My Friend Gerin

My neighbour, whose name I don't remember right now, told me that her relatives were joining Sivagiri (Vidyaniketan). Unfortunately, I was a bit snobbish; being there in the school for around 7 years then. And a new face will of course be treated like an alien. So I'd a preconceived notion of being a bit of a grump.

There was this neighbour of mine named Jerine. I knew her from when I was a kid. And when I heard your name, the first thing that came to my mind was 'Geez, this guy has a girly name.'

You are honest though. You exude a nervous energy, and I like people with nervous energy. Actually I like people who have energy. And soon, I realized that you were brilliant; in your conduct, in your academics, in almost everything. You are a great person -- the kind of person I can never dream about becoming.

Soon we were hanging out together through our early adolescence. And trust me, I cherish it. I don't remember the details now. But Cherai comes to mind first. Your Mom's cooking was fabulous. And love your house as well; the old more than the new. Your Ambassador, the driver whose name I don't remember -- he took us to the Cherai beach numerous times. And remember we tried playing Monopoly, or stock market or something like that? Few facts of life here: I am weak at maths. And numbers in general, you are awesome at it. So no surprise you beat me in those. And Monopoly is THE Test Cricket of board games.

Well Gerin, the reason I am writing all this is because somewhere down the line, our life gets so blurred with details, that things we thought would always be cherished, get buried under a rubble that is so inconsequential. When I used to hang out with you in 9th and 10th std, I thought you'd be my best friend ever. Now, I don't think I will have a best friend.

Tomorrow, new faces will show up. And today's faces will be buried under another rubble. That's life I guess. But I just want you, Gerin, to know that, you were, at one point of time, the person I'd thought will be forever my friend.