From strangers to friends (part 2)

 

Walking into one of the rooms made me feel like we were in a deluxe room at a scenic resort. As the houseboat stopped at various corners of the backwaters, we got down to take a stroll. Though it was raining a bit, it was not pouring hard. So I soaked up the gentle breeze, which made the brisk weather even more alluring..

The main event of the day was the speedboat ride, which surprised us with sudden turns and made us laugh in glee. We had to take the ride twice, just to get completely drenched by the water splashing from every side!!

Shortly afterwards, we got ready to celebrate Onam Eve in traditional attire. I was dressed in a glam white sari and completed the look with smoky eye makeup. When we took pictures to commemorate this soirée, the heavenly glow of the setting sun and golden yellow lights from the boat became our backdrop!

Once I returned to the room, the ever-changing views of the backwaters and the gentle seesaw of the boat lulled me to sleep. As I woke up hungry, I walked up to the buffet area on the top deck. Everyone there was having a good time—some showing their moves to the up-tempo beats, while others were cheering them from their seats..

I sat there eagerly waiting for the dinner. A bunch of tripmates who were dancing invited me for a final dance. We swayed slowly to the song 'Mustafa Mustafa' and by that time we had already bonded well. When dinner finally came, I grabbed some chapatis with enough dal to refill my bod with some protein.

Then, I walked over to the open part of the deck yearning for fresh air. While some were enjoying their dinner under the moonlight and others were engaging in little chit-chat, I found a seat to join the conversation. We began talking about traveling, the places we visited and the wholesome experiences we had!

When we moved inside to play games, I was getting drowsy, but the excitement kept me up. After a few rounds of 'Guess the Liar', we moved on to personal confessions. Most of the tripmates had shared their love stories already and it was my turn.

I recalled the memories of my last relationship, which were fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday. My love-at-first-sight was from Kerala, which made me feel saudade at that moment. We met during the 1st year of our post-graduate, which began with the orientation program. 

When I first saw him, he was wearing an orange shirt. He had the looks of a small-town boy with a short stash and naturally crimped hair. I was so attracted to him and wanted to talk to him. Finally, when the classes started, I was in seventh heaven to find out he was in the same class as me!

 Within a week, I got his number from the group chat and started messaging him. He was an affable guy who was always with his close friends. I remarked that I saw him during the orientation, clearly remembering his orange shirt.  

He was over the moon on hearing that he was my crush. We started stealing glances secretly and being anywhere near him gave me butterflies. Even though we planned to have lunch together like other campus couples, his friends never left him alone!

 And like that, we did not even get a chance to talk in person. Still, I was on cloud nine whenever we talked over the phone. One day, I was taking a walk and messaging him that I was stressed. Strangely, I felt he was being evasive and indifferent about my worries.