School Reunion

I have sensed the discomfort some people feel in alumni reunions. Not everybody has grown at the same pace.

Outwardly, conversations centre around hilarious memories and how people have changed over the years. Inwardly, they size each other up to gauge their relative success or failure.

A classmate of mine did not do well academically or professionally. I heard that his marriage was annulled by his wife within a week, and he remained single thereafter.

After decades, I received a call from him. He mentioned that his daughter was flying from Delhi to the USA with her newly married husband. She would contact me for any help if needed. I was fine with it. I assumed he remarried at some point. I thought that this girl was probably his foster daughter.

On the second or third call, he revealed that his mother had adopted a girl. Her parents divorced, and neither wanted her. Later, his parents passed away. There was a lot of neighborhood gossip. It insinuated that she was his daughter outside of wedlock. He found a non-resident groom for her. She can spend a peaceful life in another country. Nobody probes her past there.

I have a newfound respect for the guy. He emerged as a wonderful human being, having helped the adopted child build a life for herself.

One friend outgrows the classroom walls,
the other deepens roots in familiar soil.
Their paths diverge,
not in betrayal,
but in the quiet physics of becoming.

And so they learn:
to outpace is not to abandon,
to outgrow is not to forget.
It is simply the universe reminding us
that all motion is relative—
and friendship, too,
is a vector that can stretch,
curve, and yet remain
connected by memory’s invisible line.

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MLMM – Friday Faithfuls