98 Days to Go

"मुझे मिलता सुकून तेरी बाहों में
जन्नत जैसे एक राहत है;
एक बात कहूँ, क्या इजाज़त है...
तेरे इश्क़ की मुझको आदत है."
- शब्बीर अहमद,  इजाज़त

Do you remember those kids in that pic, there? We have changed so little since then, and yet so much too. I had more hair, for one. And that wrap around... It has a special place in my memory - you know that.

You've been an integral part of my life for so long that I cannot help but be used to the comfort of your presence, your support to my very being. You have been someone I could always bank on to have my back, to take care of me. I vow to spend my life being the person you bank on, a shoulder that's always there when you need to lean on it.

This was one of the first few times you came to our colony, before my parents found out about us. Simpler times, remember? I miss walking across the colony with you, the parking lots, the football ground. Back when we didn't have a care in the world. Life will not be that simple going forward, but we can steal simple moments - simple pleasures of our life. Just a moment or two in your embrace is heaven, and it is heaven I am now accustomed to.

Ps. Today I was offered an alternative to this job, back home in India. While it is a good opportunity, it will come at the cost of our dream to live in London for a while, away from the stuff back home - grow our family at our pace. I have built so many castles in the air, it is painful to tear them down in my head. My heart keeps telling me that maybe I will get an extension in London, to take the chance, because this dream - you, me, a cute riverside cottage, and a pet.

Pps. I love you to the moon and back.