Dating : Chapter Five: A Promise Of Love

We were sitting in our well-known ice-cream café and had two cups of vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce drizzled all over it. It was one of the best things that I liked about vanilla ice-cream, it was so versatile. You could just add chocolate, strawberry, mango, blackcurrant and almost everything else… and it will taste just as amazing. Life was just like an ice-cream, with each flavour representing a certain flavour of life. To me, chocolate symbolised happiness because it was my favourite, but I detested mint and pistachio. On the other hand, Farrokh enjoyed butterscotch but would never taste raspberry. In some ways, ice-creams resembled people as well, with each colour representing the dominant element of their personality. I would choose chocolate in my case, for they come in so many other variants as well — dark chocolate, sweet chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate with pieces of fruit and nut. I was a person with multiple layers — for example, I was the sassy and hot-tempered little brat at home, a friendly and cheerful personality to my friends but only Farrokh had ever really seen the real and vulnerable side of me. The messy and complicated side of me that was a result of my parents’ divorce, my constant family problems and my apprehensions about becoming the best comic-book artist in the whole world.

True enough, I had trusted Hemangi with some of my emotions but she had back-stabbed me in the worst way possible when she found out about my brand-new relationship. Let’s say that she found it funny to spread horrible rumours about me using unsuspecting boys to pay for my college fees because my divorcee mother didn’t have the money anymore. The story hadn’t ended there, she had gone around telling Farrokh that he deserved better than a girl who didn’t have a proper family and that she was always there if he was looking for a second option. Farrokh had been the one to warn me about Hemangi, and I chose to ignore him for the first few times. However, things went south when I accidentally discovered her creating a social media page titled ‘Zemirah Simon Is A Gold-Digger’ and sending invitations to our classmates.

I was furious, to say the least. I had never expected such kindergarten behaviour from a college student, certainly not one of the girls I was close to.

Since then, I’ve stopped making female friends. Sounds misogynistic, but no thank you. I’d stay happier with my bunch of male buddies and Farrokh rather than getting cyber-bullied by a girl whom I had considered a friend.

“I wish that you didn’t have to go, I wish that I could come with you,” I wept, hiding my face in Farrokh’s shirt and clutching on to him as I wanted to protect him from being taken away.

Farrokh looked as if he was about to cry himself, but he put a strong arm around me and said, “I know that, Zemi. However, relationships are like this — you have to keep fighting for it, otherwise, there remains no point in being together, am I right?”

Though I was a positive and resolute girl by heart, there were times when I had to let my heart get the better of me.

“Mumbai is such a huge city, Farrokh. What if we can’t keep up with our busy schedules, and feel that this relationship is weighing down upon us? What if you find someone better over there… what will happen to me, then?” I knew that I was being unreasonable, but I had to come out with my fears. I remember how upset Mom was when she thought that she could never go to Mumbai, and how I had to be positive for her. I knew that the approaching distance affected Farrokh to a great extent as well, but he had to be strong for me. He simply didn’t have any other choice at the moment.

“If you want, I can let go of this offer, you know,” Farrokh said, thoughtfully.

I looked up at him as if he had gone crazy. He had just received an offer as a Systems Engineer at Crowell, one of the biggest IT companies in India. His parents were overjoyed for him and had even planned to pay a visit to Udvada, the holy place to the Zoroastrians. I had seen the pride and joy in his eyes when he gave me his offer letter to read.

How can I let him sacrifice all of that… for me?

I wiped the tears off my cheeks immediately.

“Farrokh, of course not! See, I’m really happy for you,” I tried to smile through my tears. “I’m just being an emotional mess, you know. You know that I can be a real drama queen at times, just forget about everything and focus on your new journey ahead.”

He looked at me seriously and finally folded his arms across his chest.

“Do you take me to be stupid, Zemi?”

And then again, I melted into a puddle of tears in his arms.

After about ten minutes, Farrokh took my chin in his hand and looked at me with serious eyes. “Zemirah, listen to me carefully. Nothing is ever going to change my love for you, for I love you too much for my own good. I’ve been there through some of the worst situations of your life, and I have no intention to leave you in the middle of the journey. I know pretty much everything that is to know about your family, and the same goes for you. So, you can be assured that we will fight for each other, for our love. Someday, we’ll be together… again.”

I simply nodded.

“Now, I want you to close your eyes.”

I looked at him.

“Why?”

“Just do it, it’s a surprise for you.”

“Fine…”

I closed my eyes tightly and felt him slip something into my hand.

“Now open your eyes, Zemi.”

I opened my eyes to see a silver chain with a sparkling heart as the pendant. I was rendered speechless at the moment, but something in me told me that I shouldn’t accept this.

“Farrokh, what was the need to get me a necklace? This must be so expensive, and you haven’t even started earning yet. I really can’t accept this, you know — “

“You should because it’s my promise to you that you shall always be my melody… just like your name.”

I laughed. “That’s so cheesy,” I said, shyly.

“Anything to bring a smile to your face, My Highness.”

We shared a happy moment for a second, but my heart sank further at the thought that we wouldn’t be able to have these happy days again for some time.

We would have to wait, be patient and continue loving each other — we would be in what they call a long-distance relationship.

Sigh.

“Do you believe in me now?” Farrokh asked.

“I do, I’ve always done so.”

And with that, I gave a slight peck on the cheek. Though I wasn’t known for expressing my love in such a manner, something in me told me that Farrokh deserved this. He deserved everything in the world for loving me in spite of everything that life had thrown at us, and I had to cherish him for the same.

Farrokh patted the area where I had kissed him with some disbelief.

“Woah, I was not expecting that.”

I took his hand and whispered.

“We will have our first kiss when we meet again, I promise you.”

He laughed.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for it.”

This time, I blushed. I had always dreamt of the iconic first kiss that they describe in movies and books but never got to experience yet. I had made it clear to Farrokh that we would seal our love only when both of us were finally ready. Right now, we had difficult times ahead of us in our relationship and I did not want such a historic moment to take place just before we parted.

Okay, I just realised how confusing it sounds.

“Okay, Farrokh. I’ve got something for you too… close your eyes.”

He cocked his head to one side in surprise but closed his eyes.

I brought out my present from my bag and softly gave it to him.

“Am I allowed to open my eyes now? It feels like cloth… what is this?”

He opened his eyes to find my favourite scarf in his hand, white with pink and yellow prints. It was an ordinary cotton scarf from the nearby market, but it was very special to me.

Farrokh looked at me with some curiosity, but I could tell that he was just trying to be polite.

I explained.

“It’s not just a scarf, Farrokh. This is my favourite scarf, one of the first things I bought with my own money. It’s a part of me that would always be with you until the day we meet again.” As I finished the sentence, I realised how absolutely dumb I sounded. After all, who gives their own scarf to their boyfriend as a farewell gift? Horror and a crushing sense of embarrassment surged through me as I thought of all the beautiful things that I could have given him. I could have bought him a wallet, that fitness wristwatch that he had always wanted or even a couple of shirts. Instead, I had thought that my dirty old scarf would be a touching gift… and again, I started crying.

“What happened now?” Farrokh took my hand in alarm.

“I should have gotten you a better gift, right? I have no idea what just got into me, I just felt that you’ll find this scarf to be a memory of me when you’re not here, and…”

He laughed, and that annoyed me further.

“It’s not funny, okay?”

He stopped immediately.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I’m the stupid one over here.”

He sighed.

“You can be a real drama queen at times, do you know that?”

That made me smile a little.

“Well, I’ve inherited that from amma. Her temper tantrums are legendary in the whole of Jew Town, everyone knows that.”

We laughed, and then fell silent. It was time for us to go home, and begin our long-distance relationship in its full form.

Before turning, he clutched the scarf close to his heart.

“I will treasure your heart as long as I live, I promise.”

I ran my hands over the pendant on my neck as well.

“I will treasure your heart… as long as I live, I promise.”