The Boy I Fought With As A Kid In Andhra

We were so small. Full family trip to Andhra Pradesh.

I don't even remember why we fought, but we did. Like proper kids. We smiled, we laughed, we scolded each other, we fought for small things. "My side", "No my side". That kind of children stuff.

That was my first memory of him. My cousin's cousin. 2 years older than me.

After we came back to Kerala, we barely saw each other. After the trip, I didn't see him much at all. And the sometime I did see him on road, we didn't even look at each other. We behaved like we don't know each other. Complete strangers.

I thought he forgot me.

Then I turned 15, he was 17. I was at home, scrolling Instagram. His ID came. I don't know where I got courage from, but I texted first.

"Do you remember me? Andhra Pradesh trip?"

He replied within 5 minutes: “yeah I remember. How could i forget?”

That’s how we became online friends.

We started chatting everyday. He told me his secrets, I told him mine. Things i never told anyone.

Then one day he sent me a voice note. First time i heard his deep voice. That deep voice…. I fell instantly.

He is not well educated, after 10th he didn’t go to school. But his POV - the way he thinks about life, family, future - was just soo mature. Not like boys my age who just joke. He was older, more mature. That’s why i fell. Not for looks or anything, for his mindset and his voice and by his looks in my eyes he is just sooooo handsome.

After we became online friends, everything changed on road.

Earlier we didn’t even look at eachother. Now when he saw me on his bike, he smiled . That same childhood smile. One time his friends were with him and he shouted my name on road and I panicked soo hard i almost ran.