First Love

“Tell me about your first love Ma”

“It was beautiful. I look back on those days and think ‘they are never going to come back’ but I never once regretted breaking up with him”

“Oh Ma! Tell me about it. Please!” “I was quite young. Nineteen years old and those were my happiest days. I met him one day

at the beach. My friend Sam and I went jogging and I saw him. I fell in love with him that very instant. But by that time, Sam was in love with him too, but, he clearly loved me and Sam was quite nice about it all”

“Is she the same Aunt Sam that we ask for tea every third Sunday?”

“Yes, the same dear Sam. We have been friends since I could remember.”

“So, tell me Ma, what happened? How did you talk to him?” // excited

“Well! We used to jog everyday but he was quite irregular. But whenever he did come, we followed him. In the beginning, we were quite shy but later on we got used to the idea and jogged right along. It did take him a couple of months to notice us. He used to look for us the moment he reached the park and we would smile the moment his eyes met ours. Oh! Those days were quite fun. I was very happy just smiling at him and jogging along with him. It was Aunt Sam that egged me on to talk to him. She said that I ought not to pass the opportunity. After all, he was so very handsome. I was shy. Very very shy but she finally succeeded. I talked to him. I don’t remember what it was I said but it must have been quite silly. He burst out laughing. He even made fun of me but I was so much in love, I did not look past the sarcasm. He joked that my sarcasm shield wasn’t very effective. I was so much in love, everything he said sounded funny. We began jogging together. Sam was there too and we made quite a jogging party. We would jog for an hour everyday and have breakfast at the beautiful place ‘Charm’. They served eggs, pan cakes, scones, and even pastries for breakfast along with mugs of coffee. We started going out to movies and malls. He bought me surprise presents and I wrote songs for him. I was so happy. It was beautiful.”

“So, what happened? Why did you breakup?” // disbelief

“It was my birthday. He asked me for dinner at his place. He said he spent a lot of time learning to make chili and he wanted me to have it with him on my birthday. It was exciting. I was going to have my first birthday dinner with the boy I loved and I spent the whole evening dressing up. I brushed and perfumed my hair. I wore a beautifully tailored white blouse and a frilled brown skirt. Oh! I felt so happy and so beautiful. And when it was time, I took a cab and reached his house. My heart was pounding with excitement. I thought I would die before I even reached his house. It was my first romantic dinner ever and I was going to his house which was quite close to the beach. I was going to stay and we were going to watch the sunrise together. The butterflies were fluttering and I was going happily dizzy and then it happened!” // voice drops to a whisper

“What Ma? What happened? Tell me! Please!!” // anxious

“I got off the cab, paid the driver and rang his door bell. He opened it immediately as if he had been right behind the door waiting for the bell to ring. Oh! I was so happy! The moment he opened the door, I broke up with him” // deep sigh

“MAAAAAAAAA! WHY?” // Incredulous

“He was wearing a yellow lungi!”