It was 7 years back, when I’d newly joined a multinational. It was my first day. Being a new recruit, the first to join my department and without a boss, I was all lost. There was no one to induct or introduce. It was then I met Bianca. She called me for a coffee and we hit it off immediately. Though from a different department, she made me comfortable and settled me down. She knew very little about the rules and regulations and almost nothing about the company policies, but she did give me a good brief about all the employees and their dos and don’ts. This is how we gradually became friends. Thickest of friends. Our group strength later increased to 5. All of us from different departments. But there was always a special bonding between me and Bianca.
Dont know why, but I always felt protected when I was with her. She was one of a kind personality. A tigress under the skin of a teddy bear. A jackfruit, rough from the outside but soft from the inside. To me she was a female Napolean Bonaparte. But she had a different kind of warmth to her, a warmth that a mother has for her kids. She knew me in and out… a girl who trusted people blindly. She knew the world and its working. So she wanted to protect me and she did with all her might.
More the number of people, more the number of characteristics and more the understandings and the misunderstandings. So it happened. A misunderstanding creeped in between the best of us two friends. I tried my best to sort things out, but there was nothing I could do. Bianca wasn’t the person to forgive, nor forget. I couldn’t bear the distance between us. I couldn’t bear to see that anger for me in her eyes. We were in the same concern, coming face to face with each other everyday, but not talking. So I jumped my job.
Its been six years after I changed, but I couldn’t forget Bianca. How could I? She was my first and the best friend. If she din’t give up on her anger, I too wasn’t the one to give up my friendship. I had a clear conscious, I hadn’t wronged her in any way. Then why would I give up on her? So I kept messaging her, wishing her on all possible occasions… her birthdays, Christmas, Easter… I din’t miss any occasion to tell her in some way or the other that I still loved her.
Initially she didn’t respond. Then it was the start of the monologues. But I was not content with her “Thankyous” and “Same to yous”. Though they did make me smile. I was determined to get her back. Whatsapp has played a major role in my success story since last year. Now I could see her through her profile pictures.
And it was only yesterday that my tigress finally roared. She had posted her baby’s pic as her profile picture. She isn’t a baby anymore, although she was six years ago. She’s metamorphosed to a beautiful young collegian. I started talking about her little daughter who was as good-looking as her. This time there was no monologues. But an entire sentence and then sentences. I had got my friend talking… umm…chatting. We spoke….chatted for good 2 hours. These two hours did include long pauses. But I dint mind. She was chatting with me after six years. My wait was finally over. My efforts and persistence paid for.
Friendship! A ship sailing two friends or may be even more. How would the journey be sailing alone? Misunderstandings do creep in. But is it ok to let go of a relation without trying to sort things out? And when I say trying, is there a predefined or specified limit or time-period for this trial? When is it that you should let go? Or should you keep holding on like I did, not knowing what the end-result will be? Should you be expecting the other person to respond or should you not? When you really love someone, how far are you ready to go to have that person in your life?
Well, may be we don’t have a specific answer to these questions. May be it all depends from individual to individual, isn’t it? Me as a person, I don’t give up easily on my relationships.
At this moment, all I know is that I have found my long lost friend …well, almost š
Natasha Gracious 
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