Five and a Half Years and a Lifetime Ago

As I make my way from the airport to Bangalore city, nearly six years after I departed from it, memories flood back to me. I reminisce about the time I spent here, recalling one of my closest friends who used to reside near the airport, close to that massive mall.

Instinctively, I yearn to visit her - the version of her from back then, in that old neighborhood where I used to travel long hours over the weekends just to be with her. She was like a home to me during those times, always there when I needed her, whether it was after getting too high from smoking up or during moments of conflict with others.

We would spend hours watching random TV shows and engaging in heartfelt conversations. Mornings would find us cuddled together, reluctant to face the realities of our adult lives and the responsibilities that accompanied them.

I remember driving through the chaotic Bangalore traffic for two hours just to be by her side when she was sick and alone. Our bond was akin to that of family; indeed, we were family.

It feels like a lifetime ago now - five and a half years and a lifetime ago, since we were friends.

I wish I could simply knock on her door and sit down for a heart-to-heart, catching up on everything that has transpired in our lives since we last met. But we've moved on from those times. We have left those people behind. We have left those conversations behind.

I hope that two friends who once toasted their first drinks (a piña colada and a sex on the beach on Palolem beach) find a better ending to their story.