Tears In Heaven

It was love at first sight!! . I first saw her when she was speaking to my mother. She was epitome of beauty and brains. I just couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was Cinderella of my dreams. She was center of attraction. Everyone was talking to her and congratulating her as she had topped the university in 2nd year engineering. She was very popular in the Locality.
We were new to the locality and her home was next to mine!! . My mom is fast at making friends and everyone in the neighborhood knew us within 1 month of shifting to this new home. It actually helped to my advantage in making friends with ‘S’ (I will mention her name as ‘S’). I still remember the first time when my mom introduced me to ‘S’. The touch of her soft hands when she gave me hand shakes and said “Hi Satish, How do you do” was mesmerizing. We became very good friends.
It was my birthday and I had called her for the party in my home. I was waiting for her very eagerly and when she came I felt like I was in heaven. She came to me and gave me a big Cadbury chocolate bar and pinched my cheek, hugged me and gave a peck on my cheek and said “Happy birthday, dear Satish”!! . I was totally blushing and my body had become numb. I thought time has come to a standstill. I got completely confirmed that she also likes me a lot. Her parents like me a lot, my parents like ‘S’ a lot and we both like each other a lot. But the only hindrance that was coming between us is that I was 8yrs old and she was 20!! .

As the days went by, ‘S’ had become a sort of Idol to me. I used to come home from School, Throw the bag and run straight to her home. She taught me how to play carom board and Chess. I used to get very jealous and angry when she spoke to other guys.
Somehow it was understood that she is my girlfriend!! And days went by happily.

One day I came home from school and was very happy to see ‘S’ in my home chatting with my mother. I ran straight to her and started narrating my school stories. She said Satish I am going to America!! And I said why?!!.
“I have got Scholarship for Higher Education”. At that point I didn’t understand what all these is but I was really heart broken.
That was the last time I ever saw her again in my life. She had once sent a greeting card for me on New Year, Which would sing jingle bells song when opened. Probably its still there somewhere in some old trunk.

Our family got shifted from Hyderabad to Bangalore and we lost touch with the friends over there. Its been almost 20 years since I know anything about her!!.
Yesterday I was speaking to my mother and she told you “remember ‘S’ ”. I said ‘who’s that ‘?. Then she told the girl in Hyderabad. You were very young then. I said yes!! I remember her, how’s she!! And where is she!!.
My mother came to know from somebody that, ‘S’ had died 6 months ago due to leukemia. She was never married. She had died alone and lonely, her family got her body after 2 days.
I was shocked and was filled with grief. I tried to remember her face but only vaguely remembered her sweet loud pitched voice. She was lost somewhere in the pages of my memory.
Why such a sweet nice girl who had a promising future had to be alone and lonely without any friend’s. I am still shocked after listening about her. All I can say is
“MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PEACE ‘S’ ”