I remember that day very well. Feb 14th 2002. Every one’s celebrating Valentine’s Day with their beloved. Mike has gone to get some flowers and a pendant for his girl friend. So he couldn’t spend time with me. I was getting bored and so rushed for my car keys so that I can go on a drive.

Driving on the road, I could see love in the air. Girls clung on to their boy friends’ pillion riding their bikes’, occasionally I would see a hug or a kiss here and there. Wonderful, I thought, this feeling of love is something everyone should experience in their life time.

Just as I was about to pull my car into a lane to reach my home, I saw a girl and for the first time ever, my eyes were dazzled. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, and the wind seemed to caress her curly locks and the sun seemed to kiss her bubbly cheeks. She was holding onto this guy on a Kawasaki Ninja.

‘Perhaps her boy friend’, I thought. And I maneuvered my car to follow them. Occasionally I would race my car parallel to their bike to see her beautiful face, and she would look at me flashing her pearly white teeth.

Just that she has a boy friend hasn’t deterred me from making friends with her. ‘I don’t know, I think I am in love with her Mike’, and Mike would start laughing. ‘She has a boy friend, you know that right’, he would continue and I would retort, ‘I just don’t care!!!!!!’

With the help of Mike, I came to know that she, Caroline pursued her masters in the same college as mine. One day I finally gathered sufficient courage and walked up to her with a rose in my hand. I approached her from behind and jumped infront of her. She was a kinda surprised by my monkey moves and flashed her teeth again. I pulled out the rose and said, ‘I wanna… wanna… be your friend…’

She looked at me with her eyes wide open. Even before I thought I would be reduced to ashes under her powerful eye sight, she came close to me and shook hands with me. ‘Yes…’, I told myself. That was the most beautiful part of my life. When somebody you like, comes close enough to you, you would never know how boundless your joy would be.

Slowly she started avoiding Carter, her boy friend and used to spend most of the time with me. I felt sorry for Carter, but still I knew I wasn’t making any mistake, and so I continued. One day she even invited me to her home, introducing me to her parents. Their parents liked me a lot at the very first go itself. ‘Great start to my love life’, I thought.

She led me to her bedroom and wow, it’s so cool and beautiful just like her. ‘This is the time pal, come on say it’, said my conscience.

‘I love you…’

‘What….’ She looked at me, startled.

‘Yes, I love you…’ I repeated. There was silence for a long time. I knew her for more than six months, and I should be gutsy enough to tell her this. Her looks were enough to slaughter me. Many thoughts ran through my mind. She just smiled and talked about something else.

She hasn’t called me for days together. The reason, I came to know later. She and Carter were travelling on a bike when they met with an accident. But both of them are out of danger. I reached the hospital, when I heard her crying in the room. As I approached her, she ran and hugged me and said that she loves Carter so much.

Because of the accident and various other factors, her parents were very much against their marriage. I consoled her and she slept in my lap while I caressed her. She said that she cannot live without Carter, and asked me to help.

I slowly took her head in my hands and kissed her on her forehead.

Two years later she’s married to the man whom she always wanted to be with, in her life. She would always thank me for my help in getting them married. Carter was a very stubborn and angry young man. I initially doubted if he would look after Caroline well, but as time passed, I knew how much he loved her and cared for her. ‘She’s happy, and so I am’, I always thought.

In the same year as her marriage, I also found a soul mate and married him.

Three years later when I was at Caroline’s place, I saw my kid go and hug her kid, and kiss her on her forehead. And she clasped my hands saying, ‘I love you… you have been such a good friend, and without you, I wouldn’t have been so happy today…’ and Carter, her husband and Shawn, my husband were watching us in with tears in their eyes.

p.s. This is dedicated to all those women who have great friends in their lives. If you had one like this, you are very lucky. If you din’t, you probably will have one.