My Girlfriend's Crush...

I always wanted to witness a destination wedding, since the time Shreya and I had watched Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and you might not believe it, but that opportunity came to us with my sister, Mahima’s wedding in Jaisalmer.

Now Mahima wasn’t my real sister. I was lucky in that case, but I had a strong bonding with her, the kind of bonding due to which she made me select her Sangeet ceremony dress. She was more of my second mother than a sister and she was rich! Real rich! Like whatever she spends on her wedding she had earned it by herself. She had an MBA from IIM-A and that explains it all. But yes, she is one of the most successful and ambitious women I have seen in my life and that inspires me, but more than me it inspired Shreya. I think it was because she was a girl too and resonated with her story well. Not to mention the lesser number of women in our society who earn so much in such a little time, but this story is not about her. It’s about a question!

Shreya and I had been in a relationship for like a year, now. We were friends and eventually, we wanted to try the space of a relationship that was not a relationship at its best but more of a close friendship because none of us had an actual experience of a relationship. Even today, we hear stories of what normal couples do and fell what the hell are we even doing, but that never actually changed the dynamics of our relationship.

Many of my friends ask me what is it that we do together, and I am like we talk…I guess? Like Jesse and Celine in the Before Trilogy?

And they are like Is that a movie? And mainly I never answered that question because I watch a whole bunch of a lot of weird movies that nobody had ever heard of. Even Shreya had to suffer because of that but she made it a habit.

I have seen us evolve and knew how one person makes small sacrifices just to see the other one happy. Sometimes, those small sacrifices become what you may call an ideal decision, but one question always haunted me. Does the ambition or the urge to sacrifice die eventually? I don’t know surely, but it does leave a small void inside you… of how it could have coexisted with the other person’s needs.

So, coming back to the wedding, Shreya and I had been in Jaisalmer for a week and spend it so well… I mean, it was our moment of creating a whole bunch of awesome memories and we did it well.

Jaisalmer is a beautiful city for people who know how to travel, in a real sense, and my Maternal Uncle and Aunt were experts in that zone and that eventually made us experts too.

On the last day when we were about to leave, Shreya and I sat on the bus which was going to take us to the train station. She looked at me and asked, “What if we hadn’t been together like this and you had someone better suited for you?”

I was puzzled by her question and said,” Who could be more perfect for me than you?”

“It’s like a game of possibilities.”, she started explaining. “What if we had never met? And you just had someone else in our life who is… you know beautiful than me, smarter than me, and understood you much better than I ever could?”

“No one can take your place, ok? The definition of perfectly suited for me is you.”, I told her.

“But just try to consider that probability na?”, she urged.

I thought for a second and answered, “You know what? There is always a probability of you getting someone better than me. I mean, who doesn’t think like that? If I have something that is good, I will always urge to have a better or best version of it.”

“So, you want to have someone better than me in my life?”, she asked.

“No. Not really.”, I said. “Do you?”

She hesitated a bit and an awkward silence sat between us.

“, I got a crush on one of Mahima di’s cousins…”, she said.

“Don’t tell me it was Ayushmaan!”

“It was Ayushmaan!”, she said and smiled. “How did you know?”

“You looked flattered when you saw him the first time…I mean, he is good looking and all. Anyone could have a crush on him.”

“He also a good person.”, she added.

“Oh, so you know him so well now, ha?”, I teased her.

“Don’t mock me over this now! I told you the truth, na?”, she said.

“It’s good we are talking about it like this…I mean, how many couples have a virtue like this?”, I said.

“This is happening just because we are best friends.”, she made her point.

“And not really a couple…”, I added.

“And we are still happy in this relationship!”, she added.

We shared a smile.

“How can you see a paraye mard when you are still involved with me?”, I mocked her.

“Tum bhi toh aakhe seekh late ho na? I never complain about it!”

“Oh, so you expect me to do the same now?”

“Yes…I have a right to expect it from you!”

“Wow, yaar! I should do it more often now.”

“Try toh karke dekh le…”, she gave a possessive smile.

“Just wait and watch!”, I smiled.

“You know what? Even if I try, I will never get someone who understands me like you do.”, she smiled.

“And I will never leave you because tere jaise Momos koi nahi bana payega mere liye.”

“So, you are with me just for the momos?”

“We have grown up together. So, the probability of we sharing the similar habits is high.”

“It’s not a game of probability.”

“These are real emotions.”

“And they can only be felt.”

“And not arranged in terms of a probability.”

“Right!”

“Right!”