Secrets

 

“Happy Birthday, Ashu”, she says as he delivers the bouquet to him, and enters the house. She is one of the earliest to arrive for the party, an impromptu celebration - an afterthought of the wishes that poured his way since midnight - of him reaching a significant milestone number in life. 

She busies herself with helping him around the house; arranging the crockery and cutlery, getting snacks prepared, and even ordering some flowers to decorate around the house. While wiping the plates and wine glasses, he says, “Pri, you have never missed wishing me on my birthday ever since we know each other!”

She raises her head, smiles at him and busies again in wiping away the traces of water from the plates. 

“What is the secret of your memory? Do you remember all the dates, or do you keep an alarm?”

“I remember most of my close people’s birthdays. It’s a habit from childhood. From days when there were no mobile phones or e-reminders”. 

“Wish I had as good a memory!”, he remembers he had forgotten to wish her on her birthday; he realised it only when he received invite to attend her birthday party over the weekend after her special day. 

“Sometimes, memory is a curse too”, she quips. “I remember things from days when I was three. And I am yet to reconcile with all those memories”. 

“I barely remember anything before I turned 12! I can’t believe anyone could remember from their earliest childhood days”. 

She lapses into reminiscing her childhood days. Her crush on the boy whose birthday too fell on the same day as Ashu’s. And, that’s how she remembered. “Where are you lost with the wiping cloth on your face?” 

She comes back to the present. 

“I just slipped back into my childhood”, she says, her face flushing red. 

“Remembered your childhood crush?”, teases Ashu. 

“How did you guess?”, she blurts. 

“So, I was right! Tell me tell me please”. 

“Ah come off it”, she tries to wriggle away. 

“Please. You can’t say no. It’s my birthday!” Ashu even makes a puppy face. 

She relents. 

“I had a crush while growing up. He happened to be the brother of my classmate”

“Wow! And, then? Did he also reciprocate your feelings?”

“Nah! He was just very nice and all that. Also, soon, my dad got transferred from there. We moved to a new place”. 

“You didn’t ever try to meet him again?”

“I did. After I started working. I went to attend my classmate’s wedding, just with the hope to reconnect with him”. 

“That’s interesting. I’m sure he would have been bowled over seeing you!”

“He was civil, even bordering on being chivalrous, but…”

“But what? He was already taken?”

“He didn’t remember me at all”. The pain in her voice is palpable, as though the hurt was from yesterday. 

“I’m sorry!” Ashu draws her into a tight hug. She doesn’t tell him they share birthdays. Some things are best hidden, she resolves.