Blast from the Past!

My phone rang as I was carefully removing my waterproof mascara. People who know me will know that it was a Sunday evening because I'm one of those lazy people who wear make-up hence mascaras only on Sundays. So, it was just another evening after a youth fellowship when my phone rang. I picked the call holding the phone with my shoulder against my cheeks, squinting so as not to get the makeup-remover in my eyes!

A very familiar voice struggled to speak in Mizo “Hello, meltranu khonge i om?” with all the flats and highs. I paused everything. Ouch! As my eyes sting with the makeup remover, I realized I recognised the voice and not everyone calls me ‘meltranu’ especially with that tone! I also know that the voice belonged to someone I haven’t met for five long years. The voice asked me to come to a certain eating joint where ‘four handsome guys await’ for me.

I ran all the way to that eating joint.

Not because ‘four handsome guys await’ for me; not because I haven’t met the owner of the voice in a million years; not because I’m particularly fond of the running exercise but because I was excited to get a surprise blast from the past.

When I reached, it wasn’t four but five guys who waited for me… (The ‘handsome’ part, I’m not too sure!) My seniors and my friends from my college days! Well, we weren’t in the same college back then but we all were churned in the same ‘character home’. Back then we were more proud of being “New Life Graduates” rather than being college graduates with whatever honours. And all that ‘character building’ somehow still gave us a bond.

We talked, laughed, poked and yet talked within the 30 minutes that we get to meet. After they left, I came back to my room, crawled under the blankets and realized just how much I miss them. We’ve changed over the years. Some of us gained a lot of weight, some came pathetically thin and some of us stayed the same (hopefully). Two of us are in research while some are future civil servants. One however turned out to be an associate pastor (which doesn’t surprise me at all!!).

We had an unlikely meeting, totally unplanned and I’m not sure if we’ll ever meet again but I’m indeed glad to have such a meeting with my ‘old’ people.

I can’t say I will always remember this blast from the past. But when I do, I’ll be happy and maybe steal a few silent laughs!!