Veranda Steps

I sat on my verandah steps, thinking. It was a beautiful October afternoon; not too hot, not too cold. A cool breeze was blowing, picking up the fallen leaves as it went along, and depositing them at my feet. My long, brown hair fell about my shoulders. I really did not think too much about how I looked, or what I wore. My clothes just had to be comfortable, and my appearance- not too disheveled.

Any onlooker would have seen a girl of about twelve, of a lean, but sturdy build, a light tan and chocolate brown hair blowing about in the breeze, sitting in deep thought, her right arm supporting her head.

And, indeed, I was in deep thought, questions flying through my head, a mile per minute. Why did we have to move? How was Kolkata going to be like? Would I never see my friends again? Friends. A bitter snort escaped my lips. Friends who made me feel guilty about leaving them. Friends who had just ignored me after finding out that I was moving. At that moment, I wasn’t even sure whether all my friends, had really been friends or not.

You see, it all started when my father’s job required him to move to Kolkata. I had lived my whole life in Dehradun. I didn’t want to move anywhere else. But I really didn’t have a say in it. Also, I thought that my friends would understand. But things were just a mess when I told them during lunch break one day. At first, they were in too much shock to say anything. But then after recovering, they told me that I was being selfish and a hypocrite for leaving them. And after some more hurtful remarks from them, I lost it. I wasn’t exactly the best when it comes to keeping my temper in check. I yelled at them that it really wasn’t my choice on whether I moved or not. I was just a kid, for God’s sake! I also told them that if they were blaming me for moving, then it was actually them who were being selfish. They just looked shocked for a moment, then their features hardened and they walked away.

After that little incident, they all ignored me. That was last week. And today, I was boarding the plane to Kolkata. I felt bad that I was leaving without saying good-bye. Then all the things they had said to me came to my mind, and I felt hot tears pricking my eyelids, threatening to fall any moment. I wiped them off with the sleeve of my jacket. I had got the jacket as a birthday gift from my best friend Sushmita. I would definitely miss her the most.

‘Beta, we are going to be leaving in ten minutes.’ My mother called from the now empty kitchen. ‘Are you sure you have got everything?’

‘Yes Maa.’ I responded. My parents knew that I was going through a hard time, and went easy on me. I really was blessed to have such great and understanding parents.

I got up from the steps, and brushed the dirt from my pants. Then, I heard a low thudding sound, as if, a bunch of people were running up the gravel path. Then I almost had a heart attack. I saw my friends, some of their eyes tear stained, coming towards me.

‘Wha-what are you all doing here?’ I stuttered out. After that, my friends proceeded to explain how they realised that they were wrong for blaming and ignoring me, and wanted to say good bye before I left. They also apologized numerous times, and, really, how could I stay mad at them? We all piled into a big group hug.

Then suddenly, my friend Sushmita piped up ‘Oh we almost forgot. We have something for you.’ She handed me a fairly large sized card, and on opening it, I realised that it was a collage with all our pictures. And in the middle, there were big words saying-

WE LOVE YOU.

Now the tears really started to fall, and as I got into the car, I held the collage close to my heart. I also realised something that day-

Friends make mistakes at times. But those who correct them and stand by you are your true friends.

And to this day, thirty years later I have kept that collage- an example of true friendship.

So.....here I am again with the dreaded author's note of doom (thunderclap in the background)......this story I wrote for my school magazine too(if you have read my previous story)....and I thought about posting it too....

Thanks a lot for reading😀

ALSO CHECK OUT MY OTHER POSTS:

https://bloggleabteverything.blogspot.com/2021/06/artemis-fowl-movie-review.html

https://bloggleabteverything.blogspot.com/2021/07/exams.html

https://bloggleabteverything.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-forgetful-stranger.html

https://bloggleabteverything.blogspot.com/2021/07/absolutely-nothing.html