First Love On Facebook

                                                       

                 Ashish Bakshi wants to be friends on
       Facebook

       Niharika Singh updated her cover photo

       Sameer Gupta posted on your timeline

       Blah

       Blah

       Blah

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       36 Notifications!!
 This was the result of logging onto Facebook after two days. Grimacing at the screen, I didn't bother to read how many people had commented on how many people's photos, whose status was the most scandalous this week or who had taken the trouble to tag me in a picture in which I wasn't even present. 

  
 It was sheer habit and not need which made me regularly log on to Facebook, stare at people's heavily edited pictures, raise my eyebrows at their statuses,occasionally press the "like" button, and sometimes I even exerted myself to publicise my own photos, the ones in which I fancied myself pretty.

     

Quickly concluding that, apart from Sanjana Singhania proclaiming that she was in love for the seventh time  on her timeline, nothing sensational had occurred, I was just proceeding to quickly log out when my chat box suddenly popped on the screen.

Raghav Mehrotra

Hi

My eyes were suddenly fixed on the screen, my impatient face had suddenly turned impassive, a simple Hi suddenly made my heart do a somersault, and a name......a name I was reading after soooo long suddenly seemed as if I had read it only yesterday. The time that had elapsed just seemed to fade away,and I realised that a name that had once meant everything to me still had the capacity to make a smile unwillingly curl on my lips.

After a moment's thought, I deftly typed back.

Hello.

    

Raghav   : I see you still put              that irritating full              stop after your chats.
Me       : I see you still                  notice.
Raghav   : Always...
Me       : To what do I owe this
           sudden interest to                chat?
Raghav   : I was remembering                you...or should I
           say missing you?;)
Me       : You mean to tell me              you didn't miss
           me all this time?:o
Raghav   : What do you think?
Me       : I am not going to be              wasting my time                  thinking about                    anything concerning              you.
Raghav   : I agree; I'm sure you have wasted
           enough time doing that already;D
Me       : If you really think so, I will
           conclude that you still think no
           end of youself.:\
Raghav   : I'm sure you thought no end of me
           too;)
Me       : I'm not even going to bother
           refusing
           your accusations.
Raghav   : So how are you?
Me       : As beautiful as ever ;)
Raghav   : Then why haven't you uploaded a
           profile picture?
Me       : To spare you the mortification of
           falling in love.....again.;D
Raghav   : Oh I don't mind being mortified
           once more.                    

Me       : I do.

Raghav   :  (Big sighhh)You were always too
            honest for my taste.

Me       : You were never even one of my
           tastes!!...you couldn't even make
           it to the bottom of the list.
Raghav   : That was because I was always

           featuring in the Headlines of your
           life, darling ;D

Me       : Okay, that made me laugh.:D

Raghav   : You forgot to mention that it also
           made you blush.

Me       : You are so cheesy.

Raghav   : Well...you've always been crazy
           about cheese ;)

Me       : Do you still live in Manali?

Raghav   : How can I? I live in your heart ;D

Me       : Don't make me punch you through the
           screen...I have just bought a brand
           new laptop!!!

Raghav   : Lolzz ;D okay,okay....Nope, I have
           shifted to Chicago.

Me       : I pity the people there :D

Raghav   : Where do you live?

Me       : The liscence to ask questions is
           only mine.

Raghav   : Fine...I'll transform my question
           to"I hope you are living in
           Chicago";D                    

Me       : lolz! no...I live in Mumbai.

Raghav   : We must meet on a date someday:D

Me       : Weren't the previous ones enough?:D

Raghav   : I can never get enough of our
           dates:D

Me       : You were always late.

Raghav   : You were always early

Me       : Fine...If that makes you feel
           better...

Raghav   : Yerrrss it does..so...I have got
           the opportunity to flirt with
           you on Facebook after so long!!;D
Me       : These dialogues don't impress me
           anymore:D
Raghav   : I am shocked they impressed you
           even then!!!;D;D;D
Me       : hahahaha yes I can't believe I fell
           for such stuff.;D
Raghav   : Oh you fell for a lot of the cock-
           and-bull stories I used to feed you
Me       : Like????
Raghav   : The flowers which I had gifted you
           claiming that I had climbed the
           highest mountain in Manali to pluck
           them...and had even fought off some
           tigers on the way....I had actually
           plucked them from my own garden.
Me       : (yawwwn)You can flatter yourself by
           thinking I had believed you...I
           knew right from the moment you
           started jabbering that you were
           going to spin a really long yarn.
Raghav   : Why didn't you tell me so then?
Me       : Because I didn't want damage your
           ego...and mainly because the
           flowers were beautiful.
Raghav   : Btw...do you still like roses?
Me       : I still luurvve them....but when
           are you ever going to realise that
           what I liked best about your silly
           presents was that you had got them
           for me?
Raghav   : Oh I realised that long ago...the
           day you shifted from Manali, to be
           exact.
Me       : I didn't want to.
Raghav   : Even I didn't want you to...
Me       : I doubt that. :D
Raghav   : For once I'm serious.
Me       : For once, I wish you weren't.:(
Raghav   : Things would have changed so much,
           you know.
Me       : Things never change,Raghav....we
           do.
Raghav   : Yes...we both have changed a lot..
Me       : Perhaps for the best...
Raghav   : Oh I can't have changed much
           then...I was always the best;D
Me       : No comments.
Raghav   : There now...I always leave you
           speechless;)
Me       : You are crazy.:/
Raghav   : Crazy about you;) 

Me       : Though I'm thoroughly enjoying the
           attention, I have to log out now :)
Raghav   : Well,okay..on a serious note..we'll
           try to meet someday...for old
           times' sake:)...tc..

           P.S. : keep missing me ;)
Me       : You know something....I always
           have:* 

My fingers had just pressed the log out button when a voice from behind brought me to the present. 

"What's taking you so long? We have to reach the auditorium quickly" quipped my husband impatiently.

"Well, I was busy chatting with my ex-flame" I said grinning.

My husband didn't seem impressed,my daughter-in-law laughed, and I shared a private wink with my son. Still smiling, I hurried into my room to get ready for my grandson's school annual function.

  

So many years had passed... many things had happened....as many hadn't....each memory was hidden somewhere in my mind.

If I had been given the chance to change any part of my life, I would have flatly refused the offer.... because I was happy...happy with the way things had shaped...happy with the way my life had changed....happy with the way it is still changing....and change is something I love. 

But that doesn't not stop me from remembering  the past.....reliving the moments...missing people....recollecting memories. Today, I really appreciate the saying that age is insignificant.

Today is the 5th March, 2067. 

I am 72 years old, but someone has just made me feel like I am 16.