Jasmine...

The cool breeze let my hair lose. A few tresses embraced my nose and I was stunned to smell the scent of ‘that jasmine garland’. I rushed home immediately and frantically started rubbing shampoo on my hair. After some time I smelled it again. It was there – the last aroma. It is true that people sometimes leave their mark upon you. Thoughts may die, even memories may vanish but some aromas linger around for eternity.

We had met that afternoon in the same alley which used to be our favourite hangout place. He had placed that jasmine garland in my hair and I let him do that. That was the last day of the sweet friendship. Our parents had forced us to marry (not to each other, but to separate people) whom we hadn’t even seen. In my culture, it is a tradition not to see either the bride/groom’s face until marriage.

We both had tears in our eyes. We wanted this friendship to continue but it was too late. It was already a high time. We both departed with false assurances of keeping in touch. We knew the hopelessness of the promises that we made. While walking back to my house, I saw him from the last time, waving me back from the alley. We had never waved back to each other in such a dull way. This good bye was the most painful one. I ran back and hugged him for the last time in those 20 years.

The nights that followed were sleepless ones. I missed him, more specifically us...