Bus stop

As I leaned over her forehead to kiss her good night, she held my hand tightly and smiled at me. Despite the grey hair, bi-focal glasses and a wrinkly mouth, her smile remained intact over all these years. To be precise, 55 years.

I met my partner during our childhood. I was ten and she was nine. By the way, her name is Rina. She exuded confidence and was a lanky lass. So, was I. I felt a strange sense of happiness waiting for her at the bus stop. With little pear droplets on her ears, she would wave at me. We took the same bus and travelled for a short distance and walked a long way to reach our school. Our walks were filled with giggles and occasional pep talks by Rina which motivated my stuttering self. Having street food and talking to Rina was the best time of everyday school life. I think she was not aware of my admiration. She was a bright girl always lending me a helping hand in my studies. I would hide in the urinals for the fear of being forced into a game of football by my guy friends. All that mattered to me was to walk with Rina to the bus stop, buy her some peanut candy and board the bus and see her vanishing out of my sight as she walked back home. Unfortunately, my happiness was shortlived as my father moved to a neighbouring town. Those were the times when there was no internet and telephones were quite rare. I lost touch but I always wondered about her and what she was upto. I could not even say goodbye as this happened during the vacations. Years passed and I was a college student by then. One day at the bus stop, a faint but familiar voice greeted me. I looked around and I immediately recognized her smile. It was Rina and my happiness knew no bounds. She had come to my town to complete a summer course. And oh boy, it was the best summer. Who can forget the first blush of romance !! All those years of no contact did not make any difference. The lanky lass that I knew transformed into a beautiful young lady. Her eyes sparkled and her laughter was contagious. Her tresses were flowing over her shoulders and I was keen to look at her ears to see if she still wore the pearl droplets. Instead, I found a charming pair of hoops adorning her ears. I thought to myself, she has changed, of course in a good way. She started wearing glasses, probably an outcome of her voracious reading habit. Those tiny spectacles perched over her button like nose added a unique charm to her face. I was way beyond words as I was just gazing at her in sheer thrill and wonder. To me, she was the most beautiful girl alive. I think she understood my feelings and blushed at my unspoken bewilderment. We started yet again by reminiscing our childhood and our old connections. We met everyday for the next three months. We never felt bored of each other. However, we did not profess our love to each other until the day came finally for her to leave. We kissed that day and parted with a long embrace and tear-welled eyes. I was 21 and she was 20. We kept in touch through letters. We bypassed many love affairs and marriage proposals with the strong belief that we would be united forever. But fate had other plans. I had to move out of country for my higher education and she promised to wait for me. The long distance relationship took a toll on us and we were temporarily enticed into other relationships. But, there was always a vaccum. I came back home after 4 years and applied for a doctoral program in a prestigious university. I met Rina again in the same university but to each other, we were still unavailable as both of us thought we were with our respective partners. Rina has changed a lot. She seems to have abandoned her glasses. I noticed that her eyes were a mix of hazel and dark brown. The glint in the eye still remained the same. Perhaps due to her academic interests and lack of time for maintaining long hair, she sported a cute little pony tail with a silver chain around her neck. She looked gorgeous with a sense of self assurance and confidence. Suddenly, I remembered that I should not think of her, considering she is not with me anymore.We kept distance from each other. However, the distance did not stop me from searching for her in the library, corridors and the lawns of our university. I looked at her secretly and longed to speak to her once again. God heard me ! I thank him to this moment for creating such a circumstance for us. Luckily, we happened to be in the same bus travelling back to our hometown. Invariably, we somehow managed to arrange for adjacent seats and that was the most memorable bus journey ever. We did not sleep throughout our entire journey and confessed that we were very much single. The dark clouds of sadness were gone in a jiffy and I began to imagine a beautiful future with her. After a few years, we understood that fate has given us numerous chances to be together and we should not let go off it. She worked as a media professional and I worked as a professor. We married after accumulating enough finances and bought ourselves a cute little cottage with a small garden with dahlias and creepers. Since then, there has never been a dull moment. We have supported each other in our journey together as life partners, professionals and most importantly parents to our precious bundle of joy, Mihirima. We are in our mid 60s and we still can't get enough of each other. Always in love with my Rina, here is Neil signing off.