A Friend Found In The Light

A Friend Found In The Light:

𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠. '𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠,' 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 an experience made me realize that 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠, 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒.

𝐼𝑛 2021, 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 '𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑎𝑑' — 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦-𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑠, 𝐼 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑒. 𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒! 

𝑶𝒏 last Diwali, 𝑰 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆-𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 '𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊', 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 '𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏'. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 '𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏' 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕, 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚. 

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑰 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆—𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒌𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓: '𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆? 𝑾𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆.' 

The guts it took me to post this! I don’t know, but I was driven by the urge to tell her the truth. Our relationship, however, was built with trust and a feeling of affection, but nevertheless, it was nameless. ‘Friendship’ would be too less to define.

And her answer was, 'I am sorry. I overreacted. So, to start off, no, I don’t mind your age at all!

‘I'm not losing you, because my concept of losing people is a little different. I know that I can never ever lose this bond that we have - no matter how much my identity alters. I know that I don't know who you are as a person, and I have come to terms with it. I'll have to stop calling you my older sister, and it's really sad. But, I know YOU. I know that our literature tastes match, I know that you can support me through the darkest of times by telling me exactly what I need to hear ( not want), and I know that you're the best guide I can ever have - let age fly away in the wind. 

‘I know that you have probably told me a few lies, but those haven't made your feelings for me untrue. You still trust me as much as you did the first day when we began chatting through Wattpad messages, and the fact that today you're telling me all this is proof that our bond has only strengthened. Our… I don’t know what to term us. Probably even considering us ‘nameless’. But, I do know that you mean the whole world to me.

‘What more can I ask for? I'm finally getting to know you... You can finally trust me more than ever before, and if I consider these questions to be rhetorical truths, then, looks like I have passed the trust test. Shouldn't I be happy that I have you beside me even more now than ever? Shouldn't I be glad that although sobs are threatening to rip through my lungs, I am happy that I still have you in my life, irrespective of everything else?!

‘In all honesty, I'm smiling... Because, in spite of all this, I'll be shocked to know that someone can spend so much time and effort on me.. on me of all people! And, that too someone like you! Someone with a heart so pure that I am moved by their very existence.’

Then, at that moment, when I was reading what she wrote, I was crying. I had met a person whom I can blindly trust, always lean on, I know I can count on her… always. We are so far, yet we are so close. Even with miles to separate us, we are always there for each other. Our bond has only strengthened with time. Distances don't matter anymore. 

I do remember that we were supposed to meet when we were in Kolkata, but… we couldn't. We just couldn't. But, I still accepted that. I know that she has me, and I have her. 

During that conversation, I was greeted with a beautiful realization. I have been told that Diwali is the festival of lights, simply because people light lots of clay lamps and decorate their houses until they literally shine. There’s so much light all around. But, my definition of ‘light’ is ‘hope’. Hope — something which keeps you going, something which holds you back together, and which gives you strength to last just one more day. 

Bristi is my light. When I had no one to share my thoughts with, no friends, peer pressure, studies — all that really sort of depressed me. She appeared like a ray of light (hope) in a dark room.

We might be strangers, but the emotions are true. Finally, I found a pure soul and a true friend, in the light…