Dear Pat

Letter 11

Dear Pat,

When you move to a new city, there are so many new things you get to experience. And you love it so much. But there are these moments. Sometimes they are much larger moments. It's these moments where you miss your old life, the way you had a set routine, the way even when you stepped out to do something new, you knew who you'd want to do it with. I miss that. I miss my friends. I miss Achala. And Koyal. And Sara.

We still speak of course. We have that WhatsApp group. And we all get together on Skype once in a while. But I really miss how we were together in college and even after. The adventures we went on, the ice cream we shared, the stories we made. Just writing about it all makes me a little teary-eyed.

I know it's odd. They all left the city a couple of years before I did. We've been apart for a while. And while geographical distance plays a bummer, I'm glad we have technology that lets us stay connected in a way you never could with your friends. I'm aware of all that. I think it's moving to a new city where I haven't made any new friends is what made me think about it. I know it takes time to make new friends, Pat. I know it's part of a greater story and this is just one chapter. But this chapter is important too, right?

Today, I had gone for lunch at work. And I was sitting with the entire newbie gang. We mostly have lunch together because our timings are so in sync. I sat next to Meghana, the girl who is fond of Tanmay's plays. So while the table was abuzz with conversations, I picked up mine with her. I bumped shoulders with her casually and smiled to say, "Hey!"

She looked at me with a big grin and said, "Hey back!"

I laughed and asked, "So what's up?"

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Eh nothing much. I'm kinda bored actually. You tell me."

I ate a bite of sabudana khichdi and asked, "What do you want to know?"

She shrugged again and said, "Anything fun..." Her eyes then lit up as she asked, "Oooo do you find anyone cute here?"

I snorted as I chewed on my food and looked at her. She asked innocently, "What? It's a valid question."

I nodded along sideways and said, "Sure but you know there's no one here right?"

She shrugged again. Clearly, it's a thing she does. She then nodded and said, "Yeah...just thought I'd try my luck with you. I'm a sucker for a good love story and it's been so long since I heard one."

As she took a bite of her dal chawal, I looked up and said very softly, "Well..."

She perked up instantly as she turned around and looked at me. She asked quickly, "What was that "well" all about?"

I chuckled and said, "Nothing."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Oh please. I know a "well" when I hear one. And that was a good "well." So tell me. Well...?"

I took a deep breath, set my spoon aside and looked at her. I said, "Okay...you know that play you were talking about the other day?"

She frowned and tried to recollect. She asked, "Nazm?"

I blinked. I realized I had no idea what the new play was called. I then searched for the name of the play online and saw Tanmay's face flash up in one of the images. I smiled and looked up to nod. I said, "Yeah, Nazm, that's the one."

She asked curiously, "What about it? You want to watch it? I do too but can we? That's the real question."

I said shook my head and said, "No...I mean yeah, I want to watch it too but that's not it. Um...the lead actor..."

She nodded and went, "Tanmay Tripathi, yeah. He's ridiculously cute. Oh God, you should have seen him in Agyakari where he played Aakash Joshi. There's this one scene where the girl he loves is on the other side of the restaurant, and his friend asks him a question. Wait, what was the question? Oh yeah...the friend says, "Bhai, do you know what it's like to have love waiting for you at the door while you're too busy to notice?" And Tanmay dude! Oh my God, all he does is look up at her and smile. Oh that smile. It was so, so..." She stops and merely sighs with a smile on her face.

I looked at her and laughed. I shook her by the arm and said, "Well...I have a crush on him."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah who doesn't? Everyone has a crush on that character...Aakash."

I shook my head and said, "No dude! I haven't even seen Agyakari. I have a crush on Tanmay!"

She looked at me with a frown and asked, "You haven't seen Agyakari? Then how do you have a crush on him? You've seen his other plays?"

I rolled my eyes this time. I said, "No! I didn't even know he was an actor. He's my flatmate."

Pat, never in my life have I seen rounder eyes. Her eyes went that big. Then her eyebrows shot up slowly. I could see how she was slowly processing the information. It was rather amusing. She then took a deep breath, put a hand on my wrist and said, "Wait, wait...Tanmay Tripathi...is your flatmate...here. The Tanmay Tripathi...Agyakari Tanmay...Aakash Joshi...Tanmay...really??"

I laughed and said, "Yeah dude!"

She exclaimed, 'Oh my God! Why have you not told me this before??? This is so cool! Oh my God! Oh my God!"

She then sobered down a little and asked, "What's he like in reality?"

I shook my head and sighed, "Well...he drove me to the point of developing a crush on him...So he's annoying."

She burst out laughing at that. She asked, "I know what you mean. Been there sista. I'm here to listen to the whole tale. So tell me...how did you two meet?"

And Pat, while it wasn't like the old times, I did feel a little less homesick. :)

More later.

Much love,

P.S. I sent a picture of Tanmay's to the gang. They think he's cute too. Ugh, I'm in trouble, aren't I?

Author's Note: Again, I apologize for the long absence. I think if I'm going to complete this story with my existing workload, it 's going to take me a while. I hope you guys will excuse me for that. 

In other news, did you enjoy today's chapter? I had great fun writing it. It reminded me of fun times with my own friends. Ah the power of female friendships to make you feel like a queen! <3

More later.

S.