Up and down, criss and cross went the wool. I couldn’t understand how was it possible but I did it quite expertly. Maybe, over the years mom must have had an influence on me?
But that doesn't explain how I won the zonal competition and lost the one with Jimi, the neighbor's daughter. I had never touched wool in my entire life until grandma came to visit us that summer. Ah! That summer! It was the same summer when I met Karim. Such a gentleman! We met at the corner ship for the first time, when he noticed the blue brooch on my top and asked whether it was from my grandma. I was quite surprised as he was right. But I just smiled at him shyly which he understood as my yes.
It was a bright, sunny day, when I met Karim the next time. Grandma was teaching me to crochet. She believes girls should learn crochet and stitching for their future families. Well, who'd argue with a seventy year old grandma. So I started following her instructions one by one when Karim passed by and said hello.
This hello. Oh what an hello! He stole my heart. It made the dull crochet session into an interesting one as he asked me to make a warm muffler for him as the winter was expected to be much bad this year.
I gifted him the sweater on Thanksgiving day. He loved it! And there on, I began loving him! It some connected between us. I guess grandma played the matchmaker here.
I took up crochet as my full time hobby. Karim loved my kind gestures and tried to reciprocate my feelings as well. We used to meet often and go for long walks in the cold weather. Karim always tried to put his arm around me but never succeeded due to some or the other reason. He even tried to hold my hand the other day! It felt amazing.
Finally on new year's eve, he proposed me! This felt as official as my transcripts!
Crochet and long walks with Karim became a routine. Mom encouraged me to take up crochet in school too. She too did so in her school. And as obvious as it is, I was the best in my crochet class. Karim continued to receive my crochet gifts and would help me out with my homework.
This continued till my zonal competition when Karim and I broke up. It was heartbreaking. I was full of rage. I won the competition. Anger is a powerful emotion I guess. Even my crochet showed it very well.
Now today when I look back at it with this crochet needle and wool in my hands, I feel what had happened was for the best. Had I not learnt crocheting, I would have not won the Best Artist award. Neither would have I married Karim who proposed me again when he realized what a grave mistake we had committed by separating. We faced many ups and downs after the zonal competition. More competition and more challenges. But we stuck together like the wool of crochet. And here we are, Happily Married!
