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I woke up before the alarm clock could ring ! I rushed out of the bed and looked at Amit. He was sleeping peacefully with his pillow between his legs.

How could he sleep so well?  After all today was my…. ahhh never mind!I was irritated.

After finishing my morning routine, I went into the kitchen to prepare for the breakfast . By then Amit had woken up. His messy hair, his lousy yawn just made my mood all the more sour. Ignoring him, I completed my kitchen duty and almost ran towards the cupboard to get dressed for office.

I have to be there by sharp 8:40 am ! The interview starts at 9:00 am. I need to give myself at least 20 minutes to gather my thoughts. I can not mess around this one. It is my dream job and I have to crack it for sure. I could almost hear my own thoughts .

“‘Whats for breakfast? Is it my favourite ‘Alu ke parathe’  or is it the mouth watering ‘Chhole Bhature’?”, asked Amit in a childish voice .

I raised my eyebrows in disgust and glanced him from top to bottom. He has completely forgotten about today. I have been talking so much about my interview and the stress that I was going through for the last two months. But no, nothing has changed. Amit is bothered about his food and his own life only. I almost felt like banging my own head.

”Its bread & scrambled eggs.” I announced loudly. Just wore my sandals and without waiting for an answer from him, barged out of our apartment towards the Auto stand.

I frowned and cursed myself for living such a life. What is the point of putting in so much effort to the relationship when the other person just does not care? I was exhausted with all the thoughts in my own head. I looked up the sky and gave out a sigh !

Just then I noticed the red flowers of a gulmohar tree standing tall against the turquoise blue canvas of the sky. The flowers were flaming red in color. I was transported back in time.

It was under The Gulmohar Tree in our college campus that Amit had proposed to me. It was summer and I could not believe that the boy who was my crush for past four years in the Engineering course was actually asking me out. I was literally on the seventh heaven !

We soon became inseparable and it was Amit’s childlike innocence that had made me fall for him. He was the topper of our batch but never showed off. We have had numerous fights while we used to date. Never has he ever carried forward a grudge. He used to forget very easily about anything that went wrong during our courtship days. Rather he was always full of life. Apart from me, what excited him was his food. He knew every best place in the city that offered fine dinning. I have explored the eateries in the city just because of him. I used to love seeing his eyes become big when the food was served on the table.

What has happened to us now? Why do we constantly fight ? I came back to reality when the Auto driver suddenly stopped the vehicle .

Before I could ask him anything, I see Amit on his bike! Same messy hair and out of the bed look !He quickly handed me the file with my documents and CV .

‘”You had forgotten to take it with you. It is a big day. All the best. I know you will do it.” He hugged me tight and kissed my forehead just like a parent would kiss their child’s forehead before going to exam. My jaw dropped. He remembered? He did? My head was  house to emotions like confusion, exclamation, surprise… everything.

”And yes, Let’s have a dinner date tonight. I have already booked this place and I will be looking forward to seeing you in the evening. Bye. Got to hurry up for office. See ya.”, said Amit.

He turned around his bike and off he went.

I closed my eyes in disbelief. I had become the part of the same rat race that makes one cranky for all stupid reasons. I looked up again towards the Red Gulmohar Tree and the beautiful clear sky. I said a small prayer .

Life is beautiful, I thought to myself . There was indeed a smile on my face.

Love,

Chinmayee