17 Again

Dedicated to those who add beautiful memories and stir vibrant colors and make an otherwise ordinary life, extraordinary...

Ever got ported to your past life?
Ever experienced a moment, which hitched your wagon to an old remembrance?

With a charming, smiling face, he happened to me and even before I realized, I was in love.

My life seemed perfect. A perfect job. A perfect lifestyle. For my dreams and aspirations, I traveled across continents, moved from one place to another. Made friends wherever I went, but always felt that there was no time for love. Little I knew, that you can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.

Though he was much younger than me, I saw in him a glimpse of my past. It all started with an email in my inbox from the workplace rideshare community that someone is looking for a ride, for a week or two. And so began the saga of long drives, long talks, long walks and long coffee dates & breaks. Whenever he was around, something happened and I was head over heels.

He was my "portkey", it felt like 17 again. Trying to look pretty, trying to impress him, talking about him with my besties.

My heart would start racing every time he hugged goodbye, and with every goodbye, he took away a part of me. I was never able to muster the courage to express my feelings. Thoughts like "Is he too young for me?" or "Am I too old for him?" would haunt me. I dreaded the moment when the reality would set in and I would realize we can't be together.

Even an ordinary train ride to the baseball game was blissful and fun with him. Time flew cracking jokes, stomping each others feet and laughing even over silly things.
Anything and everything from the universe of sports was a foreign thing for me and when he asked me to skim through the rules of the game on Wikipedia, I literally rolled my eyes. The highlight of our game date were the ballpark garlic fries. To my astonishment, I loved the game and his company made it all worthwhile.

It was a romantic walk back to the train station,  holding hands under the moonlight. It was breezy along the pier. We snuggled and he walked with his arm around my shoulders. We were lost in each other and at that moment shared a salty kiss in oceanfront. When I gazed into his eyes, I found the love I was looking for.

The train took us back to where we parked our cars. It was late in the night and we were driving side by side on the highway. At every traffic signal sharing flying kisses. I was already missing him upon reaching home. The phone beeped and a text message from him said- "Thanks for the wonderful time. You have no idea how badly I miss you." and I was beaming with joy.

I still enjoy our long walks and love caressing his hair when he sleeps in my lap on our favorite bench along the shoreline. He holds in himself, my good times and even today when I am with him, I feel like 17 again.

"When you're young everything feels like the end of the world. But it's not; it's just the beginning. You might have to meet a few more jerks, but one day you're going to meet someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Like the sun rises and sets with you." - 17 Again