Yellow Summer

Ours was one of those typical, all-too-commonplace summer romances. And just like the others of our kin, and in spite of our efforts to go on past those sweltering days, we faded and drifted farther apart, much like the sun as it moved from summer, into autumn.

You had been around for quite some time, but we never really talked. To be honest, I was terrified of you, and the constant hum of people you were surrounded by. You seemed, indeed you still do, so indifferent to me, even though you were such a crucial part of my quotidian life. My friends all knew you, they talked about you all the time. And I, I just wondered about you.

Then suddenly in June, we got talking. Oh, we’re such a cliche! A mutual friend introduced us, we took to each other immediately, and from thereon, there was no looking back. I started looking for excuses to see you, seeking out elusive opportunities, calling up distant connections that we shared. I was, admittedly, too shy to approach you all on my own. What I loved best about you was how you were so understanding. You saw what I was doing, you knew why I was doing it, but you never said. You just let me. And in the process, you introduced me to another love of my life, my Delhi. We went to places so far away- so inconceivably far away, I couldn’t have dreamt they existed. And I was never, ever alone with you, but somehow, the other person didn’t matter- they ceased to exist from the moment we were together.

And then one day- it was late evening- I remember so clearly, we were alone together. I was scared, and I felt so vulnerable, but you took care of me. You smiled at me with such warmth that evening, I can never forget it. And I know I didn’t smile back, but even as I went home that night, I remembered, and I smiled.

Almost as quickly it had begun, we were over. I had made a decision, and while I understood the repercussions of that one, I must admit, I forgot how crucial a part you were, and I had forgotten all about you. It hit me the first day of college. I wasn’t going to see you everyday anymore. You wouldn’t be there each morning with your excitement, and it would be the callous wind of an auto that would surround me than your warmth as I returned home from an exhausting day. Yet, in a crazy, crazy way, I knew you were watching over me.

We’ve met a couple of times since, and I’ve been alone, but it has never been the same.
You have to forgive me for this, but after yesterday when I spent hours and hours with you, and then today, when they told me its your birthday, I just had to write about you.

Happy Birthday, Delhi Metro :)

Category : Travel, Writing
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