Tales of an Overthinker

Another day thinking about you… Just don’t know what’s so special about you. I just fell for you the day I saw you at the gym. It might sound like I am bragging just to impress you, but it is what it is.

I always think about you as my wife and wonder what our life together would be like.

Just a usual day of me thinking about how I’m going to confess my feelings to her. I know I am just overthinking about her, or maybe I am just exaggerating about her, but trust me, she is worth the overthinking, Sid.

Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce my friend Sid.

We were colleagues at a company and soon became friends. Honestly, we both don’t know how our bond grew stronger, but somehow it did. Yes, we’re both silly, enthusiastic professional daydreamers and manifestors, because our current annual salaries have made us good daydreamers and manifestors for a better company.

I picked up my phone and called this idiot (Sid).

And yes, from now on, I’ll be calling this idiot by a variety of names, so please bear with me and my language. I call this thing (Sid) by different names, depending on my mood. I’ll mention his actual name in brackets for your understanding, so you know whom I’m referring to during our conversations. But most of the time, it’ll be him.

So enough of this bonkers (Sid) description. Where was I… ahhhh, yes!

I was picking up my phone to call him for a casual weekend meet-up. I had been shifted to the night shift, while he was working the day shift. Our schedules clashed, so meeting during the week was almost impossible. And on weekends, he used to work OT (overtime) for some extra bucks to support his family.

As soon as he received my call, I didn’t say hello.

I said, “Let’s meet, idiot.”

You all know no one says hello to a friend, right? Or am I the only one here who’s normalizing the not-normal thing?

Anyways, I don’t care, as long as his family hears me.

Next, I said, “Let’s hang out.”

And he was like, “When? Where? And what will we do?”

This idiot thinks as if I have planned a whole day with him like he’s my gym crush and I’m planning our date. Too dreamy, I know.

I said, “Brat, I haven’t planned the day. Let’s figure it out. First, come out of your burrow and we’ll see.”

Convincing this thing is far more difficult than convincing your female friend.

I know many of you must have heard that male friendships are unique. They just say yes to whatever their friends say and blindly go with them.

Hold on a sec…

From where do these boys come from?

Or has my friend missed some important tuning required to be called a boy?

And finally, my boy was here to pick me up.

He asked, “Where are we going?”

“To a new café. You’ll surely like it,” I replied.

We drove, and I took him to a rooftop café with a nice scenic view. We sat there and enjoyed the view for a bit. Then we ordered some appetizers and a peach iced tea each.

I asked, “So, did you like the view?”

A “normal boy” would have replied with a simple yes.

But my stupid, half-tuned friend said, “Yeah, I liked the view, but the food is average and the drink is too sweet…”

And he started ranting.

I said angrily, “I just asked if you liked the view. I didn’t ask about the food, fool!”

I guess he thinks he’s Gordon Ramsay.

Then we were randomly ranting about our company and making fun of our salaries. Then, all of a sudden, the topic shifted to songs, and we started discussing romantic songs.

I said, “My favorite romantic song is Perfect,” and suddenly I started talking about my gym crush.

“To give you all an idea of why I like her so much, many of you must be thinking that she’s just a crush or whatever.

She’s been my crush for like four years now, and I haven’t spoken a single word to her till date.”

Moving forward………

I said, “I don’t know why, bro. She is the only girl I have seen till date as my future wife. I don't know why I've fallen for her so hard, but yeah, I have thought about every possible situation with her.”

“What situation?” he asked.

I replied, “Like, what would I do if her family didn’t agree to our marriage? How would we learn each other’s cultures? How would our families live under one roof? Her and my mom cooking together in the kitchen… and what not, bro.”

My friend, frustrated, said, “Shut up, fool. Stop thinking about these fantasies and make them happen in real life. Just go and talk to her. What’s stopping you from going and speaking to her? She’s not going to eat you.

If I were in your place at the gym, I would’ve definitely gone up to her and directly said, ‘Hey, my friend likes you. He’s been liking you for four years, but he’s too scared to talk to you.’”

Then he seriously asked, “Tell me one thing. Why are you so scared of her?”

I said, “I don’t know, bro. Whenever I see her, my day just gets a little brighter. I like seeing her from afar. Whenever she comes around me to exercise, I just move away. It happens by instinct.

“Once, I was exercising my triceps, and luckily, she was doing the same muscle group. She came near me because she had to use the machine. She asked me, ‘How many sets are remaining?’

“I said, ‘It’s over.’

That’s it.

And I said it in such a low voice…

I don’t know, bro. My voice just got stuck in my throat.

I went outside to rest for a bit and was cursing myself in my mind.

I kept imagining all the possibilities of what might have happened if I'd stayed there and shared the machine with her. Maybe I would’ve initiated a conversation, or at least we would’ve exchanged smiles. But no, an idiot like me chose to run away and regret his decisions. Like, seriously, who does this?

I know what you're thinking. Who spends four years imagining a future with someone they haven't even spoken to?

Well, my friend, welcome to the mind of an overthinker. And trust me, this is just the beginning.

We'll meet again in the next chapter. Until then, keep overthinking.