“I am surprised that she still had your mom's number saved” Sunil says.

“That's not at all surprising for me bro .” Shreya says, taking a sip from the small maa-za packet. “I mean I guess adults save each other's numbers for like forty years or something. My mom's friend from when I was a kid, all of a sudden, sent me a message like two days back, literally out of nowhere !”

Sujitha lets out a laugh. “ I swear to god bro, it looks like they never forget your number !”

I take a chip out of the lays packet and put in my mouth. It's the green one. I don't like it very much. I like the blue one more. Evelyn liked it too. I guess that's one of the first things we started talking about when we all came here for the first time, to these benches in front of Baskin Robbins.

I remember we had started talking about the blue lays chips being underrated and how everyone seems to like only the green one. Her eyes had spoken to me filled with ecstasy, her whole body had been jumping up and down ever so slightly ; it could have been just a small unnoticeable thing, no big deal. But for me, she felt like she was on the top of the stars ; a giddy little schoolgirl discovering the playground for the first time.

I wonder if her eyes would speak to me the same way even now.

“Hoy bro -” Sunil's voice brings me back to reality.

“You okay ?” Shreya asks.

“Yeah I am fine. I am fine.” I reply. I look up at the sky. I don't see any clouds. It's just a big blue sheet covering us all. I guess that day also had been something like this. A Blue world.

“ Suji, you still talk to Evelyn on insta right ?” Shreya asks.

“Hmm yea but not that much,only sometimes.” Sujitha replies. “And if you wondering if she has said anything there then no she hasn't.”

“Ohh.” Shreya replies as she crushes her maa-za packet and places it beside her on the marble bench.

“I mean did you really expect her to tell us that ?” Sunil asks, running his hand through his hair. I see that he has grown out his beard even more. He says that the girls like it but then having said that,I guess my dad is Sanjeev Kapoor then.

“Yeah I mean, I thought she might at least tell Sujitha.” Shreya replies.

“What was her insta id ? I forgot.” I ask.

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“._Eve_.lyn108” Sujitha replies. “By the way Sunil listen, tomorrow please shave and come okay, I WANT to squeeze your baby cheek again.”

“Get lost, duffer ! My slipper you will WANT-AH? !” Sunil lifts up his left leg, pretending to take it off.

We all start laughing. “ Hey Suji ! You said you were gonna cut your hair short, right ?” Shreya asks, collecting up her hair and taking out a rubber band from her jeans pocket.

“Yaaa brooo, I want to go this Sunday.” Sujitha replies, stroking her hair. “Actually my sister said she knows this salon okay, where this lady will do all nice treatment for your hair itseems. My sister said that she and her friends used to go there only every time.”

“Yaaa-vuh ? Even I also want to come then !” Shreya tells, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

“Can I also come?” Sunil asks.

“Ya ya come come. You also come then we will trim your beard also” Shreya says as she laughs.

Sunil says something else but I stop listening. I look up at the sky and see green trees blowing their leaves in the air. I hear cars passing by and sound of birds chirping somewhere up in the trees. The warm breeze taking me back to that day. That day when everything was sweet. Yup. That day was exactly like today. Only difference ? That day was a lot more sweeter.

* * *

Blue sky, winds high, flutter of laughs around ; That's how he had seen that day to be. They were sitting in front of Baskin Robbins, on the marble benches, the seats cool from the shade of the trees but also slightly warm due to the warmth of the day. He could hear the birds chirping way up in the trees. 'Could they be talking about us?' he thought.

He looked beside to him. He could see her in the shade, the way the light danced around the leaves and on to her hair, flickering. It seemed to be shining her hair. And yet he could see all of her shine. Was it still the light doing it? She was talking about the blue packet flavored chips. It seemed to like her. That someone else apart from her likes it too. He was listening ; But now the sound of the birds had distracted him.

“Are they talking about us ?” he asked her.

“Huh?”

“The birds up there.” He said, pointing up to the trees. 'Are they talking about us ?”

“Maybe.” she replied. “Maybe they are talking about how annoying we all are to come and sit under their home and eating chips and drinking maa-za and all.”

He let out a short laugh.“Yeah I guess you are right.” He took another chip from the packet and put it in his mouth, crunching it.

“So as I was saying –“ she continued “These chips are so underrated bro. Seriously, I used to tell my friends also to eat them but they don't listen only. The green one doesn't have any TASTE only in that. It's so bad.”

He could see the way the light bounced around Vijesh, Sunil, Sujitha and Shreya in front of him. The light never seemed to be hitting any of them. It just seemed to be dancing around them, trying to catch their attention. But it had caught hers perfectly. In the right spot that too. Why was that ?

He reached in to the packet to grab another chip and his hand collided with hers.

“Oh sorry-” she said.

He didn't say anything. Just observed. A gentle touch with a spark. Did she sense it too ? He hoped so.

How is everything today in such perfect coincidence ? He wondered.

Could it all go perfectly wrong one day?