It was a cold winter night of the late 90's in the suburbs of Mumbai. A tiring day was coming to halt for every Mumbaikar except for my mother who was cooking dinner for us. My father had come back from work and was relaxing. He was busy in reading the newspapers. I was watching The Popeye show on Cartoon Network with my younger brother. We both were extremely excited that night as our Christmas vacations had begun on that day.

Triiiiiiiiing Triiiiiiiiiing, Triiiiiiiiing Triiiiiiiiiing , the phone bell rang .

" Gayu ...Please pick up the phone...It sounds like a STD call..hurry", my mother yelled.

In the 90's, STD calls were very unusual. It was used only in case of emergencies or to convey very important messages. Sensing the importance of the call, I sprung up from the sofa and rushed to pick up the phone.

" Amma,Acha(Mom, Dad)... come quickly it's Cheriya Ammayi ( Father's younger sister) from Kerala", I shouted in excitement.

My father threw the paper in excitement and grabbed the phone from my hands. My mother came out from the kitchen wiping her wet hands with the loose end of her sari .She told my brother to lower the volume of television and walked towards my father. I and my brother too joined them. We keenly heard the conversation and realized that somebody was coming from Kerala to visit us.

I muttered enthusiastically to my brother," Yippee!!! Someone is coming here ....It will be fun.."

We both smiled at each other.

I and my brother were anxious to know who was coming and were waiting for our father to disconnect the call. As soon as the call was over, we both started jumping ecstatically and started running behind him impatiently.

'Who's coming? Who's coming...Acha who is coming?” we asked him.

"Cheriyammayi and family are coming from Kerala. They will be here with us for a week", he chuckled.

Next day afternoon, I went to my aunt's place after school. She served me rice and moru curry with payar upperi and avial- my favourite dishes. We both started discussing about the arrangements and required preparations when all the relatives arrive. I was enjoying my lunch when suddenly my aunt specifically mentioned about my Cheriyammayi's son Hari who was also coming from Kerala.

"Gayatri, have you met Hari before, Cheriyammayi's eldest son? I think you both are of the same age. You must meet him", my aunt sounded weird.

"Ah...Who? No… I don’t think that I have met him ...” I shrugged.

“He used to live with his grandparents in Chennai. So you must have not seen him. He is in Kerala now, with his parents. He is an amazing boy…very kind and helpful. He is extremely talented too. You must meet him to see the goodness in him…”, she was singing his praises.

I was annoyed. What was so great about him? I wondered.

I was keen to know more about Hari and why my aunt emphasized so much while talking about him.

I was lost in my thoughts when my aunt looked at me with a wicked smile and said," Hari is your muracherukan..."

I was perplexed and wondered," What does muracherukan mean? I have never heard of that word before. Why did she smile like that...".

That day, after reaching home, I first went to my grandmother. She was busy stitching my frock.  Initially, I hesitated to ask her. But my curiosity prevailed over my hesitation. I went close to my grandmother and I stood fiddling the corners of the frock that she was stitching.

I asked her,"Muttashi (Grandmother) ....What does muracherukan mean?"

My grandmother who was engrossed in stitching lifted her head and looked at me in astonishment.

She replied, "Muracherukan means son of paternal aunt or maternal uncle of a girl. A girl can marry her muracherukan. In our days, it was very common for girls to marry their muracherukan. ...But you hardly speak Malayalam, from where did you learn this word...and why do you want to know the meaning of this word?"

I smiled sheepishly and said," I just heard it somewhere and was curious to know the meaning."

I then fled away from my grandmother's sight in order to avoid further interrogations.

Few days later, I was watching a Malayalam movie with my family on television when I again heard that word -"Muracherukan". I was vigilant and anxious. I was eager to understand more about the concept of "Muracherukan". I keenly watched the movie. The hero of the film was the muracherukan of the heroine. They fell in love and got married. That night, I kept thinking about my muracherukan. I pondered about the prospect of probably falling in love like in the movie. I was just 10 years old, very young to understand love and harbour such kind of mature feelings. But my age didn't stop me; a new zing had enthralled my mind. My zeal to meet my muracherukan grew immensely day by day.

Days passed. That day had arrived-The day when I finally would meet him-Hari, my muracherukan. I remember that I was unable to sleep the night before. My eyes were swollen. My pulse rate was high. I woke up early that day, brushed my teeth, took bath and was dressed up to receive the guests. My anxiety was driving me crazy. I went to the window and then again back to the door to check if they arrived. I did this several times till I finally heard the knock on the door. I rushed towards the door and opened it. My eyes first encountered a charming boy whom I had never seen before. He had a stunning smile on his face- “Hari”. I stood in front of everyone dumbfounded. I came to terms with reality when my mother patted my shoulder. She welcomed everyone inside our home and served snacks for everyone.

Both of our families were planning a trip together. I stood adrift from the commotion. I wanted to look at Hari who was standing a few steps away. However, I was too nervous because of the unwanted information which I had gained about our relation. Suddenly, my aunt who had first told me about Hari came towards me with Hari. She introduced us to each other. At that moment, I couldn't utter a word and kept mum while my aunt blabbered.

"Hi, which standard are you in? I’m in 5th standard…” Hari tried to interrupt my aunt's conversation.

"I..I...I’m..in fifth standard...", I stammered.

"Oh wow! We both are of the same age. Actually, I was in Chennai with my grandparents, so we could not meet before", said Hari. I simply smiled back. I suddenly felt comfortable after Hari spoke to me.

Next day, our families hired a jeep and go for sight- seeing. We kids sat on the back seat of the jeep and started playing various games. We first went to Juhu beach in Mumbai. A poor kid from the nearby slum came running and fell down on a boulder. He was hurt very badly and was crying inconsolably. Hari witnessed that and went rushing towards that kid. He lifted the weeping kid and consoled him. He saw that the kid's left leg was bleeding. He quickly removed his handkerchief and wrapped it around the wound. Hari's mother offered water to that kid. Meanwhile, the kid's friends came looking for him. Hari's mother instructed them to take him to a doctor. I was highly impressed and admired his caring nature.

It had turned dark and we all were tired after the trip. While returning, I was sitting next to Hari on the back seat with our siblings. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. I opened my eyes and saw that my head was resting on Hari's shoulder. He had put his arms around me so that I do not fall. I loved his warmth and comfort and wanted to close my eyes again.

After reaching home, I overheard my parent’s conversation. They were speaking about Hari.

My mother said, " Hari is such a loving boy. Today when we all stood watching that little boy cry, he offered him help. He's so young but so intelligent. One must really appreciate the way he looks after his siblings. Your sister is really lucky to have such a caring son."

" Yes...very true...God bless that child..", my father replied.

I was in consensus with my parent's opinion about Hari. My mind began to think about all of those lovely moments spent with Hari . I realized that I had started falling for his charms. I couldn't resist but admire the way he spoke, the way he smiled, the way he enjoyed playing games, the way he took care of his siblings and many such things. I was in awe of Hari. The more the time I spent with Hari, the more close I felt to him. I felt as if he had some magical powers which had started attracting me towards him. He was simply amazing and out of this World!

Days passed, Hari had become the perfect companion to spend time with, to rely upon and to share my feelings. My love for my new friend was as pure as it could be at the age of 10.However, I didn't realize how much I loved him until the day he had to leave.

On that day, I was heartbroken. I started experiencing a pricking pain in my heart which I had never experienced before. I wanted to shout loudly and cry. I was furious, irritated and absolutely upset. I was unable to comprehend the reason behind such intense emotions probably because I was too young then.

In my prayers, I had only one wish which was to meet my beloved friend Hari. I spent each day of my life in the hope of meeting him soon.

Months passed away. School examinations were over. Summer vacations had finally arrived. One day, my father reached home early with tickets to Kerala. I was extremely thrilled when I thought about meeting Hari. However, I was uncertain about my father's plan to visit Hari's place. But I felt apprehensive to ask him. I patiently waited for the date printed on the tickets to arrive.

Once at the railway station, I could no longer wait to board the train. My excitement knew no bounds in spite of the uncertainty. At night before sleeping, I prayed once again to the Almighty and closed my eyes.

" Gayu...wake up dear...brush your teeth, it is 8 am", my mother woke me up.

 "Let me sleep Amma..Why should I wake up so early, I don't have to go anywhere. Please let me sleep..please, please, pleeeeeeeease...",I pleaded.

"Ok, continue sleeping...we all are going to get down after few stations at Hari's place.", my mother said.

I jumped up from my sleep as if a bolt of lightning had struck me.

"Wow....Hari's place, really? Give me my brush Amma. Why did you wake me up so late?", I said hurrying up with my toothbrush.

My parents were surprised and smiled watching my reaction. My father alighted at a station to inform Hari's family that we will reach their house very soon. I was getting goose bumps thinking about meeting Hari. After reaching at the destined station, we hired a taxi. Hari was waiting at the beginning of the road to receive us.

I leaped out of the taxi and started waving my hands vigorously and shouted, "Hari....Hari...".

I wanted to step out and asked the driver to stop the taxi.

I alighted from the taxi and said, "We will come walking....,please can we, pleaaaseee...?

My father nodded his head in agreement and left us behind. I was standing in front of my wish, amazed and delighted. I smiled, but Hari looked furious.

 He said," I have been waiting for you since so long. Where were you all this time?"

 He sounded equally eager to meet me.

 He held my hands and said," Come, let's go, everyone must be waiting for us."

 I walked along with him quietly, unable to interpret what was happening.

After meeting everyone, we kids went to play in the nearby fields. Hari took me with him to show a secret place near the fields. It was a beautiful garden behind dense layer of trees. Gorgeous flowers adorned that place. The air was filled with their fragrance. I fell in love with the ambience of the secret garden.

"Come, let's leave before someone finds us", Hari whispered.

Both of us rushed out of the secret garden. I felt special as Hari had shared the secret garden with only me and nobody else. I longed to tell him about my feelings but was too apprehensive. We then sat together to play a game called as Chinese Whispers or the telephone game. In this game, one person whispers a message to another, which is passed through a line of people until the last player announces the message to the entire group. I was the first person to begin and the last person to announce was Hari.

"This is the safest way to tell him about my feelings", I thought.

 I gained courage and muttered “I like you a lot" into the next person's ears.

I waited for the message to reach Hari's ears. Once he heard it, his eyes popped out. He looked at me in astonishment. I was eagerly waiting for him to open his mouth and utter those words. But he ran away. I felt ashamed and hurt. Next day, my family was leaving. I was worried about the previous day's incident. I did not speak to Hari since then. I wanted to meet him and bid adieu. That day, I again experienced that pricking pain in my heart. I sat alone, cried and prayed for a miracle to happen.

“Gayatri….Gayatri…where are you?” I heard a feeble sound from the adjacent room.

I quickly wiped my tears and peeped outside the room. It was Hari. He was looking for me.

He saw me and said, “Oh, so you are sitting here…everyone is waiting for you. They all are ready to leave.”

I held back my tears, shook my hands and said, “Bye Hari...”

 He asked, “Why don’t you all stay with us?”

I was hysterical. I withdrew my hand from his. I did not utter a single word and went away to my parents. All of us sat in the taxi which was waiting outside Hari’s house. I sat facing backwards to see Hari once again.

Hari waved his hands up in the air and said, “Bye….see you…Byee Byee…”

I turned around and asked my mother, “Amma, can I please stay here and study?”

My mother explained, “Why dear? You are our only sweet little daughter. How can we stay away from you? We need you to be with us, in front of our eyes.”

On hearing that, I bursted into tears and hugged my mother tightly.

My mother asked worriedly, “Gayu…dear…what happened…tell me dear. Please stop crying. What’s the matter?”

I spoke nothing and only cried.

A year passed by. I and my family shifted to a new city. It was a defining moment in my life. I had to make new friends and adjust with the new house, new school etc. I found that situation very challenging and failed every time I attempted to make friends in my new school. I missed my old home a lot especially because it was filled with memories of Hari. I was missing my school friends who were friendlier and cooperative. I often complained about my new school and classmates.

One day, one of the absentees Radhika Ram finally came to class. She was a cute, plump girl with curly hair and long eyelashes. She seemed to be scared. I immediately sensed her feelings. I could empathize with her feelings as I had faced a similar situation on my first day of school. I went and sat next to Radhika.

I asked her, “Hi! Are you Radhika?”

“Yes…I am Radhika. What is your name? Are you a Malayalee?” she asked elatedly.

“Yes. I am a Malayalee and my name is Gayatri Nair”, said Gayatri.

Both of us heaved a sigh a relief thinking we finally found a new friend.

“Why were you absent for so many days?” I asked.

“I was studying in Kerala. We took a lot of time for shifting from Kerala to Mumbai. I am really worried as I do not speak Hindi. I will need a lot of help”, said Radhika.

“Okay do not worry, I will help you.” I said.

Both of us smiled. I went home happily thinking that I finally found a new friend. However, Radhika made friends with another girl and often spent more time with that girl. Once again, I was left alone and dejected.

One day at school, someone came outside the classroom. Our teacher went outside to see that person. Suddenly, there was lot of commotion in the classroom. Someone came inside the classroom with the teacher. There was a sudden silence. “Who is it?” I thought.