She was dark skinned and with a voice that could scare the living daylights out of you.
She was like the crow, feared but never understood and always looked down upon.
She never made much friends even though here mom made the most delicious of curries.
She had long curly hair and every one called her as Kawkaw.
She was always seated in a discrete corner of the bench, writing the notes which the class teacher dictated.
I only got to know her one day when i came to class early to write answers on my desk to secure the passing marks for this exam.
She too had come and i set about my task with a devilish intensity. And very much later did i know that she was crying, her sobs had gotten louder.
Someone had played a prank on her. They had called her names and filled crow feathers in her bag yesterday.
I really did not know what to do, so I asked her to stop crying and gave her my handkerchief.
That was the first time I saw her smile, and she looked damn beautiful. I think she saw me look at her and blushed too.It was the first spark that ignited a intense passion.
I flunked the exam, she too did the same.We had to reappear the next year. And this ritual had started, she would get her dabbis full of my favorite curries and we would start discussing subjects, she always had a look of satisfaction on her face when I finished her dabbis.
We talked about god, about life , love and movies. Long days seemed to vanish around our discussions and arguments.
I was fond of her in a fondish way,But she was fond of me in a different sort of a way.
I got a letter dipped in red ink that read:
I think i am in love with you.
No one in my life has ever seen me as a person. They have almost always looked at me with an intense disgust. My black skin has always been the joke, my voice has always been ridiculous and I always felt unbeautiful.
Until you came to me and in a gesture that was unknown to me, friendship.
I think I am in love with you.
I laugh when you are around, I blush when look into my eyes and question my glance.
I don't feel like staying in class when you are not around.
With you around I just dont remember that the rest of them still see me as a joke.
I look at myself very differently now, thanks to you...
And as I read the letter, I realised it had not been written in red ink, it was something else.
It sent shivers down my spine, the ones that get you all spooky.
There was a part of me that was happy, a part of me that was terrified and a part of me that was still in shock.
I had to read it again and again, and every time I read it, I felt a strange sense of emotion, tears welled up in my eyes as I read her thoughts.
I called her and broke the news to her.
I could hear her crying even long after the call had been cut and the night had fallen.
And for the first time in her life there was a fairy tale.
