by Neha Kirpal
Rita had always been a close friend of mine. Growing up, we would unashamedly confide in each other about all our trials and tribulations, hopes and despairs – all the muddled thoughts that filled our minds. It was during that confusing transition from school to college when boys, parties, and the ‘hookup culture’ enveloped our lives – all the things that seem so trivial now.
There were always moments of introspection in these conversations – which helped clear the cobwebs in each of our heads simply by talking about them. After all, “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Some pearls of wisdom stay with me to this day.
“Attraction is one thing. But emotions are quite another,” she once observed. “The latter don’t work like taps that you can simply switch on and off anytime you want.” My friend had managed to entangle herself in a conditional relationship – a ‘one-way street’ we called it – in which she was clearly the ‘wronged’ party.
Another time, Rita was just done with her breakup and was bitter as ever. “You know what, dumb men irritate me – dumb women, more so!” she observed. “Women need to understand that they already are the superior sex – so they should just start behaving like they are. We need to stop competing with men all the time – There is nothing to prove to anyone. I wish we would stop making men the center of our lives, stop seeking their approval for our own validation.”
Eventually, Rita moved to another city where she found herself a better job – and better people, I hoped. We lost touch for almost a year. I gathered she had found her happiness somewhere else.
And then one fine day a few months later, I got a phone call from her.
“Guess what? I’m getting married!” She sounded excited. “Wow, Rita! I’m so happy for you.”
She described to me every small detail of how it happened – just like the old times. She had remembered a friend who she could air such thoughts with at such a time – perhaps to bring some perspective in her own head.
She mentioned that she had barely imagined that this would be the quintessential moment that would change her life forever – because when it did come, slowly, unnoticed – it had crept upon her when she had least expected it, when she didn’t even realize it was happening to her – and so fast. At the end of it all, she said to me dreamily, “You know what, every cliché about love you’ve ever heard is true. When it’s right, you’ll just know it. And you won’t have to do a thing about it – everything will just magically fall into place exactly where it belongs. All you need to do is to keep the faith and just wait for it to happen.”
I smiled at the other end of the line. I guess the moment when it happens is indeed surreal. With mixed emotions filling my heart, I put the phone down. A rush of memories flooded my mind – all the heart-to-heart conversations that had meant so much back in the day – everything seemed to disappear into thin air. It was like closing a chapter in one’s personal journey of life – one that marked the end of a phase, and the beginning of a new era.
And that’s when I understood another one of those timeless clichés about love: “Once in every lifetime there comes a moment when you can truly catch the starlight in your palms.”
Neha Kirpal is the author of ‘Wanderlust for the Soul,’ a collection of short stories based on travel in different parts of the world. Neha has worked in the print, electronic, and online media, and is currently a copy editor at a multinational company in Gurgaon, India. Her hobbies include reading, writing, travel, music, and films. She can be reached at nehakirpal@gmail.com
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