Kathmandu:

I was 17 and in Class X and suffering from my very first infatuation.

Her name was Sophia and I was a shy, reticent and shabby teenager.

In class I sat behind her, bemused and conscious of her only. She had a special charm that attracted me and whenever she spoke to me I used to go weak at my knees. She was also a shy girl, an introvert if I may say so.

I used to go green with jealousy whenever she talked with any other boy.

But I did not know how to make my move as at that time I was another boy who thinks he is the king of his own little world with no cares and worries. I decided to propose

but was not sure whether she liked me ‘in that way’ or not.

Hesitant but determined, I asked her to meet me. And when she came to know about my true feelings for her, she was dumbstruck. Softly but firmly, she told me that I was her friend — just a friend, that she had not thought of me in any other way but that. And she was going abroad for further studies. That was some years ago.

Today I am about to complete my graduation and I know I have a whole lot of responsibilities that I will have to bear. But I also know that Sophia will always be my friend.

Yes, we are still friends today. We have kept in touch and will continue to do so.

Looking back, everything seems so unreal. It was my first infatuation. But it was more than that too. It gave a friend.