Being Friends Forever…

Jacqueline and Isabella lived in a very nice neighbourhood in Boston, Massachusetts in the US. They stayed in each other’s vicinity, just a block away from each other. Jackie had a younger brother called John, while Ella had an elder brother called Jacob. Both girls weren’t really fond of each other. However, for the lack of company and anyone to play with, they played with each other through their childhood. Their common places to play would be the backyards or front-yards of their houses or the nearby park.

Jackie was strong headed, arrogant and self-obsessed while Ella was soft and introverted. She also looked fragile while Jackie was healthy and plump. The only reason they could get along together was that they were of the same age. Jackie was just a month older than Ella. They had been the best of friends from the moment they set eyes on each other. But they were friends who played together every day. Jackie would usually lead the games they played, the places they went to, or even whether they played or not and Ella would usually give into her plans. She wasn’t much of a leader then and would always prefer to give in instead of arguing.

It was all going fine when one day suddenly, they had this huge fight on some silly reason. They had a new girl on the block and Ella started to play with her as well. That meant less time for Jackie to dictate her. Jackie was very upset and told Ella to not play with her. But Ella started to like it more with the new girl and started playing with her more often than with Jackie. Jackie picked up a fight with the new girl and Ella stood by the new girl and against Jackie, which infuriated her even further. After that day, even when both of them passed each other, they never spoke to each other or even looked at each other. They were also not in the same school which worked in their favour of not crossing each other.

Many years passed without them seeing each other in the eye and one fine day, Ella’s parents decided to put her in a different school. This was the same where Jackie went. At first, they continued not talking to each other, until they were partnered on a project. They forgot everything about their fight in the past and became friends again. This worked out for them and they started hanging out again. They were in their teens by this time so they bonded over a lot of things like music, boyfriends, girlfriends, ambitions, and so on. Ella was starting to open up in her teens more. She had started to voice her opinions, while Jackie became less overpowering. They stuck together in high school as well. But soon, it was time for both of them to go to college. They were different people, so their choices were different too.

The two friends went into a different world altogether in college. Their connection broke again. In the meantime, Ella lost her elder brother Jacob in a car accident. She was really close to him and was really broken. She kept to herself, didn’t go out much, didn’t have many friends. Jackie, on the other hand, was trying every piece of new thing coming her way. She was being adventurous and friends with her new college buddies. They were again poles apart. Ella however, had started to become a little harsh by keeping to herself. She didn’t fancy talking to people anymore or being nice to them as she used to. She had become a completely different version of her.

Jacqueline and Isabella had become new versions of themselves and one fine day, their paths crossed. Jackie heard someone arguing smartly with a shopkeeper who tried to steal from an old lady. The voice sounded familiar and she was surprised to see Ella. “Ella, is that you?”, Jackie asked her. Hearing her name, Ella turned to her and instantly recognized Jackie. They then told off the shopkeeper together and headed out for a cup of coffee. Ella told her about Jacob and Jackie felt sorry for her friend. They promised to keep in touch. They were inseparable again. This time they remained connected. They both taught each other different ways from their different worlds. Jackie showed Ella her outwardly ways and also called her in for her adventures, while Ella taught her to be calmer and a better version of herself. Ella had become matured after Jacob’s death as her family now considered her to be the elder in the house. They were each other’s support systems. They didn’t need anyone else when they were together. Ella kept Jackie grounded while Jackie brought Ella’s adventure instincts out. Together Jacqueline and Isabella were the best of friends. Jackie was still more possessive about Ella. She wanted Ella to be all to herself but now she was a matured version of herself. Ella also knew this and tried to give in to certain things which Jackie expected. She would always let Jackie have her way just like she did in their childhood.

Once out of college, both of the girls had to move out for a job. This time there was nothing keeping them away from each other as their bond had become very strong. Irrespective of being in different cities, they would call each other every day and meet almost every weekend. They would also take turns in visiting each other’s parents if the other couldn’t make it. They were like this one big happy family. The day Ella got married, Jackie cried the most. Ella cried looking at no one but Jackie. They knew their lives were going to change, but they also knew that their relationship was stronger than needing any reason to exist in each other’s lives.

Their lives went on and they always stayed connected. Two girls who started to be together because they didn’t have an option, didn’t have an option to separate from each other as destiny had their lives intertwined. Jacqueline and Isabella are still what we call friendship goals.

Cheers to you, cheers to lyf…!

The Cupid Plays…

She looked up at him and he gave his usual contented, mischievous smile. They knew it felt different. It felt as if it was just yesterday when they were fighting like cats and dogs in the middle of a street for he had dashed her car from behind. People don’t call them accidents for no reason. This was the most amazing accident she had met with in her life and was all proud of talking about it, whenever given a chance. Never in her life had she imagined a life with someone as caring, loving, and understanding. He would guess things, even before she spoke them out loud, and vice versa. They both knew it, they shared a connection. A different connection where nothing else mattered, something which they had from the moment they met but never really paid attention to. Things changed gradually without their notice.

They met each other again the very next day at a friend’s party, both surprised to see each other there. Not really interacting because of the previous day’s incident, having presumptions about the way the other is. The next thing she knew she was standing right in front of him in a cafeteria near her office building. Of course, they both recognized each other and that was the first day they talked like sane, normal people, though like strangers, but normal. He told her that he worked in the same building she did. They had never seen each other before, but now they couldn’t help but notice. They met at the entrance once, while leaving from work and were chatting for around 30 minutes when they realized they both had to leave. That’s when they got to know that they both stay in the same vicinity, so they traveled together that day and a week later, everyday. They exchanged numbers not long after they met at the entrance and met in a coffee shop a few weeks after that. They both had plans of meeting other friends but ended up spending around 4 hours in the same shop and canceling their other plans. That was the first day they connected and talked so much. She was a bubbly girl, he was a decent and sophisticated chap, but both were fun loving and full of life. They could gel up well and never had any preconceptions about things or people. They could never stop talking to or about each other.

The day he proposed to her was the best day of her life. She was expecting it and he knew it, but he did confess his feelings and she couldn’t help but feel the happiest about it. But they both had expectations from their lives and had some gongs to bang before taking any step further.

Today, they were both sitting in the same coffee shop they had spent their first crazy hours talking, with their wedding invitations in hand, waiting for their friends to join in the celebration. A year had passed since he had proposed to her and they had decided to give it time. Their families knew they were the best suited and would keep each other sane and happy. Life played with their chances of encounter. They never realized but it kept pushing them towards each other. From the very first accident to the chain of events that kept happening, it was all written. Today when she thinks about it, it feels as if she was blind. Why didn’t she see all those signs? She picked his hand and kissed it, not being able to believe it was real. He said, “You are mine”. She smiled her most beautiful smile and his heart skipped a beat yet again.

Cheers to you, cheers to lyf…!

Distancing…

He always remained silent and low. Staring down at his coffee, making faces at each sip but, somehow always relishing it. Rarely could anyone see him smile except before leaving the coffee shop, where he used to spend at least an hour of all his evenings without fail. Once the owner, unable to repress himself, asked him if he was in any mess or needed any help. He looked at the owner, lost in his own thoughts, and said, “Step-up to your realities when you still have time. You feel you are good at leaving things behind but you need to listen to someone sometimes. Life gives you a second chance, but you usually don’t realize it until it’s too late.” He took another sip from his cup, wincing. “Why do you drink it if you don’t like it?”, the owner asked. He just stared at a distance, at a woman walking across the road.

A smile lingered on his face, bringing back all the memories of him and her together. Her smile, her laugh, her cries and moreover her pleading for him to stay, everything flashing right through his eyes. The taste of her coffee and a distant glimpse of her was the closest he could be near her.

He paid the owner and left, to come again the next day, wishing he had listened to her and hadn’t been adamant then.

Cheers to you, cheers to lyf…!

Justifying Your Cries…

All you want in your life is to be secure. Until that is achieved, you are all content and satisfied, even happy for that matter. Once you sense that trailing away you tend to feel insecure and eventually become upset and sad. We have a lot of expectations up and running all the time and most often we tend to forget to put a cap on them. If a person we like doesn’t behave the way they usually do we sense something wrong and keep sulking in and become insecure. Similarly, when a person we don’t like starts behaving in a likable manner, we tend to get protective and slip inside our cocoon with just our eyes on the outside, in sight. These feelings, we share them with our closest people to get some strength and support in order to face the situation.

Sometimes this protection and insecurity gets over the top and we start crying and cribbing about our “situations” to whoever would listen to. The ears on which our problems fall, don’t always want them. Even if they are open, their reasons may differ, which are not always in our favor. Some people do genuinely listen to you but how many times? If you keep the record on and let go the same one on and on for a long span of time, they are definitely going to get bored and annoyed of saying and giving the same suggestions to you over and over again. Keep yourself in their position and think. Why make people feel that you are suffering from PMS all your life? You really cannot keep crying and cribbing all your life about that one thing that happened once upon a time. Trust me, there are people who go through worse and still are capable of sporting a smile all the time as if nothing happened.

Once you get habituated to this crying, it gets worse and you enter into a self-pity mode and keep asking yourself and others “Why me??”. Please understand that it is definitely not just you. You need to keep your eyes open for things happen around you. Robert Fulham said, “If you break your neck, if you don’t have anything to eat or if your house is on fire, then you have a problem. Else everything else is inconvenience.” Things are pretty easy to cry on and really, really difficult to deal with practically. Once in life, try solving one of your problems without breaking down and crying over it. Trust me, you would never have felt any stronger in your whole life. You’ll have your time of breaking down and crying your heart out once you solve the problem. But you know what? Once you solve the problem you will realize that not crying over the issue and solving it with a strong heart is the best that you did and instead you will have a bright, genuine smile on your face.

Is it too difficult? Yes it is. Changing mindsets has never been easy and more than just being strong, that’s what you got to do here. But think about the bright side. Once you learn this you will never need some random shoulder to cry on which would nay try and take advantage. And why cry when you can actually be happy? You live your life in search of happiness right? Nothing ever is more important than your own happiness. People look out for themselves, you should too. “By being sad and upset all the time, you upset the people in your life who actually care for you and are concerned about your happiness” these were some words tried over me and they worked. Things which make you upset, ever wondered if they are even worth it? Try going through your so called problems which you sulk on and reason with yourself if they are really worth your time, energy and others’ efforts of trying and filling up your brain with sanity for the hundredth time. Once you get your answers, you will either stay happy forever or, well, nevermind.

Cheers to you, cheers to lyf…!