My First Memory of Feeling Great
The day it dawned upon me
My cousin is two years older than me. We were close then, as friends. He had shifted from a small town to a big city for his studies. Growing up, we used to meet each other during our school vacations at our grandparents house, but we were not close then.
It was only later that we found out that we enjoyed each other's company. Although we came from different backgrounds, we somehow connected on topics like cars, sports, and electricity. Even I don’t know how or why we connected on the topic of electricity.
The first time he saw me drinking and smoking, he warned me about complaining about it to my mother if I continued. It was only a few weeks after that that we sat together and had our first drink. To date, we laugh hard about it.
I finished high school, and he was doing his bachelors in a different city. Since he was living away from his home as a bachelor, I wanted to stay with him and see what it was like to be one before I started college.
This was also the time when we hung out so much that our relatives started thinking briefly and jokingly that we were in a relationship. We used to laugh it off; we knew how much we enjoyed each other's company.
So after high school, before college started, I went and stayed with him. We had a blast. We used to enjoy ourselves from the moment we got up until it was time we were supposed to wake up. His friends would come over, and we used to gel really well as a group. I was fascinated by experiencing all this.
One day we were all sitting on the terrace of his house, chilling together, and talking about random sh*t. Suddenly, my brother says something that I will never forget: “Amey has a very pure and clean heart”. I don’t remember the context of that conversation. I felt something I’d never felt before; it came right from his heart. I went blank
That was it. It was the first time I had ever heard someone talk about me in such a beautiful manner. Those words were poetry for me. I was an academically average guy, and before this, I had not heard any noteworthy praise for me,but those words made such a huge impact on me that I felt responsible every time I was faced with an ethical dilemma.
I think I was a little embarrassed, but I said “Thank you”.
Over the next few years, our relationship grew stronger and stronger. After my graduation, I went to study abroad, and he stayed back to find his first job. We did keep in touch regularly, but we were not able to meet that often. He got busy with his new career, and I was enjoying wasting my dad’s money studying abroad.
Between me and him, I can definitely say he is the more mature one. In hindsight, his presence in my life has been very important. When I was a fresher working at my first job, I wanted to perform well. I used to think about what he might think if I took a shortcut at work just to be in the good books of my bosses. Such was our relationship and his affect on me.
When we both got married, our priorities changed, and although today we are both settled in our respective lives, we still hang out. Unlike our college days today, when we meet, we hang out early and call it a day by 11:00 p.m. Over the years, we’ve grown to accept each other's behavioural changes. I don’t remember having an argument with him, but whenever we have a difference of opinion, we listen to each other respectfully.
Its a bond we’ve built, unknowingly, since childhood. Its been close to two decades since this relationship existed. Although we have grown up to be slightly different in our ideologies, likes, and dislikes, I am glad that he has been an important part of my life. He played a small but significant role in making me believe that I was a good person.
I think all our lives we do come across such people who appreciate us for being ourselves. They show us the real us. I will never forget the words he said about me that night. They serve as a moral compass for me. Such people are special. We need to identify and cherish such relationships. It is only these bonds that shape our lives and teach us the true meaning of brotherhood.
I am not a perfect person, and I have made several mistakes in my life. But when someone says you have a pure heart, it is an acknowledgement of the true nature of oneself,which one should never forget. One I will never forget.
