The three of us were classmates and close pals, who lived in the same neighbourhood, right from primary school. The three little girls walking to school hand in hand must’ve been quite a pretty sight. Those oily braids tied up with black ribbons may not have been that pretty, however.
We went to the same school and college and pretty much knew one anothers’ families like our own. We fought amongst ourselves over little things, but we always had one another to fall back on. We were our own hairstylists, fashion designers, tutors of academic and non-academic subjects, counsellors and co-conspirators of unspeakable teenage antics.
We all had our own 2-wheelers, but it was always thought to be wastage of petrol and time lost without talking to each other if we all went out separately. So, the three of us would squeeze into the same bike, chatter on and speed away on the roads with the wind ruffling our hair and freedom in our souls.
And then, the eventual break-up of our close bond had to happen. Each of us got married, and my two soul mates moved to different parts of the globe. We wrote to each other once in a while and tried to keep the magic alive. Every time each of them visited the country, they tried to meet up with me. But, the magic existed in the threesome, not in twosomes. We all had kids and our worlds revolved around them and the magic was almost forgotten.
Suddenly, after decades I got an opportunity last year to travel to the city that one of my friends lived in. And by some twist of fate, the third friend had a connecting flight out of the same city during the time I was there. So, after two decades, the three of us happened to be in the same city on one evening. And what a reunion it was! Decades just turned into nothing, as we filled each other on the major events of our lives. We were spinning magic again.
The evening ended with promises. Promises to write more, meet more often, call more often. Promises to not let years pass by before we catch up again. Though, we were all thrilled about the evening, I guess each of us knew that our awesome-threesome magic worked in those growing years because we knew every little thing that was going on in one another’s lives. It was all about the simple little things that we shared that happened to us every day – a broken heart, a fight with someone, a joke, a movie that was liked, a book that was hated, a hairstyle that didn’t work, the cute new neighbour and the wild rides on the bike.
When I look back on the evening, I feel lucky to have known that kind of friendship and bond that made growing up so interesting. But, there is also a generous mix of sadness that we girls had let that wonderful magic fade away, with excuses of career, marriage, distance, time zones and motherhood.
As a result of that evening, this year’s resolutions had “keeping in touch with people that I care about” right on top of the list. And when any one expresses surprise by this sudden change in me and asks me the reason, I simply tell them, “To keep our magic alive!”