me could become a perfect brother who had so much of fun element locked inside his devilish mind!

We had so much to share and just two hours a day started falling short for us. Being early morning students, the major part of our daily confab used to take place during the evenings. We had a sorted evening every day - I was the constant chatterbox and he was left with no other option but to listen to my long stories patiently. Our bond was like that of a lemonade - it couldn't have got the perfect taste if his sweetness wouldn't have met my sourness!

He was always that introvert who never expressed his love for me openly. But his actions always prove how deeply he is concerned about me. I'm still unable to figure out how but he knows me way better than I myself do. For him, it's always easy to understand my moods, even if I'm miles away from him. Telepathy on point may be - but he always knows what I'm going through even if I don't tell him.

If I start sharing the countless memories we had together, they will seem like a never-ending problem of integration. Each and every memory with him makes me feel as if we're sworn enemies who love each other the most.

I’m often asked by people, "What’s so special about him?" Nothing. He’s just like any other elder brother - never skips a chance to irritate me, fights with me in every possible way, making fun of me is his favourite hobby and still goes out of the way just to make me smile. Still, there’s something which makes him different from others. He doesn’t need to pamper me with gifts or praise me now and then. He is the best person to handle my mood swings by cracking lame jokes which can be fatal sometimes. This is what is special about him - ordinary yet extraordinary!

Our moral less story just revolves around how an imperfect soul realized the worth of her imperfections! There are so many years yet to come - there are so many memories yet to make. But today when I look back, I see the best version of myself out of nothing.

This day is no different - we’ll l again make plans together, go for long walks on the streets, discuss stupid things that we did in the entire day, irritate one another and regret a bit more that those two hours will just pass yet again. He’ll again handle my tantrums and listen to my filmy expectations - and just as any other day he’ll just smile. And that smile is what keeps me going!