Just when you least expect it :)

It was a new phase of our lives- a new place, a new college, new people- we were here to be doctors. We were wondering, thinking, we were puzzled and lost..and somewhere in between all that chaos- we found each other- Devan and I.

We got talking because of a common friend and since then there was no looking back. We were "fundamentally" different, as he likes to put in. I am very outgoing, talkative and love being around people, whereas he is the epitome of all that is and will be "socially challenged" (again..as he puts it in). I still don't know..okay...we both still don't know how exactly we became friends. But we did. And God are we thankful for it.

I remember all the small and big things. He's seen me through a lot of crap- a gay boyfriend, family troubles, gripey friends... I don't exactly know what I've seen him through, but he insists that I have been there for him, so I'll just take his word for it.

He loves strawberry ice cream, and peanut butter and mangoes. I prefer vanilla flavor, I absolutely hate peanut butter and I can't stand mangoes (they're too sweet!). I love capsicums, he hates them. I love romantic comedies, he likes his science fiction (so deciding which movie to go to becomes a headache sometimes). I like to start studying on time, whereas he is the last minute kinda guy. I like hanging out with people, whereas he'd rather be alone. I like going to places, but he likes to sleep. I love talking, but not him. In a nutshell, I'm very proactive, whereas he is the complete antithesis of proactive.

And still...He's undoubtedly my best friend.

He understands my mood swings and I on my part try to get his need to be alone sometimes (although I'm not very successful at that attempt). He's always there unconditionally- to go for walks, to go drinking, to pick up my calls when I get drunk without him, to hear me complain and whine, to hold my hand when I'm sad, to cheer me up when I'm low, to laugh with me while watching Tina Fey at her best.

With him in my life, I feel loved, secure and cherished. Among these 250 strangers and acquaintances, I've managed to find someone who'll be with me even after this phase of my life is over.

I know that the person I'll end up spending the rest of my life will have to love me more than Dev does. Only then will I know if that guy is worth it. Because he has some pretty high standards to match up to.

...Just when you least expect it :)

by Deeksha Sikri
(Mangalore, India)