Free The Girl I Last Loved by Smita Kaushik

the same norms. It was already past ten minutes when I noticed a couple walking in and they sat together. Ignorance isn’t always bliss, as people were walking in, they went and bowed their head. We even did the same. A kindlooking man grabbed the jar which contained some nuts probably, the Prasad and distributed it among everyone. By the time we were out of the gurudwara, it was three in the afternoon, I was tired and hungry as hell.
    “Kasam, don’t you think we should head home now?” The aroma of home-cooked meal already filled my nostrils.
    “No, we should head to any nearby restaurant,” she contradicted.
    I wasn’t much into that idea, so I declined. But beautiful faces never go away with a ‘no’. Neither it happened this time.
    So, we were at a restaurant and soon there were people pouring in. There was Priya, Vikas and a bunch of people I had never met before.
    “Hey, I just knew Vikas among your friends and you know Priya and these are my other friends.” They, one by one, introduced themselves. They were all dressed in a cool kind of way. Where guys were in hanging jeans and accessories, the girls sported black nail paint.
    “Hey I just broke up with the girl I proposed two days earlier,” the guy, whose name I forgot, spoke.
    “Oh! What happened?” Kasam asked.
    “We went on a date yesterday and she ordered chole bhature . What kind of chick does that?”
    “Yeah, that was cold. How did you fall for her in the first place?” Priya chuckled.
    “Yeah… she was kind of cute.” that guy spoke again.
    Everyone went into the state of oh… and aahhh.
    Vikas tried to blend in. I just sat mum in order to avoid blurting out anything stupid.
    Then there it was, the grand surprise. Priya gave me a big box saying it’s my birthday gift from Kasam and her. Though whatever she had done all morning, I didn’t think she even owed me a gift. It was kind of a big box wrapped in red paper. I took it and immediately looked at Kasam who was sitting kind of far away with her friends. She smiled at me. I smiled back.
    As I started unpacking the box, she advanced towards me. There were little packets inside the box. It kind of felt strange – small packets of abrupt shapes. I picked one up and started tearing the wrapper while everyone’s eyes were fixed upon me. I flicked it open and found it was a toy snake which sells in fairs. I took it out and sprayed like a small kid while everyone else cheered. Next it was a phirki whose wings unfurl when you blow at them. Priya took it from me and started blowing it. Then there was a fake toy sunglass which I had to wear for the next one hour. I was trapped but soon excused as I wasn’t able to see. Then there was a fake flute. I blew through it. I don’t know what I was doing but for sure, I was enjoying it. There was a little toy car and several other stuff. Then Kasam grabbed a pack and unpacked it. It was that thing from which soap bubbles erupt. She blew over it softly. Her lips were mesmerising. When the bubble surrounded us, I totally lost track of others. It felt like just Kasam and I were there. Vikas’s hand on my shoulder burst my bubble. Kasam went away again. There was food everywhere – drinks, ice-cream. Yeah! So I was giving a treat to the love of my life, my best friend, her best friend and bunch of other people, I didn’t know. The money I had been saving for my walkman all went away. I did regret it a bit but not at those times when I saw her. She came with a big pile of who-knows-what. I started unpacking it. By this time I was kind of bored with this packing stuff, but the fact that Kasam packed it up for me, made me carry on. There were big weird leaves hanging from it. I looked up. They were all laughing. I unwrapped it quickly. It was a cauliflower.
    “What the hell?” I shouted.
    “Everyone gets a flower but definitely its not my style,” Kasam chuckled as others cheered her.
    But somewhere from my facial expression she learned I wasn’t