Love in the time of “Call-Era”

Only Gabriel Garcia Marquez fans will get this. Also, I love puns.

So, how is everyone doing? All those social media updates and passive aggressive statuses on how you hate your job, your urban poor status not shifting focus, your best friend getting married and leaving you stranded in the singles world, all doing fine?

There are children starving in Africa, people. Go plant a tree or something.

OH, but wait. Do that after your read this post on how much we millennials need to stop worrying about falling in love, when all of it is just a lie and not really a genuine emotion our grandparents felt.

I said that in one breath.

Have you ever been in love? Tell me what its like. I want to listen. No, do not tell me about the hot girl at the bar who wants to grind on you, the hot guy in the tux making bedroom eyes through your soul, the fifth man on social media who wants to be your ‘fraand’, your ex’s roommate who is sending you lewd texts, your crush’s best friends cousin hooking up with you, no.

Please tell me about the girl who got your phone call cut because you ran out of balance, but you recharged immediately just to call her back.

Tell me about the guy you met on the trip to Auli, who discussed astronomy with you, played John Denver on the ukulele and made sure you were always part of the group.

Tell me about the awkward fumbling of fingers and words when you realized your best friend is someone you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.

Tell me about the neighbours sister from Delhi who taught you to ride a bullet, even though you already knew to ride one. You just liked her being there.

Tell me about the time you listened to a heavy rock album just because he liked it.

Tell me about the time you decided to give marriage a second chance, with the same person.

Tell me about the time you read the entire Lord of the Rings book in less than a week because you wanted to talk about it with her.

Tell me about the time you bought your mothers brownies for over a week to office because he loved it.

Tell me about the time you started writing letters again.

Tell me about the time you felt the blood rush to your face, when fingers grazed over each other, when distance between skin was a few centimeters and breath became shallow.

Tell me about the time you clutched your heart when she wore a gown for the first time.

Tell me about the first time he swept you in his arms to be romantic and you laughed as you both fell on the wet mud from the first rain.

Tell me about the time you cooked for her, and pretended to be her roommates brother when the parents came in for a surprise visit.

Don’t call me cheesy, stud. You have imagined having kids with the girl you loved in school.

Tell me about the first time you realized you don’t love him anymore.

Tell me about the time you cried in the cab on the way home from work because you got dumped over a text.

Tell me about the time you stopped listening to all the songs that reminded you of him.

Tell me about the time you had your heart broken so bad, you decided to be a different person.

Tell me about the time you heard they got married, even after many years of not being together how that news stung you.

Every time you heard their name, you cringed and felt the tug on your poor lungs, every time you sat alone in a café, you felt a wave of anger, a stinging pinch of shame and just a hint of loneliness.

Tell me, because maybe if we spoke more about what love did to us, we would be careful, not guarded. We would not resort to reading quotes online, listening to an angry remix of Taylor Swift, agreeing to meet new people, go out with friends, wearing that cute dress and putting on a smile and hurting inside so much, you want to blank out and not feel anything at all. Maybe tell each other what hurts the most, instead of having Rascal Flatts scream it out to you.

Forget the calls, the group screenshots, the ‘What do I do next?”, the emoticons, the long-drawn caps lock text messages, the social media shares, the posts, the sheer unending war of words through stories of the day. Forget those mundane short-term distractions that remind you of him, her and every single word you exchanged. Turn the other way, grab a human and tell them what food you loathe eating on a hot day, what colour his eyes were the day you fell in love, the hurt, anger and regret you feel knowing she is not yours anymore.

So.

Tell me.

Have you been in love?