A next door fairy tale (part 3)

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 4

 

He was in 9th grade then. I looked like a little girl to him - a 6th grader I was. He started treating me like a kid when his friends were nearby. He was always with his friends having fun. He stopped coming to school by bus, he got his own cycle. He used to perform stunts with his friends after school timing. He was not there during class coaching with me nor was he with me in the evenings. I felt he had moved away from me. But it didn't matter much. I had my own friends and I was having fun. I was angry on him but I didn't know why.  I was too little to understand him or to miss his presence.

My 6th grade was almost over and it was annual exam time. I was pestering Karthik to teach me botany and he was telling me something which I couldn't understand at all. I was asking him "but all that would come in zoology right, now teach me botany first". And he said in 9th grade all that comes in zoology will come in botany too. I was surprised and listening to him like how babies look at icecreams. He always did that to me - explain something which I'm totally unaware of and make me get surprised. I loved that a lot in him, I loved his intelligence the most in him.

And then he started teaching me what was in my book. I kept listening to him. I love listening to stories and I got that habit just because of him. Every day I would ask him "karthik etha katha solu da" and he always had loads and loads of stories to tell me. He even said me the subjects as stories and I loved it that way. So as he was going on, suddenly something happened.

He: *Looking at the book* I Love You

Me: What does that mean?

He: If a girl and a boy want to be together forever like mom and dad then they'll say 'I Love You'. Do you want to be with me all the time or not?"

Me: *Keeping  my finger on my chin* (I always did that when I was thinking or making a decision) ya

He: Then say

Me: What should I say?

He: Say I Love You

Me: I Love You ok?

He: ok :) now listen

And then he started teaching me from where he stopped. And this topic never came up between us after that ... Except once.