...

It's been 12 years since we first started taking our breaks together at school. We were typical schoolgirls: we had our little clique.. we gossiped, we giggled, we hung out every single day. We pretty much believed that we'd stay just as good friends for the rest of our lives.

A few years down the line, the clique drifted apart. Careers, interests.. our individual lives took over. One stuck around.

A little older, and another lasting friendship. When thrown together initially, we couldn't stand each other. But apparently, we could stand the others around us even lesser. Over 7 hours of classes every day, kicks under the table to keep eyes from shutting, scribble-talking through mornings, and we grew on each other.

The two have come almost every place I've been to. Some that I was proud of, others that I hated. But they came. They bore a stinky toilet in a hole of a house and travelled a 1000 kms to see it. They trudged across another state border for one last visit before leaving Bombay for good.

I've never had a way with words, but I've missed the ones that went off. I've made new friends, but nothing will trade the implicit trust that sparks even after years of no contact. I'll regret having been too busy to keep in touch, but I appreciate what is still around. I know that the blind faith of childhood still persists. I believe these will stick.

To G and A, and to many more chocolate cakes.. albeit with the forgotten candle :)