It was a regular day at the D.Y.Patil Pimpri hostel, or so I thought. I was coming down the stairs, probably in my oversized tee and partially broken trademark chappals, when this girl, walking up the steps like she already owned the place, asked what I was studying.
“Comp,” I replied. And in that split second, with all the conviction in the world, she heard “B.Com.” She blinked and thought in her head, “This girl really came all the way here from Jamshedpur for B.Com?!” I got to know this much later, of course.
Meenal’s eyeballs popped out in shock. There was no mistake! She was indeed face-to-face with her past. But, how was this possible? Was she hallucinating? A flurry of memories attacked her vision and it all went pitch dark.She opened her eyes and found herself wrapped in a gentle embrace.
“You promised to be with me all my life Meenal. I just helped you keep it.”, muttered Rubina with a menacing laughter.
Meenal found herself entombed at the same spot where she had buried Rubina months back to get rid of her for Akash. It was pitch dark again.
“I would like to conclude by reiterating that a person’s sexuality is neither a choice nor a syndrome. Just because we cannot understand something which is uncommon, it cannot be declared unnatural. It is as natural as your sexual orientation or mine. It’s about time we educate ourselves and initiate open dialogues about this subject to raise awareness. Please join us and be a part of our movement. Every voice matters!”
The baby yowled again. She sighed! She wanted to prepare dinner and was already running late with her chores. But the impish 21 months old would not allow her to perform any task and bawled the moment she turned towards the stove. She tried all the tricks to keep the toddler occupied but when nothing worked, she was left with no choice but to hold the tiny tot in one hand and cook.
Udita was numb. She could not feel a thing, neither the embraces nor the handshakes. And then like a sudden gush of water, tears flowed down her cheeks as she started weeping profusely. It all had to come out – the pain, the anguish, the struggle and at last the sweet victory. Continue reading Some friendships last beyond a lifetime→
