The Bus Stop, the Lift, and the Chocolate She Forgot to Bring

The RTC bus was never as safe as the college bus. That fear stayed with me the whole time

So I went to her bus stop, waited, watched until she boarded, and then went back home. Almost every day

I felt bad about it. That is not the kind of person I am. But caring for her from a distance was the only thing I had

I texted Chamanthi to know where she was. Chamanthi replied: "She is already looking at you. She is always staring."

I asked her about the project. She said "What, yaar?" — not angry, just not sweet. Then: "I will think about it and tell you"

I lost hope completely and told my friends to look for someone else

Then she came to my cabin and asked when we needed to go and what we needed to do

In the stairwell she asked me how many floors. Then she said: "Let's go in the lift." That was her decision

The two of us alone in that lift

The HOD asked her name. She said "Jerusha, sir." He asked mine. I said "I am Bala, sir."

She is officially on my team

Afterwards she told me his questions had scared her. Who does not get scared

The next day she came to my lab and said "Bala, I forgot" — and handed me a chocolate. My birthday chocolate. She had planned it

At the event, we both wore white. Chamanthi had warned me we might match. We matched

When she walked past on the cement road in heels, she came from a different direction, so I would not see. I saw anyway. She checked if I was looking. I was. She walked past again

That was the last conversation I had with her