As the sun wielded over the fading moon,
And the birds started singing stories of the ancient one,
We sat across each other, on a Zoom call.
Talking of unheard miseries of each other,
So long till we meet again, bound to our homes now.

We are playing Truth and Dare,
You ask me what reminds me of nostalgia,
I stare at your face with a wild disregard to the small enlightened screen between us,
I stare at the memories we created when we were children,
I stare at the long afternoons we spent together playing in your house,
And I stare at the home we found in each other.

“Aditi? Do You remember the times I used to come over and eat Aunty’s homemade burger? –
as if on cue, a distant symphony of laughter plays in the back drop,
crinkled eyes and little smiles,
we are friends who were never meant to be,
we are friends when our destiny wasn’t aligned,
“I loved aunty’s Dosa and Coconut Chutney,
she always added some extra chutney for me.
I am sure she loves me more than you –
and as you stifle your sarcastic laugh,
I realize we are friends whose friendship travels
thousands of miles, from Hyderabad to Delhi
and from Delhi to Hyderabad,
each day it chases us on a cartwheel of love
each day we mock it,
like old friends who spent
11 years of togetherness,
like old friends who can’t get enough off of
their nonchalant silliness.
“I also remember the last day we spent together in each other’s embrace,
you were laughing at my face-pack applied face and while we were being idiots,
a haunting realization was awaiting both of us -“
“We would get separated.”
You say with a little tremble in your voice,
trying to muffle your sadness underneath.

“Yes, we got separated.”
You are the rock of my rock bottom life,
and we have been sailing through
with Zoom calls and millions of WhatsApp messages,
like old friends who grew up together,
like old friends who are still going strong and, like old friends who will grow white hair together while singing washing powder Nirma,
as if it’s an old classic.

“So, I remind you of nostalgia?”
No, you are my nostalgia.