A Simple Bond

A Simple Bond

"On the 8th of September, if that's not an issue with you" quite a direct reply. I was amazed at that reply. I could barely remember any pending work. So I agreed fast. The place was fixed soon. I couldn't believe I was going on a date, recommended by an online dating site.

The girl had no picture of her, instead, she had a pen sketch of Lord Ganesha as her profile picture. This reminded me of my good old best friend, back in the college days. I had almost lost contact with her. We had talked last on my birthday, since then ten months have passed. I still remember the best moments, practical jokes, and trivial funny talks. Well, no doubt I played the best practical jokes on her, and later would make her realize, how that could help her in life! 

Today was the 6th of September, and I had merely two days to put up a good show on the date. I prepared for it as an examination, surfing through a lot of internet pages, taking advice from friends who always managed to have a nice time on a date night. I even bought new clothes for the above-said purpose. 

While going through some old photos of college days, I came across some which were only of me and her. She was shy with me about taking pictures. So this one night, when I managed to click the first picture of us in college, without food between us, she had a good dress on her, but somehow, it made her look like a clown! I could never stop laughing at that picture.

Somehow, I missed her presence around me. I picked up the phone, called her. She was busy, and she didn't pick up. But she called me back, around midnight. She had just got back from her work.

"Hey, I thought, you were not gonna talk to me. Ten months since our last talk. I really missed my best friend." said I.

"See, if you are going to pull out some trickery on me now at this hour of the night, I am damn serious, when we meet ever again, I am going to thrash you and fulfill my long desire from college days." Typical she.

"Why do you think so?" Asked I.

"I don't know, I am getting some vibes like that." Replied she.

"Well I am going to say something, but it's not a joke"

"Ok. Go on then."

"I have matched with someone on the dating site that you had told me about last year. She agreed to meet tomorrow evening. Isn't it great?"

"Wow! I couldn't believe it. You on a dating site? You going on a date? Have you become jobless?"

"Nah! It is something I just wanted to try. I have as such nothing important coming up this weekend. So, I thought of giving this site a shot."

"Hm. Great for you. You called me to get some tips, huh? But you also know that I am no great in this business. So you would not explicitly ask for help, but implicitly you would want me to collect some pick-up lines, which my friends like. Well, could I be more correct?"

"No wonder, you are still one of my best friends after so many years. Yeah, could you do that for me?"

"Nope. Learn through experiments."

"What do you mean?"

"In your language, attempt a random pick up line. See how poor it performs, take feedback. Back propagate it to improvise your pick up line. Continue this process, until someone accepts it"

"You came to study Deep Learning models? I had always believed that you would end up doing …"

"It's great you understood what I want to convey. Anything else?"

"Nah! Nothing more."

"Are not you forgetting something?"

"I don't think so. Bye. See you soon."

"Bye."

I arrived at the restaurant, ten minutes prior, and asked the waiter for a birthday cake. 

"Sir, may I suggest something?" Asked the waiter

"Yeah sure."

"Sir, if you have to celebrate the birthday of someone special, then our other restaurant is quite famous for that. It is a mere walk of five minutes to reach there. We expect couples here and provide services accordingly."

"So what? I have a date here. Just do as you are said. It's beyond your comprehensive power to understand the bond I share with my date. But it would be a great help if you could hurry up with the cake." He turned back with a confused look. The cake was on the table before she arrived. 

She entered the restaurant with her beautiful smile. I stood up, with a smile that I am known for. 

"Happy birthday, my dear" said I.

"No wonder, you are still one of my best friends after so many years!" She replied and hugged me.

It is a bond, beyond comprehension for me, let alone others.

 

                                                                                              - Siba Smarak Panigrahi