Some memories don't really fade with the course of time. They just sink deep into the riverbed, waiting to be dug out.
It was a mildly warm Sunday afternoon. The Sun gave off a radiant glow over the luscious grass and tree leaves. It was on that very afternoon that the invitation arrived.
Ashu was sitting on her couch in the living room, while her kids were running around in the garden. The seemingly peaceful flow of the afternoon was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected ring of the doorbell.
Ashu got up and headed towards the door, but even before she could reach the vestibule, her kids had already beaten her to it.
Standing at the door was the mailman, holding a small envelope in his hands. Ashu took the letter and started making her way inside, while her kids closed the door behind her.
No sooner had she reached the couch than she opened the letter. In her hands lay a slightly glossy card, barely the size of her fist.
One of her kids asked, "What is that?"
Ashu didn't look up and gave a soft, barely audible reply, "It's an invitation." Her eyes settled on the words printed across the card: Class Reunion Party.
She read each and every detail with an absurd amount of focus, almost as if it were something incredibly important to her.
Then, hurriedly getting up, she almost ran out of the living room. She went past the hallway, past the stairs, until she reached a rather secluded room. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped inside.
By now, her kids had followed her as well.
She rummaged through some old boxes, and from their depths emerged a large trunk. It was old, almost entirely covered in rust, with its paint having long since chipped away.
She opened the trunk as her children's watchful eyes followed her every movement with innocent curiosity.
Ashu gently moved a few things aside, her fingers brushing against the familiar objects. A faint smile crept across her face as she picked up an old photograph. It showed four young faces, standing close together, their smiles wide and carefree.
Beneath the photographs lay a folded white shirt. Its fabric had lost much of its original brightness, and its surface was covered with handwritten messages in different colours of ink. Some were short, some stretched across entire sections of the cloth, and a few had little doodles accompanying them.
She carefully unfolded it, revealing the familiar handwriting of people she hadn't seen in years.
For a moment, she simply sat there, looking at it.
"Who's that?" one of the children asked, pointing at the photograph in her hand. Ashu chuckled softly. "Those," she said, "were my people."
The following few days passed rather uneventfully. Yet, for Ashu, something had changed. Every now and then, she would find herself taking out the invitation, reading it once again, or going through the old photographs tucked away in the trunk.
The day of the reunion finally arrived.
She spent a little longer than usual getting ready. It had been years since she had last seen most of them, and despite the excitement, she couldn't help but wonder how much everyone had changed. Would they recognise one another? Would they still have the same old jokes, the same laughter, the same little habits?
The venue was already buzzing with familiar faces when she arrived. Some greeted her with warm hugs, while others took a moment to recognise her before breaking into laughter.
There were stories to catch up on, old photographs to compare, and plenty of teasing about the things they had done back in the day.
Soon enough, she found Harumi and Adam among the crowd.
"Well, look who's finally here!" Adam exclaimed.
"Some things never change, do they?" Harumi added, laughing.
Ashu rolled her eyes, but couldn't hold back her smile. Within minutes, the three of them were talking as though no time had passed at all.
They spent the evening catching up with old classmates, recalling forgotten incidents and laughing over memories that seemed much funnier in hindsight.
At some point, Ashu asked about Yughveer, the one who had arranged the reunion. She was told that an unexpected commitment had kept him from attending.
It was a little disappointing, but the evening carried on regardless.
It wasn't until later in the evening that Ashu finally spotted Ellie. She was standing near the refreshments, casually chatting with a few old classmates.
"ELLIE!" Ashu called out.
Ellie turned around, and her face immediately lit up. "ASHU! Look who's here!"
The two rushed towards each other, exchanging a warm hug. Harumi and Adam soon joined them, and before long, the four of them were together again.
"Well, well. The whole gang's finally reunited," Adam remarked. "Now all we're missing is a little trouble."
"You're usually the one responsible for that," Harumi replied.
"And yet you always seem to be around when it happens."
Ellie burst into laughter while Ashu simply shook her head. It felt strangely familiar, almost as if they had travelled back in time.
As the evening grew late, the crowd gradually began to thin. One by one, people started saying their goodbyes. The four friends, however, seemed in no particular hurry to leave.
"Why don't we go somewhere?" Ellie suggested. "It's been ages since we've all spent time together."
"Now that's an idea," Adam said, already reaching for his car keys.
And so, without much planning, the four of them decided to spend the rest of the night together.
The night was still young, and the roads were unusually quiet. Adam took the driver's seat, while Harumi settled beside him. Ashu and Ellie occupied the back, already engrossed in a conversation that seemed to have no particular beginning or end.
They drove around aimlessly, stopping at a roadside cafรฉ, sharing old jokes, and laughing over incidents that none of them had quite forgotten. For a few hours, age seemed to have become nothing more than a number. They were the same four friends they had once been.
At around midnight, they finally decided to call it a night.
Adam dropped Harumi first, followed by Ellie. Ashu was the last to leave. Before getting out, she turned towards the others.
"Same time next year?" she asked.
"Only if Adam promises not to drive," Harumi joked.
"Very funny," Adam replied.
Ellie waved from the back seat. "Take care, you idiots!"
Ashu laughed, shut the door, and watched the car disappear into the darkness before heading inside.
The following weeks passed without anything unusual. Life returned to its familiar routine, and the reunion gradually became another pleasant memory.
Then, one afternoon, quite by coincidence, Ashu ran into Yughveer.
After exchanging the usual pleasantries, their conversation naturally drifted towards the reunion.
"Shame I couldn't make it that evening," Yughveer remarked. "I really wanted to see everyone."
Ashu smiled. "You missed quite a lot. We even went out afterwards. The four of us had a little get-together of our own."
"The four of you?" he asked, slightly puzzled.
"Me, Harumi, Adam and Ellie."
For a moment, Yughveer said nothing.
Then his expression changed.
"Ashu... Ellie?"
"Yes. Why?"
He stared at her, almost as though he was trying to decide whether he should say what was on his mind.
"That's impossible."
Ashu's smile slowly faded. "What do you mean?"
Yughveer looked at her, his voice dropping.
"Ellie died three years ago."
The words seemed to hang in the air.
Ashu didn't respond. She couldn't.
After a few seconds, she let out a nervous laugh.
"That's not funny, Yughveer."
"I'm not joking, Ashu."
He paused.
"She couldn't have been at the reunion. In fact..." He hesitated. "I'm pretty sure nobody's told you what happened to her."
Ashu felt her stomach tighten.
She wanted to ask him a hundred questions, but one thought kept repeating itself in her mind. If Ellie had died three years ago... Then who had been with her throughout the night?
----The End----
๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ :
@๐ฆAshu โ๐ฬฝโแตแตแถ๐ก๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ฆ as Ashu.
@ไนllฤฑั.. ๐ฎ๐ฏ as Ellie.
@Harumi โณ as Harumi.
@เผAdam เผ as Adam.
@๊ง๐๐๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๊ง as Yughveer.
