Friends

Shalini smiled at the picture on the wall. It was the one in which she and Smriti were trying to drive a auto rickshaw, both of them fighting to be on the driver's seat and giggling. They both looked so happy in the photograph. I wonder how Smriti is doing, she thought. It had been seven years since that incident had torn them apart. It had been so silly, she now thought.

They had been the thickest of friends in college and were inseparable. They took the same classes, hung out with the same friends and spent all their spare time together. They even had the same taste and always ended up squabbling over the same clothes when they went shopping. Notorious throughout as the bad bold girls, they had had a very adventurous and memorable time in those college years. Eventually, they had planned to do similar things just so that they could still be together. And then, just before their final exams, they had the fight. It was not even a fight. A misunderstanding of sorts. Smriti discovered that Shalini had applied to another town for a higher degree. Shalini had applied there just for fun and it had just slipped her mind to tell Smriti about it. She didn't even intend to go there. Smriti had been furious when she found out.

It had started with that little incident and suddenly they were not talking to each other anymore. At first it was just ego and then once college ended, they just followed whatever life had in store for each of them. Each expected the other to apologise and seven years had gone by just like that. Shalini had missed Smriti terribly during the last few years. Every time she did something, she would ask herself what Smriti would think of her decision. She had typed out so many emails to Smriti and deleted them before hitting send. She would always stalk her on Facebook through their common friends. She felt happy and proud of her friend whenever she saw Smriti had done something good with her life. Life had gone one, she had made new friends but still, she missed her best friend!

Shalini smiled at the memories of the excursion that they had gone on. They had wanted to travel the world together one day and they had planned to save up for it. Smriti was now travelling the world as a journalist and she saw her pictures frequently. 'I wonder if she ever thinks of me', she thought. The sound of the phone ringing shook her out of her reverie.

" Shalu, I was in town and I just couldn't bring myself to leave without seeing you this time. I've really missed you. Can we please meet? ", said the voice on the other line.