“I will add your number in our group”, she told me and left me wondering. It was nearly 27 years and I had almost forgotten everybody- their names, their faces. 

“But I don’t know anyone”, I protested. “You will get to know..”, she reassured and added my number in our school friends’ chat group.

“I found your number at the right time..”,Divya is my old friend who is messaging me right now.

“:)”. 

“We have a reunion in a month”, she continued. I wa replying to her with smileys only. I was unsure of what I would be doing in a totally stranger gathering.

Time skipped and the D-day arrived. With no prior preparation, I was done with making a decision to attend or not to attend. I simply put on a dress, took my hand bag and plugging my scooter key in, I started off to the venue.

It was this journey of 20 minutes that brought tears in my eyes. I missed my school friends so much.

My school life is no less than a treasure for me, surely a learning experience.

I used to love covering my notebooks with brown paper, attach a stickered label over, forgetting my homework at home, the lunch break tiffin shares, the daydreaming in substitute classes, pin-drop silence when the teacher entered the classroom.

I enjoyed activities I could do alone or with just a few others. I was gifted the love to read books which saved me at school.

It was obvious I tend to participate less in class, since I preferred to process ideas by thinking to myself rather than by speaking to others. But School-Life gave me the confidence and motivation I could not get anywhere else. Most importantly, it is the place where I recognized my uniqueness and individuality.

Memories flashed in my mind. But I know ‘ The only time you should ever look back, is to see how far you’ve come’.

My evening went unexpectedly well. My classmates, with whom I was hardly in touch, all were so happy to meet back. They made me feel so comfortable that I haven’t received this attention in ages. I remembered the quote of a popular Boy Band, ‘Erase all sad memories. Hold each other’s hands and smile’ which is so true !!

(All characters and other entities appearing here are author’s imaginary. Any resemblance to real persons or real-life entities, past or present, is purely coincidental)