You
Sunshines & Sparkles
I had deep purple and pink patches over my hands, face, and neck. This was a few years ago, and we had a blast during the Holi celebrations, a festival of colors in India — smearing everyone with colors mixed mischievously with water for everlasting effects. And there I sat, with some everlasting impact on my arms and face, at the table for evening dinner.
The glass table covered with patterned white cloth buzzed with stories of the Holi afternoon and anticipation of food. People gathered at and around the table, all enthusiastic in the spirit of the joyful festival. Finally, when dinner started, you walked in and filled the empty seat beside me. You had patches of colors on your face, too, but much lighter than mine. Lucky, I thought. We weren’t great friends then, so we smiled at each other and dug into our plates immediately.
After a while, you asked me in a low and a bit intimidating voice: “Do you regret spending ‘x’ amount for this dinner?” The food was underwhelming, and since you were among those who organized the dinner at that venue, I didn’t want to complain about it straight to your face. I decided to be diplomatic and said: “No, the food is fine.” To this, you replied: “Well, I regret it!” And you smiled, and I chuckled harder than I should have had — my loud chuckle admitting that the food was not okay.
And then started a neverending series of laughter, chuckles, sparkles, and sunshine.
I had been waiting for a result for around three months. It had been so long that when the email arrived, I had forgotten about it. The mail was lengthy, with the result hidden somewhere in between the sophisticated paragraphs. It took me a while to realize that the result was excellent and probably the best I could get. I texted you the screenshot immediately.
You called me to meet as soon as possible.
I rushed to meet you somewhere between the long roads. You read the mail carefully and looked at me with misty and proud eyes. I hadn’t seen someone as happy as you were for me ever in my life. The thought of the result or whatever I was feeling about it slowly slipped from my mind.
I don’t know if the result was an achievement, but befriending you certainly was.
Something was bothering me immensely. An intrusive thought was circulating inside my head like an annoying housefly. I wanted to let it out but was afraid of judgment. I didn’t feel it was appropriate to think things that way. But I had you, and I decided to tell you.
I narrated the overthinking bit from my dear brain to you. You sat under the wide-branched tree and listened to me intently. You nodded your head and expressed that you understood what I felt.
I felt instantly relieved, and my brain’s sticky and annoying housefly fled for its life.
I texted you a big thank you while returning to the room.
For creating a space for me to narrate all of my overindulged musings — from the wildest to the silliest to the weirdest!
There was a project I was working on for a while now. The deadline was near, and I was busy rounding it up before the final date. You consistently, but not too intrusively, enquired about how I was doing and if I had finished it.
I often replied with, “This work is not getting over! It goes on and on!”
You assured me that it would be over soon. I just had to keep at it. When I was about to finish the work, I texted you and let myself be emotionally free. I decided to voice my fears without much grace. I exclaimed that I would cry if my work was not received well after the evaluation. This was the most I had worked for anything in my life.
You asked me not to think about what would happen next and advised me to focus on doing my best now. You texted that whatever is written, only the best will happen for me. You firmly believed that.
Surely, the result of my project is uncertain, and it will be a while before I hear anything about it.
But I starred your messages and noticed that the starred affirmations were increasing rapidly while being the treasure trove of the delightful things you said to me over the years.
You increase my list of thank yous every moment. You bring double the packs of snacks I ask for. You swerve your vehicle in a second to pick me up from the scariest of roads. You find all the time in the world for me.
You, always be the sparkles and sunshine and also the stardust of my life!
