RED

 

Of course, we all think constantly about our favourite days of the week. The relief filled Friday nights, the Saturdays full of excitement, and finally the restful and re-energising Sundays. Ahh, don’t we all live for the weekends? Funny to think of it now, but there was a time when I used to look forward to MONDAYS, when the first period would take place in the library. I could soar between those gigantic shelves and drown in the scent of old paper. I remember being a total nerd back then. A nerd who would keep her nose buried in novels practically all the time. A nerd who weakened her eyesight because she read a book on her mom’s phone because no one would get her a physical copy. A nerd who was so high on harry potter that she wrote a freaking fan fiction on this very blog.

I wouldn’t be thinking about this if I hadn’t recently read 'Too Good to Be True' by Prajakta Koli. I had always considered Romance to be a useless genre- delusional and shallow. I have read a fair number of romances to support that opinion. I had almost made up my mind to give that book away to someone. I am happy I didn’t. I am even happier that I picked it up on a day I felt low and thought- nah, romantic styles… not my style. I am the happiest that I picked it up again finished it anyhow.

Why is this book so different that it deserves a blog post of its own?
It’s because I don’t even remember the book that I read before this.

The most imaginative and introspective person I have ever met was that little nerd. Adulting is a funny thing because for a long time I have craved to feel little that again. From school van to Delhi Metro, I have learnt more about the world, but forgotten bits of myself. Reading was never something I did to fill a void or escape the silence in my head, until it became so. In the fast paced back and forth of college life, it stopped feeling the same. I picked up books less often, and read through without letting my head slow down.

This book just hit different. It wasn’t meant to- it was intentionally written to entertain delusions. Literally, nothing bad happens until the second last chapter! But boy, it left me in tears, and after a really long time, I felt stillness. My thoughts were fresh and they made sense, I could hear myself. I had nowhere to run to, nothing to run from, all I had was the present.

I do not mind telling my younger self that I ended up liking a romantic book. At least, I can tell her I breathed again.

(A token of thanks to Garvita who lent me her laptop for typing this "fast-and-furiously" as soon as I knew I had to do this. If I hadn’t written that first line down, it never would have made it here)