Somewhere we belonged

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It was somewhere in our 12th standard. We weren't friends, and we barely knew each other. He was a Science student, while my best friend and I belonged to the Commerce stream. Our classes, schedules, and even the buildings we spent most of our time in were different, so there was never really a reason for us to talk.

Well... at least for him.

I knew quite a bit about him. Mostly because of my best friend. She would casually mention him in conversations, complain about him, laugh because of him, or tell me about the little arguments they had. So even though he probably didn't know who I was, I knew enough to recognize him whenever I saw him around school.

That day, school had just ended. The corridors were slowly emptying, students were rushing towards the gate, and the familiar noise of everyone heading home filled the air.

My best friend and I were standing outside, waiting for him. Well... she was the one actually waiting. I was simply there to keep her company.

The reason?

He had taken her purse.

She kept complaining that he wasn't returning it, while I quietly stood beside her, listening to her endless rant.

But before he could arrive, her mother came to pick her up.

She looked at me in a hurry and said, "Please tell him Mom came, so I had to leave. And don't let him forget to bring my purse to tuition. Otherwise my mother will literally eat me alive."

I laughed and nodded. "Okay, I'll tell him."

So I stayed back, waiting for him.

While I was waiting, another friend walked over and started talking to me. In the middle of our conversation, he quietly walked past us.

I called out his name.

Once.

No response.

Twice.

Still nothing.

The third time... he kept walking.

I was just about to call him for the fourth time when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the path.

He turned around and looked at me.

I walked over to him and passed on the message exactly the way she had told me.

"She had to leave because her mom came. And she said not to forget to bring her purse to tuition."

He looked at me with the straightest face and replied, "Tell her to forget about the purse. The money inside belongs to me now. I'm not returning it."

I couldn't help smiling.

"I don't know," I said with a small laugh. "This is between you two. Do whatever you both want."

For the first time, he smiled too.

It wasn't a big smile.

Just a small, quiet one.

As I turned and started walking towards my scooty, he called out from behind.

"She left?"

I looked back.

"Yeah. Aunty came to pick her up, so she had to go. She told me to tell you."

He simply nodded with another faint smile.

Without another word, we both walked away.

He towards his school van.

Me towards my scooty.

The conversation barely lasted a minute.

It wasn't important.

It wasn't meaningful.

It was just a casual exchange between two students who hardly knew each other.

Or at least... that's what I believed that day.

Sometimes, the memories that stay with us forever don't announce themselves. They quietly begin with the simplest conversations .. 🕊️❣️🤍👀 ...