It was an adorable image. These two boys must've been, I don't know, anywhere between 4-6 years of age. Their combined height must've been 4'.
They were having a good time. I have no idea whether the tot in red shorts knows how to ride a bicycle, but he seemed to be teaching the other cutie. They were friends.
When you are young you make friends, which remains the purest of all bonds in your life. You fight with each other. You scream at each other. You beat each other up. You hug. You love. You kiss and makeup. But you do all this with absolute passion and complete devotion to each other. There are no secrets between you in your six year old life. You tell each other everything. You don't judge. You don't even know what it means. We all have at least one such friend from our childhood.
At that age your friend is just an extension of you.
I still remember my best friend at six. She was a year older to me. She was a daughter of a small time actress who was trying to make it big in the film world. We studied in the same school and class. And she was my neighbor.
Since her mother was trying to make a career in films, it left her with little time at home. So my friend was left in the care of some not-so-good people, but whom the mother trusted implicitly. So my friend spent a lot of time at my place. She loved my mom and so did my mom.
We were thick as thieves. We cared deeply for each other, whatever that means at that age. She would fight anyone for me. And I would do anything for her. We would exchange pencil boxes, ribbons, hair clips and plastic bangles every few days as a mark of our friendship.It was a case of whatever I had was hers and vice versa. There was always an extra place mat for her on the dining table in my house.
She would come home in the morning, have breakfast with me. Mom would plait her hair just like mine. And she would sit there and watch mom dress me up, you know, do my hair, tie my shoe laces etc etc -(yeah, i was a bit spoilt that way). Though I didn't understand much I would sense sadness in my friend, I would play joker at that moment and she would laugh.
She was a beautiful child, I mean physically, she was beautiful. Even grown men would stop and stare at her. And she hated films.
Soon we shifted to another house. It was a 45 mt walk from my old house. My friend was heartbroken. But mom consoled her saying that she could come spend time during weekends. Dad would pick her up from her house and bring her to mine on Friday night and would drop her back on Sunday night. For two days we would play, eat, sleep and do everything together.
One wednesday night, we were woken up from our deep slumber. Somebody was banging on the door.It was well past 12 O'clock. When dad opened the door, it was my little friend standing outside -all frightened and weeping.
My parents were shell-shocked. But I was happy to see my friend.
Apparently, my friend's mother had gone for a film shooting and she was left in the care of the house-help -two young men and a woman brought from Kerala. They got drunk and their antics scared my little friend. So she walked, for 45 mts in the middle of night, to reach my house because she was afraid that if she stayed at her place something "bad" might happen to her. She wept profusely and so did my mom. She begged my parents not to call her mom or inform her house. Only after my parents promised her did she sleep.
Of course my parents had no intention of keeping their promise. The next morning, we were so happy, because we thought we were going to be together, in the same house, forever. But soon my friend's mother arrived with her boyfriend (who was a wonderful gentleman). My parents and my friend's folks had a long discussion. I don't know what happened, but I think my parents threatened to go to the cops unless something was done to ensure the child's safety.
It was decided that my friend would be sent back to kerala to her biological father and siblings, whom the mother had left behind to pursue a career in films. It was the best decision. But at that point of time, both of us hated our parents. It would mean that we would be separated.
I wept, she wept. My friend was packed off to Kerala the same evening. We promised to write to each other and we said that we will always be together. We were too young and naive.
We never saw each other again. Our paths never crossed. I don't know where she is now.
But I know it in my bones that she thinks of me as often as I think of her.
Some childhood friendships are meant to last forever, even when you don't meet your friend ever again after your childhood years.
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