Time Of Our Lives

Change

The tension in the room was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Yuphel proceeded to take a deep breath and shared her anticipated answer. “I am not sure of the reason, but I noticed a common character trait with you guys.’’ “What trait” I said interrupting her. “Well I believe the trait is Loneliness. Think about it, I was all alone in the world when I became a ghost. Both Chimmi and I felt isolated and alone. Whilst me and Chimmi had an identical situation, you two are the two different faces of a coin.” explained Yuphel as she paused for a breath. “Dechen you were driven by your ambition to hold no true feelings for anyone till now, you were always determined to succeed but you failed in opening yourself to anyone. It might be difficult for you to admit it but you have always felt alone.” Said Yuphel. Dechen went quiet, she showed a look of confusion. “Is what she said true? Have I always been alone?” it was written all over her face. Yuphel proceeded to hug Dechen and said “I doubt you will be able to feel my hug but I could not help but hug you.” Dechen teared up and said “You know something? I can actually feel your warmth. Your warm embrace feels nice, I am happy to have you as a friend.” Said Dechen before breaking into tears, it was followed by Yuphel crying as well. Yuphel tried to tell me my reason for the encounter, but I stopped her. “I already know the reason, you don’t need to ruin the moment please carry on.” I said as I left for a walk. I let the two enjoy their heart-warming moment and left the flat. As I walked through the dark corridors I was deep in my own thoughts. This whole year was bizarre. I had a lot of growth and met more people. But nothing lasts forever, I wonder how long it will last. This special relationship with Yuphel, I don’t wish for it to end but I wonder. What will happen to my life after it? What will I do then? Still deep in my thoughts the moon suddenly shined and it was no dark. The moon was a bright full moon which was no longer covered by the clouds. As I gazed towards the moon a cold gust of wind flew by. It was stunning and I basked at its glory. That’s when I realized, Yuphel was like the moon, without it the nights would be dark. There will be nothing to guide me through the night and calm my mood. So I need to appreciate every moment of the moon before it is long. Upon realizing it, I ran to road and got into a taxi. Where did I go? I was heading to the nearest stationary shop to buy a few murals, paints and paintbrushes. Since I cannot capture Yuphel’s smile clearly on a camera, I decided that I will paint all of our memories.  In the stationary shop at town after buying all the items I need, I was complimented by the cashier. “You have a nice smile, did anything good happen” asked the cashier. Me? Smiling? She was right, I was smiling. “Yes, I guess something good did happen’’ I replied with a cheerful smile. That compliment made me happy, and eager to talk with more people. Just like a scene of a cliché movie, I went around the night time streets of Thimphu, greeting everyone with a cheerful smile and helping everyone I see. It was a fantastic experience. I helped an elderly couple to cross a road, I helped a few men to carry boxes and played with children on the street. Yes it was truly clichéd but it was a magical experience for me. As the clock struck 8 pm, I called up Kuenzang and invited him to hang out with me, I waited for him in front of the clock tower after sending a text to Dechen telling her I will be late. The clock tower during night time, it was a special sight, the lights were lit up and square was filled with people. People of all ages were walking though square and enjoyed the wonderful view. At that moment I could not help but feel at peace, I took in every moment of the scenery. As I saw the people talking and mingle with one another from the corner if my eye, I saw a familiar face running towards me. It was Kuenzang, he was sprinting towards me as if he was late for the bus. “JAMYANG! You don’t know long I have waited for this, it’s the first time you have invited me to hang out with you. I have everything planned out” said Kuenzang as he hugged me. “First of all let’s take a picture in front of the clock tower, then we can go to my favourite restaurant. It’s on me, then we can….” He continued, but I zoned out. “I wonder why a man like him is my friend, he is energetic and friendly but I am a loner who rarely smiles.” I thought before being interrupted. “Jamyang, don’t zone out. Hello, Earth to Jamyang we need to continue wasting our youth” said Kuenzang as he shook me. “Sorry, let’s continue. So tell me what you have been up to these days?” I asked as I waited for him to set up his camera. “Wow this is new, who are you and what happened to my smug best friend?’’ he said while laughing out loud. “Thanks for asking, I have been getting more clients for photoshoots and my relationship with Deki has improved. Tomorrow I am meeting her parents so I am nervous.” I replied by saying “that’s amazing don’t tell them you work as a freelancer and it will go smooth.’’ “Ok the camera is ready let’s take our picture now, and please smile. Smiling is a basic human talent, so please do it.” He said while mocking me. As we took the picture the thought of Yuphel flew into my mind. I smiled as I imagined her, and could not help but feel happy. “What? How? You can actually smile?’’ screamed Kuenzang. “WHO ARE YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FRIEND?” he said with menacing look. “You idiot it’s me, I am just being myself.” I said. “If you are truly Jamyang, tell me when my birthday is?” said Jamyang while gripping my shoulder. “Why on should I know your birthday when I don’t remember my own birthday. Seriously this ###” I proceeded to cuss at him for a whole 5 minutes. “It seems you are truly my friend, you are the only one who can be that rude to my charm.” He said with a sigh. As I was about to cuss an entire essay of profanities at him, he received a call, it was Deki. “Jamyang I am sorry but is it fine if Deki joined us?” I responded by saying “Sure I don’t mind it, you are lucky she is coming. Or else I would have destroyed you entire confidence with a few sentences.’’ The two of us went to a café nearby where Deki was waiting for us. “SWEETIE PIE” screamed Kuenzang as he ran to hug her. “PUMPKIN” responded Deki as she hugged him. I was feeling embarrassed for them. But it was good to see the pair happy, Deki hugged me and asked “How are you Jamyang? Sorry for interrupting your boys night.’’ I replied while sitting in a table next to them “It’s fine Deki you did just helped prevent his confidence from crashing down. And I am good, thank you for asking.’’ She quickly noticed my paint supplies and inquired about it. “I didn’t know you were into art, that’s good. Do show me your art if you have any.’’ Kuenzang hastingly took out his camera from his bag and said, “I will show you a picture so rare which will make you question about your life.” ‘’Voila, feast your eyes on the photo, as you can see he can actually smile’’ said Kuenzang with a smirk on his face. “Woah, Jamyang you got a nice smile. Why don’t you smile often?” said Deki whilst staring at the picture. “I don’t know about it, I just wanted to smile when I thought about her.” I answered. “HER?” shouted the couple, “Who is the poor girl? And tell me how is she like? And when did you meet her? And why didn’t you tell me?’’ demanded Kuenzang. “Calm down Pumpkin, if it’s Jamyang it must be a special girl.” Said Deki while calming him.Special? I don’t know but it felt nice to hear that. “Yes, she is very special to me.” I replied while smiling back. The two stared at me in awe, as I was about to continue the conversation. I got a text from Dechen, she told me come home soon. “I have to cut our conversation short for now, I have to return home. Enjoy yourselves.” I said. After saying our goodbyes I hopped on a taxi and went back home. Shortly after I got a call from Kuenzang, “You left your paint and brush at the café, don’t worry I will bring to your house tomorrow. I quickly thanked him and stared out of the car. Rain was drizzling on the city and the wind blew calmly, I was lost in thought as the raindrops flowed down the window shield. I wondered what scenario I should paint of Yuphel, my ultimate goal was to paint all of our memorable moments but I debated on which memory I should start with.
Then it came to me, I will paint the pictures in an order. From the first time we met to all of our memories prior to it. As I walked back home I decided to keep this new hobby a secret. “Where were you?” said Dechen as she washed the dishes “Yes, we were worried about you.” said Yuphel while cleaning the dinner table. I realized so much had changed in my flat. There were more furniture, light and more life. It was amazing to see the evolution of my flat in a span of few months. It was only natural for me to smile, while looking around the room and at Dechen. But most of Yuphel. “Ew, why are you smiling? That’s so unnatural” said Dechen ruining the mood as usual. “No, I think it’s good for him to smile, I actually like his smile” replied Yuphel coming to my aid as usual. “Honey this idiot won’t smile for no reason, the only conclusion is that he is drunk.” Said Dechen as she snickered. “YOU BRAT, DON’T YOU DARE ACT ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY!” is screamed in anger. “Like you are better, children in our neighbourhood call you the ‘Evil Witch’ and kids always cry when they see you on the street.” I said in retaliation. We continued trading blows at each other while Yuphel tried to frantically calm us down.