MEMOIR
The Girl in the White Frock with a Red Floral Pattern
Sometimes, a path isn’t wide enough for two
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One fine Saturday, I set up the Total Station on our construction site’s newly commenced cafeteria project.
The Total Station is a survey instrument utilized for measuring distances, coordinates, altitude, and nearly all aspects related to survey work in the construction industry.
At that time, I was a trainee engineer involved in the expansion project for a prominent university in our country. Under this project, it was proposed to construct several buildings, including the cafeteria building I had been assigned to oversee.
After levelling the instrument, I adjusted the eyepiece by focusing it. Usually, we targeted it on a object at long distance. There was a nearby building within my line of sight, and naturally, it was set as the focal point.
While adjusting the eyepiece, I thought I had glimpsed a familiar figure, a girl in a white frock with a certain red floral pattern.
It was a strict no, focusing survey instrument to invade someone’s privacy, so I refrained from looking through it. However, I wanted to make sure.
So, I texted, “By any chance, do you happen to be wearing THAT frock?”
The response came instantly, “What do you mean by THAT frock?”
I replied, “The frock featured in your Facebook profile picture, the white frock with the red floral pattern.”
It took some time to receive a reply. “Yeah! I am wearing that dress. Did you see me today?”
I replied, “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
After another moment of silence, I received a response, “Ahh! It looks like someone’s focus is in the wrong direction.” She seemed to understand what was going on.
Yeah! She is the one, a crush of mine who happened to be an undergraduate at the university where I was training. I got to know her through Facebook. After I saw a girl in a white frock with a red floral pattern, tagged by one of our mutual friends, I ought to send her a friend request.
Once she accepted the request, I complimented her beautiful frock, leading to frequent messaging. So far, our interactions have been limited to casual small talk, even though I have developed a crush on her.
It was their study period before the mid-term examination scheduled the following week. Therefore, my crush was studying in their common area, which was exposed to the outside.
I responded, “When will you take a break?”
She replied, “I need to go to town around 3 o’clock.”
“I also wanted to go to the town. What about going together?” I asked.
Then the reply came, “Let’s see”.
I considered it a form of approval. In our culture, it’s uncommon for girls to freely express their feelings, except when it’s a rejection. So, you are safe to move forward until a clearly stated rejection occurs.
I focused on the setting-out work, as I didn’t want to disturb my evening appointment. I completed my task even before the morning tea time.
See, a motivated person could achieve almost anything.
In the evening, I took an early leave. Since it was Saturday, we were allowed to do so if we wanted. After freshening up, I waited at the front of the university. Around 15 minutes past three, she arrived with a grinning face.
“Why are you here? I don’t remember inviting you to come along,” she said.
“You didn’t say no either,” I replied.
Her laughter confirmed her acceptance once again. We boarded a bus to the nearby city and found a corner seat. I won’t describe all the silly things I said to her, but it’s enough to mention that we held hands when stepping off the bus.
It turned out to be a well-spent evening. She did some shopping, and I accompanied her. Much to her strong objection, I covered the cost of some of her items. In Sri Lanka, most university students are poor. Fortunately, the organization where I was undergoing training paid me fairly, so I had some savings in hand.
After the shopping, I invited her to join me for dinner. Given that both of us were hungry, she accepted the offer. After our meal, we returned to the university, and I dropped her off at her boarding place.
We never expressed our feelings by any means. However, something changed that night. We became a couple. I began to complete my assigned work early each day and eagerly waited for her.
We both were enjoying our freedom: she was experiencing life away from home for the first time, and I was enjoying my financial independence.
During this brief period, we had many dreams. Heck, we even thought about marriage. In my defense, in Sri Lanka, most relationships begin with the assumption that they may lead to marriage.
After completing my training, I had to return to my university, far from hers. Before parting, we discussed how to maintain frequent contact and continue our relationship. There were numerous plans and hopes.
But circumstances changed. Maintaining a long-distance relationship proved to be more challenging than we anticipated. Then came the pointing fingers and frequent disagreements. And there was an unshakable dark cloud lingering, a doubt.
One day, she posted on Facebook, stating, “Moving along the path is a journey we must undertake individually, on our own,” as the caption of her new profile picture. It was a photo of her walking along the narrow lane leading to her boarding place, a path we had taken many times.
Instead of the white frock with the red floral pattern, she wore a black and white striped top and denim.
I left a comment on that photo, “Perhaps some wished to walk beside you. It’s a shame the path isn’t wide enough.”
Within a few minutes, I was blocked from her Facebook, and other social media platforms, too.
