Us and Seasons - ShraMan OS

Us and Seasons

Shravan should have seen it coming miles away...

And he had. He had seen it in the way the new guy had looked at her, the way their eyes had met, and how she had sat there still, just looking at him, the way he had held her hand in an attempt to pull her up from the ground...

And because he had seen it coming, Shravan had intervened, yes, he had. He had pushed the new guy away, had hovered over her himself and had pulled her up, had asked her if she had hurt herself by falling, fusing over her yet he had noticed how her gaze had lingered on the new guy, but he had paid it no mind. After all, even if they hadn't confessed, even if they hadn't said it out loud, they had known how they felt for each other, there was never a moment that they hadn't been aware of what the other person felt for them...

Everyone around them had suspected that he, Shravan Malhotra, and her, Suman Tiwari had been precious to each other since the day they met - when they had been just a few months old - the day Tiwari family had relocated to the hill station Malhotras had been living since past three generations.

The first indication that they were soulmates was the fact that they both were born on the same day and by default, they had celebrated their birthdays together ever since their mothers had found out about that fact. The second indication was that they were neighbors and that meant they were always together. They were each other's first friend, they had said their first words together and to each other. They had taken their first step together and towards each other. They had started preschool together, had fought their first bully together, had made the walkie-talkie from paper glass together and then they had hung it in between their windows which faced each other. They had exchanged their play toys and innocent curiosities with each other. They had been attached to the hip and never had stayed away from each other even during the summer holidays...

They were famous around their neighborhood for being true soulmates and they were told that they would marry each other before they even knew the meaning of the word. And when they had understood what marriage meant, at the age of five staying with each other forever was an absolute necessity. So they did agree that they would marry each other when the time came...

So, what and who could have separated them?

Apparently, puberty could have and it had...

They had started middle school together. And in between somewhere, puberty had hit them, changing their bodies and making them extra conscious, and suddenly they had been insecure and shy around each other yet together no matter what. And that's when it had happened; he had forgotten to block the view of his room with the curtains and she had seen his lanky body when he had just stepped out of the bathroom covered only in a towel. She in all her Sumo strength had screamed in horror as if she had seen a monster and then suddenly started to laugh while looking at him. He had always been thin and his tall frame had only worsened how thin he looked. Those days everyone had felt it necessary to talk about how he was all bones, made fun of him, calling him a khamba and whatnot. Sumo in all her Sumoness had always fought with others for him. 

So why she was suddenly laughing in the same manner others laughed at him when they saw him? 

That one act of hers had destroyed his fragile confidence and ego, had made him feel humiliated, and whatnot. That day, he had closed his side of the window and pulled together the curtains - something that had never happened before.

And his immature fourteen-year-old self had not cared when the very next day she had attempted to talk to him, had tried to apologize. Even if she had waited by her side of the window for days, weeks even. He hadn't been ready to face her, to talk to her, to tell her that it was okay, that he had been embarrassed and ashamed, had felt humiliated but he knew she wasn't being mean. It was after all Suman's habit to laugh in unexpected situations to reduce stress. It was something he had himself told her after doing detailed research on the matter when she had confessed that her parent's fights and yellings had made her laugh rather than cry. To her brain laughing at inappropriate times was a mechanism to regulate emotion, so he understood why it happened.