Two Girls In Each Others Shoes

I met my best friend and soul sister, Di, when i was 19 years old. The ride was bumpy, but we were together in it, so it was perfect! It was a legendary friendship. Everyone at college who saw one of us alone asked 'where is the other half' or 'where is your tail'. And once during our farewell party at hostel, they conducted a game to test friendship. Among other questions, everyone was asked to write a model friendship, and we didn't knew whom to write. Every other gamers wrote our name and got points, while we didn't. We lost the game. (I will just say that the best copy cats in the batch were among us.)

Its not like we were compatible in any ways. Di was a brilliant girl who was the highest rank holder in CET to opt our college. And i was one of the last who crawled in by mere luck. She was semi introvert, pessimist, anti social and very negative, while i had a permanent cheering charm stuck up my arse. I loved gangs and all the karizma associated with it, she resented them. I craved limelight and she hated it. She was an organized person and me?? don't even ask. I was an emotional drama queen, while she was, not as bad. The list is big.
There were common things too. Cricket, movies a love for Ganguly, and a soul to soul connection. So I got out of my gang and dropped my over enthusiasm to shine, and we became best of friends. One for two, Two for one. (i always wanted to lift that line from musketeers.)

The whole thing about "the two shoes deal" is that we both wanted different things out of life. I wanted to fall in love, have a family, and everything comes with that package. I hated studies, so i wanted a straight out of college job and sweating for higher studies wasn't my cup of coffee. Di fancied herself to be a loner, and desperately wanted to do MD and go up further in career.
Everything was going according to our plan at college, i was trying to get passed and she tried for a rank, I repeatedly tried the love-thing, she stayed single with a vengeance. and then, in the final term, she fell in love. (An old flame, loved from afar at school, chanced meeting over phone after 5 years, chat-chat-chat, and there it is, LOVE![ I would say LUST. But thats just me, the inside reporter!]) Was i disappointed? No, i wanted her to fall in love because I was always afraid that she would never do so. Was i sad? Yeah. I felt lonely and wretched. And then came final results. i was happy about the normalcy it brought in life - me towards bottom, and she 5th rank.

Then the twist in the tale starts. Her parents and his parents wanted a quick wedding. (Dont ask me why, parents here are another thing. At least when its a love match we would hope that we can decide when we want it 'consummated', right? Here, Nay.) In the meantime I, all thanks to the over friendly adipocytes and a strong will not to work out, stayed fat and single. I tried for work and found out only higher education can give you respect at work (and big bucks too comes free with it). So, I decided to pursue higher studies. And Di, she cant start a coaching for it, as she may not be able to complete it. She cant afford to stay home and study as they both are young and our hero is not exactly a Bill Gates material and they both have an anvil sized pride.

So now its me, who dreaded every test n exams and everything related to studying tries her arse off for the entrance test, and Di, who started talking about PG and scared us to death when we were doing Under Graduation is doing under payed, over loaded clinical works. My friend is resentful to life these days, sad and depressed. A brilliant mind getting wasted away. And my brain, which belonged happily in the dust bin is getting forcefully polished. We wonder about the ironical ways our life has turned its heels. I want her to be what she wanted always. Be an academician, and excel at it. When ever I say this, she gets depressed.

Its like the tide is taking us to places we never wanted to see.

I hope that the tide would pass soon, and coast will clear. We both would reach our destinations.

And we would be Friends.In every tides life brings.