The New Friendship Day :)

"I'm not exactly a guy who makes new friends easily" - Tom Petty
Not only Tom petty. Even I am, in making new friends.
'Excuse me sir! What's your name?' the receptionist questioned me.
I was standing in the reception of one of the reputed hospitals of Chennai.
'Oh. Sorry! I'm Amudhan,' I responded a bit late as I was thinking something else at that moment.
'Your age, sir?'
'20.'
'Sorry sir! We ran out of the billing sheets. Can you just wait for five more minutes? Once we get those sheets, we'll give you the bill,' the receptionist asked me to wait for another five minutes.
'Fine,' that's my signature reply, to everyone and to almost every moments. I decided to wait there.
The very moment as I decided to wait there, a rush of thoughts overloaded my head. It was all about my new friend or I could say my 'going-to-be-friend'.
'Just tell Ma'm that you wanna be her friend,' the better Amudhan, who resides in me, kept saying this again and again all of a sudden. I have never betrayed my intuition. I believed in that inner-voice, more than anything, even more than myself. I always had a strong feeling that my better Amudhan's words would never go wrong. Even, then too.
No second thought crossed my mind. I took my Lumia out and txt-ed her,
'Consulting patients, any, right nw? And, btw, sry to disturb Ma'm!'
I got a reply, immediately, from her, 'tell me.'

'Can u spare just 2 mins, Ma'm? Am near ur cabin..' I replied without hesitation, that I usually have before talking to anyone.

Only after sending that message I realized I was standing in the reception and nowhere near her cabin. With no second thought I made my way to her cabin. But before I could make it, she was standing outside her cabin, in search of me. I waved my hand as I neared her cabin. She cordially welcomed me, with her signature smile, 'Come inside.'
Man!! What a character!!! Despite of such an age difference( I must be around 15 years younger to her), she treated me with a great respect.She could have simply sent me a text notifying 'come inside'. There was no need for her to come outside and search for me. But she did! I was really taken aback with her quality to respect even people much younger to her. And really series of incidents, like this one, made my instinct to ask for her friendship. I still could remember that moment, the very day I met her first.

#1

I was just sitting outside the cabin of an unknown doctor to arrive, in that same hospital. That time I was with my parents, my uncle & aunt and my cousin. My parents thought, I badly needed to visit a psychiatrist / counselor, or whoever, then. They thought I have secluded myself a lot, from all the family members, from all the livelier happenings, even from reality, since when I happened to lose my dear one. I never thought counselling sessions could make me not to think a lot about my deepest sorrows. But still, I obeyed their words. I was expecting the doctor to arrive. Minutes rolled on.
'She has come,' mom cautioned me. 'You go first and introduce yourself.'
I opened the wooden door that bore the name plate of her. I glanced to it, for a second.
"Mrs. Preethi Manohar (along with the degree stuffs)"

I went inside her cabin and my parents followed me. Inside the cabin, a fair complexioned, mid-aged lady, with that signature smile, invited us inside.
'Who is the patient?' that was her first words.
'I am,' I just kind of raised my hands.
'Can you please wait outside for sometime? I first want to talk to your parents.'
'Huh, Fine!' above all she is a psychiatrist and I kind of expected this.
I waited outside for around half an hour with my cousin and once my parents came out, she called me in. She first asked some general 'How are you?', 'What's your hobby?' kind of questions. And then, really the talk went around the loss of my girl. She was just simply analyzing me, with her questions. I really was not in a mood to talk about the moments I have had with my girl. And so, I sent the word files that I'd written about my girl to her. And, with a formal greeting, I left.
#2

'I read those files, which you wrote about your girl. You are really good in writing. You still need to work on it a lot, but you really possess that ability. See, I am not exaggerating or trying to make you feel better. I am your counselor, not someone like your close friend. I should point out the things, either right or wrong, neutrally, nah?' she was complementing my writing.
'And, yeah! You can't be my friend. You are just a counselor!' I thought to myself.
'At some moments, when I was reading yours, I thought "Wow, this guy is really good". You possess that flair for writing. You should continue this. Should not leave this as such.'
I took her words as a compliment. Above all she was not my best friend, just my counselor. She must not be exaggerating, I thought.

#3

'So, what is your hobby, other than reading and writing?'
It was again another counselling session with her. To be frank to myself, I didn't like such counselling sessions, even sometimes the counselors. I agreed simply because my parents insisted me to do so. But that didn't mean I hated such sessions. I have never talked a lot about my girl, to even my best friends. But she kept on asking me about the incidents and her character. I am an introvert kind of guy, so her acts simply made me not to like such sessions even more than what I had felt before.
'I click photographs on my leisure time. And, sometimes, if I feel bored, I'll play my guitar' I replied half-minded.
'Great! Can you send me your photos to my mail id?'
She gave me her email id.

#4

'You are so much talented, Thamizh,' she was complementing again. I don't like people when they call me by my first name. Not that I hated it. But that I loved being called by my second name, cuz my girl, she used to call me only by that. Ever since my girl started calling me by that, I have even asked my friends to call me by that; by my second name. But she, the counselor, always used to call me by "Thamizh".
'Huh! Don't bother! She is not your friend, just your counselor. Let her call me as such!' I would say to myself every time she called me by my first name.

#Spoiler :p

'C'mon man! She is a psychiatrist. She'll be talking like that only.'
It was one of my friends, my college mate. I told him about the counselling sessions. And he said she might even lie at some point, to make me feel better. But somewhere, in a corner of my heart, I thought she was not lying. When she had complemented my photographs, I had managed to catch a glimpse of truth in her words and feelings. 'She must not be lying,' I told to myself. 'Above all she is not your friend. Why should you bother?' I thought.

#5

'Watch that movie. It won't make you feel better; instead it will pull you down even more, yet it will help you come out of it. Watch that movie,' she was talking about the English Classic, "LOVE STORY". She thought it would help me come out of my sorrows. 'Even the theme of that movie is so good. Listen to it when you have time. You can even play the theme song in your guitar. It will be pleasing to hear.'
'Yeah. I will,' I answered more formally. She was not my best friend at that time. I still believe that, if she happened to be my best friend, that time, then I would have watched that movie much before.

#Unknown

'See, Thamizh. Death is painful only for the living; not for the dead,' her words really sounded unique. They possessed great meanings, sometimes greater truths. The inner myself started believing her words in no time. 'Don't ever think she is gone, just think she is free; Free from all her karma.'
The inner myself, had then developed a greater respect for her words, greater respect towards her character.
'So? What do you want to have? Coffee?' she asked me.
'Ma'm! Nothing! thanks for asking!'
'Oh! C'mon! Just give me company. I'm gonna have coffee? What about you?'
I felt puzzled.
'Ooh! Sorry sorry! I forgot that. You won't prefer coffee, nah? So, Ice cream?'
'Ma'm! I won't always prefer ice cream. I don't like it much.'
'Don't lie. Just have some. So, what about strawberry? Is it okay for you?'
'Fine Ma'm!' after a long thinking I said, 'Butterscotch! That'll be fine for me.'
'Wow! Butterscotch? Good sense of taste, you have got!' I thought she really meant that when she uttered those words.
Till then, I had preferred ice creams (that too butterscotch), if and only if my girl or my best friends had insisted me a lot!
'Since the start of my career, I have never bought someone an ice cream. Even small kids have come to my cabin accompanying their parents. Yet, you are the first person to whom which I have bought an ice cream. I'll remember this moment.'
Those words sounded so true for me. She had respected my feelings a lot, so far. I couldn't say, then, she was just my counselor. May be my friend!

#Last Day

'Express yourself!' she stressed on that part much, as I am always bad in expressing myself. It was my last counselling session with her. 'You are regretting things, now, right? That should not happen in future. I am not asking you to turn yourself 360 degrees around. I'm just telling that you can at-least change your attitude, towards expressing yourself, a bit more. It will help you a lot! You even kept quite when I asked how you feel about this last session. Perceptions differ, Thamizh! Only if you express yourself, you would be in the right perception in others' minds.'

'Fine! I'll try my best, Ma'm!'
And again an usual formal greeting and I bid a good bye and left her cabin! Only then, it happened.

#New Friendship Day ;)

Only when the receptionist asked me to wait for a while, I really started thinking about the past incidents. You will realize whether you like something or not, only when the thing is about to leave you; only in the last moment! She respected my feelings a lot; even treated me as her friend. But, till then, I was not like that.
The last time, I didn't like it, when she called me by my first name. I usually have such sort of feeling only with my best friends. Whether my mind started believing her as my bestie? I was not sure. Thinking all these, I entered her cabin.
'Tell me, what's that?' That time too she was the first one to talk.
'Just tell her that you wanna be her friend!' the better Amudhan insisted me. And............. I asked!
'Ma'm! Will you be my best friend?'
'Certainly,' She was taken aback and I could sense it. 'Why not? With pleasure!' That signature smile accompanied her words. I couldn't believe this conversation had ended so simply.
'Seriously, Ma'm?'
'Why not? When I said those words, I really meant it!'
'Nothing Ma'm. Just felt like asking this. The receptionist at the counter asked me to wait for a few minutes. Only then, it struck me. Till now, I never had someone as a mentor as well as my friend, in my life. And, I'll be happy if you be so.' I ended that sharply.
'My pleasure!'
'And one more thing, Ma'm! Can you call me by "Amudhan"?'
'Haha.. Sure, Amudhan,' she stretched out her hand, 'Best friends?'
'Certainly! Why not? With pleasure,' I shook hands with her, along with a laugh.
And when I was about to leave, she said 'Wish me Happy friendship day.'
I was kind of laughed and stepped out of her cabin.
I am not exactly a guy who makes new friends easily! May be I am not THAT bad like Tom Petty.
I took out my Lumia and txt-ed her.
"Happy friendship day ;)"
Got a reply immediately "Happy friendship day...:-)"
And that day marked the new friendship day in my life :) :)