A Lost Friendship

When I was a kid, there were five of us—Me, Shruthi, Shravya, Monisha and Pooja. We were what you could call “inseparable friends”. We were into doing everything together—playing, fighting, sharing…teasing. I now look back and think how precious that friendship was. It is not that now we are all arch rivals, or that we hate each other now, but growing up has changed us. We are different. We now know our manners, and we know we need to be dignified in speech and expression. We are not anymore those sissies who shared with each other the stories of how scared we were of going to bathroom alone at night, how the howling winds scared us, or how we secretly cried when our mothers scolded us. Sometimes, I hope that we could all have remained the same way we were as kids—stubborn, happy, and absolute pranksters.

Well, we all live so close to each other, just around the same street corner. But now, all of us are as far away from each other as the earth and mars. I don’t know what is going on with the others. Life’s so busy that I can just manage to smile and drop a quick ‘Hi’ to my friend shruthi from the balcony. Shravya is now a deep thinker, and academically absorbed in her work, and it would be sinful on my part to interrupt her. Pooja has ‘cooler’ friends and Monisha is busy with AIEEE classes. What happened to the leisurely days of scrambling across stones, pulling each other’s hair and throwing paper rockets at passerby? What happened to those giggles, laughter and dreams that we shared with each other? Somethings make be feel bitter. I don’t know if it is just me, or my friends feel it too…I want that friendship to return. I want more leisurely summers to spend…I want the fun back in life. All of them are pretty young girls now, smart, totally dignified, but if I know them well, they are hiding in their shells. I think they too miss the fun…it’s not enjoyable to pretend to be ‘adultish’ anymore. Something as precious as friendship should not be lost. I have decided that something ought to be done. We shouldn’t meander away from each other like this. Perhaps, if I gather all of them, and if we visit the local park together, the visit will reveal something which I already know…that they too wish to have the friendship back….I am hopeful that the ‘inseparable friends’ shall become truly inseparable forever.