Page 26 - Campus Chronicles Technical Magazine 2022

Poetry and Stories by saying,“ Let's go to the beach.”. I sent you a
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A Reel to Reveal
It's been a while since I came here. For me,
Beach is almost like a second home. I miss
sitting here with you and talking about our
respective lives. I miss enjoying the little
warmth felt while we let the warm waves tickle
our cold feet. It's almost been an year. And here
I am coming to the beach for 1001th time. Did
you remember our first meeting here? I still
remember how I mislabeled my jealousy
towards you as hatred. I remember how I used
to sit alone in the front bench, speaking to
myself, being a bookworm, reminding every
teacher about homework, being the
TEACHERS' PET, writing silly notes on being
perfect.
To be phrased into one simple sentence, I was
the perfect example of the word BORING.
Finally, I admit that I was jealous of you for
having many friends and being the coolest guy
in school. It's exactly how I pictured myself in
my dreams. I remember myself walking alone
to the school while you were joyously going
with your friends. Although I hated you so
much, I've always wanted to talk to you
somehow and make you an ally. I even showed
up at your home with some foolish excuses to
talk to you. I was never mistreated by your
family as our parents have been friends from
the beginning. But I never had enough
courage.
Then came a golden opportunity flying to us.
You didn't score well in Science. So our teacher
asked me to teach you few important topics as
we were neighbors. I was so excited as you
texted me for the first time telling that you don't
find yourself comfortable with studying at
home. Then I gave you a chance to choose the
spot. Within an hour you texted me back
thumbs-up emoji as an approval. Next
morning, I woke up to the loudest giggles from
the kitchen.
You were talking to my mom and she was
making some food for us to take. You somehow
made it appear like a picnic. I somehow
managed to get ready in half an hour and rush
into the kitchen before you people could start
saying many things about me which the other
one doesn't know. You gave me a big smile
saying good morning while my Amma was
praising you for being so good enough to pick
me up at my place. Beach for me, is the only
place I ever imagined myself to be chilling in my
dreams. But in real life, no body was ever free
enough to take me there and spend some
quality time. My life was always an epitome of
loneliness until you stepped in.
That was the first time I ever went there. As
promised, I taught you few topics and then we
talked about our goals and all. That was quite a
day. It felt so nice to be important to someone.
Do you remember what I told you while we
were about to leave? I said, “ You made this first
time even more better than I expected. I think
we should come here again to fulfill my second
time fantasy” . You replied with a smile saying,
“ We'll be coming here together for thousand
times ” . I never knew that one day could
change my life so well. And from that day, You
never left me alone. We've become each
other's partners in every first time experience
ever since. You taught me self worth. You
taught me how to smile. You pushed away my
loneliness. You gave me hope and mental
stability. I somehow started falling for you ever
since.
I remember talking about our past, present and
future. I remember sitting in the beach and
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bitching about your toxic relationship with previous one to kick start a new one. And yes,
Neha. As she was so jealous of me for
everything we had. As we grew up, Our bond
grew to be magical. I found it so nice. I knew
that I always liked you so much. So I did that
stupid thing one evening. I sent you a song by
Taylor Swift asking you to concentrate on the
meaning of lyrics. It was “ You belong with me”.
You were a little bit nervous after listening to it
and I cursed myself so much that evening after
sharing an episode of awkward silence with
you.
Next morning I woke up to a very rare sight. You
were sitting beside my bed waiting for me to
wakeup, you shushed me before speaking
anything and you said“ Even I liked you so
much but I couldn't open up. I wanted a perfect
beginning so I cleared up things with Neha so
that we could start fresh. I'm so happy that you
told me. Will you love me the same forever or at
least until death parts us?” I checked if it's real
or if I'm dreaming. It was absolutely real. I
nodded as approval.
And everyday was a beautiful episode in our
love reel, until that night. It was a perfect day.
You proposed to me in the office and I said yes.
We threw a party at beach side to all our
friends. I couldn't stay longer so I bade a good
bye and went home. Next morning I woke up to
the news of an accident where a 24 year old
man named Rishikesh died in a car accident. A
drunk driver hit your car. Everybody was safe
except for you. And life became so haunting
from then. It took me almost an year to step out
of home. Tears were not enough. I cried and
cried and one day I stopped everything as I
didn't want to forget you.
You always told me that, life is a set of reels of
new chapters and episodes. Once an reel is
over, the other reel waits for you to get over the
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I'm ready to start a new reel. Do you remember
how badly you teased me for being so forgetful
about gifts? But today, I brought you this gift.
You gifted me this diary on our first anniversary
saying that publishing those poems was your
dream. And yes, today it's happening. Does it
sound like a perfect gift? I will never forget how
your untimely death felt like. Because, one
cannot know what happiness is until he knows
how sadness feels like.
You might have died physically but you'll
always be immortal in my smile at least until the
day I die. And I'm really angry with you for not
even saying a good bye. It was totally your
thing. You never wanted to say bye to me. And I
also remember how we laughed when I halted
you from going home and dragged you to sit
with me. Now that you are not here, I'll laugh on
your behalf too. I'll live my life happily like how
it has to be if you were still alive. I'll start living
my life, pursuing all my dreams that I told you. I
don't know if my heart flutters again or I don't
know if I could love again but I promise you that
you'll never get disappointed with my choices.
Rishi! You might've gone but you'll never be
forgotten. I've almost forgotten saying this.
Today I'm listening to our favorite song, “
Yamunathatilo ”. A song about how Radha
waits for Krishna at the bank of river Yamuna.
Here I'm waiting for you to comeback even if I
know that you won't. Then suddenly I
remember that Radha was never married to her
true love, Krishna. The whole point of living is
moving on or getting over but never giving up.
So, I promise you. I'll live my life to the fullest.
You'll always live happily in my heart. I'll take
good care of myself and most importantly, I'll
love myself.
Yours lovingly,
Rishitha,
Padala Prasanna Lahari