Whenever I saw Vinita in class, a smile and energy would light up my face. We only met during school hours, and seeing each other after sunset made us incredibly happy, as if we had found a lost treasure. Our love was unique. We both ate lunch at home, and since the school was near our houses, it didn’t take long to go home, eat and come back. We used to say that we had a connection from our past lives.
Whenever Vinita learned something new from a book or from home, she would tell me. Vinita told me that her mother sent her to visit the goddess, and every morning she would bathe, get ready, and go to the temple 4 kilometres away, and then come to school.
This was especially difficult for her in the winter because it was very cold in January. Vinita would tell me that her father had given her money that day.
Vinita was very devout. My friends became jealous seeing us together and would say, “Hey, you’re always with her!” And our only argument was about who the most beautiful girl in school was, and my answer was always the same: mine!
My friends would get angry hearing this. We sat together, and no one could separate us. We sat together for two years, and our love grew stronger. We couldn’t live without each other.
Sometimes we played marbles together, and if we had a fight with others, she would tell me to tease them by saying certain things.
In our childhood, we were only interested in having fun, eating, and roaming around. One day, Vinita went to her uncle’s house, and I was very upset and kept asking everyone where Vinita was.
She stayed at her uncle’s house for a week, and I was worried and couldn’t concentrate on anything. Then, after a week, Vinita suddenly came back, and I was surprised and asked Vinita where she had been.
Vineeta said she was at her uncle’s house and enjoyed being there. When we connect with someone deeply, we can’t forget them.
I enrolled in a school in the village, but then I found out that Vineeta had enrolled somewhere else, and her entire family had moved away. A few months later, I heard this news and became restless. I tried very hard to find Vineeta, but I couldn’t.
They had left the village completely, the whole family. One day, I saw Vinita and called out to her, but she didn’t stop. I recognised her, and she recognised me too, but she still didn’t stop. A boy who was with her had enrolled in my class; he knew her.
Taking a chance, I went to Vineeta’s house with my new friend. She recognised me, and then our eyes met, and we looked at each other very intently, as if her eyes were asking, “Where did you go? I’m very angry with you.
” Even though our houses were quite far apart, I couldn’t meet her again, nor could I convince her of anything, which is why she forgot me.
Four years had passed since all this. We saw each other again after a long time, and whatever little love there was between us had probably faded away. Her family had arranged her marriage elsewhere, and she was getting married.
That’s all there was to the story.
