Chapter XI: Became Friends

Life is a Drama. Some people go and others keep on coming. It is a mixture of complicated things: sadness, happiness, betrayal, love, hatred and list goes on to infinity. I realized it after breaking up with Tashi, the man I loved with all my heart. That evening, Wangchuk has sent me a friend request on Facebook. I wondered how he could see me on Facebook. There are billions of people and there are at least hundred people with the same names as me. Later I knew that he was one of the followers of my page, All Time teacher. That is a page on Facebook where I keep my memories updated with my children.

Finally, I was becoming friend with one of the most irritating persons I have ever met in my life. Honestly, he was handsome. He was tall and he was kind. But did I trust him? No! Absolutely not! After all, everyone says all men are same. A trust is not bought; it needs to be earned. The difference between Tashi and him was, he was to become an Electrical Engineer in few years to come.

To tell you the truth, he gave me a good company. I was grief-stricken with my break-up and failed marriage. He used to visit the school every evening. He would come with funny stories. He had a pretty voice. He used to sing me a song. He would pose for a selfie. I was feeling comfortable with him. After three months, I was invited to his house. His parents were so generous.

But, when I returned to my house, I used to look at those photos again and again. I cried. That’s what I could do as a woman with broken heart. I tried thousand ways to forget him but I could not. I was the victim. He was my disease that kept me awake for the whole night. He was the reason my eyes were filled with tears. Slowly, things were turning good because I had a lovely friend.

One weekend, I decided to burn all the photos I had taken with Tashi. It required lot of courage to do so. Anyhow, I managed to burned them all except the one placed above the bed into a beautiful frame. The photo had the heaviest memory of love. I remembered everything. The ring, the Convocation Day and Tashi. I felt sorry for him. I hated how he treated me. I hated his father. But did I hate Tashi as a person? No! I didn’t. I missed him so much. He didn’t betray me. He had to listen to his father. And father had to think about his promises to his neighbour’s daughter. That day, I closed my eyes and forgave them. I accepted their apologies as humans are born to make mistakes. When people invented pencils, they thought about erasers too. That’s how they survive in a Geometry Box.

After four months, it was another sad day for me. Wangchuk had to leave for his college. Since we were just friends, I didn’t have to stand on the cold road. That cruel vehicle, that haunted road. I just told him goodbye from my mobile. I had to thank the inventor of mobile early morning. Lives of people have become so easy with mobiles. Did it mean that I was happy when Wangchuk left? I wasn’t. He was a loving friend for four months. He revived my happiness for more than hundred and twenty days. The sweetest thing he had done as a friend was, he told his parents to take care of me since I was going through lot of ups and downs. As I told earlier, his parents were more proud to take care of me. The good thing was, they didn’t have a daughter. Wangchuk was their only child.

Although he left for studies at Lovely Professional University, he didn’t stop to accompany me. In some of the nights, he shared me funny stories. In some other nights, he sang my favourite songs. His songs would entertain me more than those original singers. He was winning my trust in him and I started liking him. Sometimes, I would look at the photo above my bed and imagine him instead of Tashi. I would be lost in some worlds of fantasy. Sometimes, I would think about him sharing me funny stories and singing songs. I would giggle myself after realizing that they were all imaginations. Believe me, I still didn’t forget Tashi. He haunted me every time like a ghost.

Then, it was one evening. Are you excited to hear? Well, he began like any other nights with funny stories and singing songs. Later he video called me. There were around a dozens of friends. Some were Bhutanese and some were Indians. They were asking who I am I to him.

“Meet my wife Lekyuen from Bhutan, friends. Say Hello to her!”, he exclaimed at the top of his voice.

“Hello Lekyuen!”, they all shouted from India. I laughed along with them.

One of them said, “How did you get a beautiful wife? Did you ever look at the mirror to see how you look yourself?” They all busted into a loud laughter again. I joined their laughter all the way from Rukubji, Bhutan.

After few minutes, we were talking ourselves. Friends left him alone.

He began, “Lekyuen, can I tell you something?”

“Sure! You can!”

“I don’t know how to begin but honestly, I love you”, he surprised me. Although it was different from funny stories and beautiful songs.

I could not tell him anything. I was so disappointed in a thing called love. I turned off the video call and turned off the data connection. I turned off the light and I turned off my eyes to sleep.