Day 13 - M for Monalisa Smile

May came into my life in the  month of May, in the 17th year in the millennia. Well, that sounds like a lot of Ms, not just one. May got many unique things into my radar like meaningful mean, meaningful silence and meaningful friendship. May be it is more than just something that can fit into the word 'friendship' though the word is enough if it represents what it truly represents. But May, being who he is, kicks it up a few notches the mean meter. May and I were supposed to be childhood friends. learning from the same teachers in the same classroom, preparing for the same exams crossing paths on the same road day and again. We were in different rooms for the better part. It didn't unfold that way - at least, not at that point in time but what is meant to be is meant to unfold. Sooner, or later. It happened later in our case when I went into my rapture of mining childhood memories (that tied me and May to the same school for a good decade of our lives, till one fine morning, I had to change schools)  in our virtual hangout where dozens of others from the same batch hung out with us. It took me no time to notice him and I hope vice versa as my soliloquy on the said virtual space was duly acknowledged by him more than anyone else. I don't know at what point it got to a one on one, but I am sure it was I that initiated it and boy was it one of the best things I did in that year!

May soon became the Jerry to my Tom, the Hobbes to my Calvin. He would appear every time I had a banter in tow, value adding sometimes or just pulling my leg and name calling me when ever the opportunity presented itself. There was an unmistakable comfort zone that established itself between us with no effort and I soon realized that we could have been twins sharing the same dna. As we are alike, we are different. May seldom talks. The first time we had a conversation, it was awkward. I didn't know if he was even on the line. He spoke in monosyllables. He dismissed me abruptly saying "I have to go" and the next thing you'd know is he's gone! He'd handpick the choicest of names for me. Some were utterly flattering and some deflated me like never before. He would call me a spell caster (That's probably a witch  and no, it is not a witch like Hermione Granger.) He had carefully picked memes of dragons spitting out fire, hook nosed, hatted witches flying on brooms and Joker making sinister expressions at me to convey his every unspoken sentiment. He had condescending humor for my every choice. From Matt Damon, to strawberry ice cream to my endless chatter about my spiritual quest. If I quoted Einstein, he would   counter it saying "Einstein never said that.' If I told him I saw these hundreds of cows in the dairy farm on the way to my early morning trek, he would say "They'll all be slaughtered, poor things". If I said Malcom Gladwell thought well he'd say Gladwell had no brains to think. When I begged him to send his mailing address so I could get him a hand written note for his birthday, he would ignore me like I am invisible. He used to subtly correct my spelling mistakes, which were one too many, specially when I typed without proofreading on that social media hangout. Torture much! Right? That's what I meant by 'meaningful mean' though it seems to be devoid of any meaning as of now.

When May and I met, we seldom spoke. He had a smile. Almost like a clueless idiot, smiling away into space. I have to say, that was his saving grace. At first, when he held the car door open everywhere we traveled together, I felt acknowledged and special. And then when he escorted me to my destination and arranged for commute that I didn't even ask anyone for, I felt protected, understood and treasured. His affection for me was brotherly. But then I thought the word 'brotherly' didn't do much of a justice. It was more motherly. And pray how all this was conveyed - in utter silence. To me,  he gave a new meaning to the adage "actions speak louder"

When I took my social media nirvana recently, the biggest fear I had was losing contact with May as he, being the silent sinister that he is, would never initiate a conversation if I go missing in action. I missed him and secretly prepared to let go of the association. I couldn't have been wrong. One day, after a few moths of me telling him I am going on a break, I hear my phone ring.
"I am calling child protection services on you" speaks the voice on the other side. "Who is this?" I ask. "Why do you ask when you know?" comes the sharp, no mincing words, idiosyncratic response. That would have been his record phone conversation - or perhaps phone audience. As I rattled away for a good one hour telling him time and again that I am in disbelief that he actually initiated a conversation. He wouldn't say anything in response. He would just listen. silently. without verbal cues. But even amid that silence, I sense the grin. I probably put that smile to his face and he puts a smile into my being that lingers around indefinitely.

May called me a lot of wonderful things but the love he showeres on me tops them all. He uses carefully chosen wordage but his little gestures surpass every word ever conjured up by human creativity. "Hello Monalisa Smile" I said one day and he went "Why did you say that?" "Just cause I felt that way" I told him - at this point, I didn't even see that saving grace smile. It was probably an intuitive moniker I gave him. "A colleague of mine used to call me Monalisa" he went.
I couldn't be more smiling at the coincidence. Or the several others that tied him to me - the way our names were related, the way we both love Dogs with special reference to German Shepherds, our awe for dinosaurs, the way we are crazy for books - though I am to catch up on his collection database or the way we both love children and Matt Damon - Well, he hates Damon but may be he doesn't! We'll work on injecting a little Damon love into him as time passes ;) May is probably one of those few associations in my life that defines unconditional love. There isn't anything he expects from me and there isn't anything I give him except perhaps giving a pounding headache with all the trivialities of my life that get yapped to him in an infinite loop. But what he gives me in return sums up why we come to the world - it is perhaps to experience this kind of human bonds. It is perhaps to have a glimpse of 'no strings attached, pure motherly love' that we arrive with our body garbs to endure an earthly journey.  I feel utterly blessed to have found this miracle in my life, of making a friend that pushes the boundaries of the already boundless word. I can be grateful all I can, but I can never be grateful enough for this meaningful meanness in my life. May Ur tribe increase May - and here's my little wordy gratitude. Please know that every time I count the most profound blessings of my life, I'll count you numerous times.