The Swapped Letter

Today is one of the happiest days of my life. After all, it’s my best friend's wedding and I am the bride's maid. I was just getting ready when all our memories scrolled down in front of my eyes like a panorama. Naisha and I have been best of friends since play school. We did our school and college together and now she is going to leave me forever and settle with someone in a foreign country. But I am really very happy for her. She got the guy she truly deserved to be with and the one who will always be by her side in all situations.

Naisha and I share our each and every secret, every crime, every memory and every feeling with each other. But there is this only one secret that I have kept from her since high school and maybe shall keep it forever. It is about Naisha's first crush.

Those days I used to be a complete nerd and Naisha was no less. We were the toppers in our batch and had a small bunch of friends. It was at the beginning of high school that this new boy Kevin had joined our school. He was a stud and had become the center of attraction in our batch. We were least interested in any of such businesses or I thought so. As days passed one fine night when both of us were preparing for the coming unit tests Naisha suddenly started discussing this guy Kevin and his way of talking and playing guitar and things. It was quite weird for me to hear anything about any guy in such a way from her. We were just teens at that time and all this was quite new for us.

I brushed off the feeling thinking that may be because the entire school talks about him she also might have got interested. But soon after the unit test, I got to know that she has started to like him. I had earlier failed to notice the way Naisha blushed while talking about him or the way she looked at him. But on that day of the last exam, I saw her eyes turning red when she saw him with some other girl chatting happily. We were teenagers and this was her first crush so we were bound to behave childishly. Initially, I interrogated her a lot but later found that her feelings were genuine and being the helpful best friend, I promised her to help her approach him.

So, from the very next day, our attempts began. We did all those love-struck teenager things to try and make contacts with him or any of his friends but did not succeed to a great extent. It was after three months that one fine day Kevin himself came and sat beside Naisha. He talked to her for a while and asked for some notes which she happily gave him. And this way their friendship began. Initially, I was very envious of their growing bond as I did not get Naisha's full-time attention but gradually I got used to it and was happy for her. They became great friends. He used to study with us, take our notes and also take the important questions list from us.

It was the first day after the Diwali holidays got over, I reached school to find Naisha was hurriedly writing something. On asking her she informed that it was his homework that she was completing. Shocked I also helped her to do the same as on inquiring the reason he had said that he was unwell the entire time. Later that day at the lunchtime I had forgotten my water bottle in the classroom and went to get it. on the way, I stopped at the giggling sounds coming from the tenth classroom. Due to the familiarity of the voice, I turned and went there to peep through. I saw it was Kevin with his bunch of friends and they were praising him and laughing over something. And next what I heard made my eyes tear up. They were praising him for getting the toppers into his plan and making us do all his work right from notes to homework. He also added that he would propose to Naisha as he felt that she has a crush on him and even their roll numbers are next to each other so she would be seating behind him in the exams and he can easily cheat and pass with good scores. How cheap can someone be?

With a heavy heart, I went back to Naisha but her beautiful smile did not allow me to tell her anything. Next day returning from lunch I went back to class alone as Naisha had some work at the admin office. It was still 15 minutes for the classes to begin. I sat on our place and thought about the event that happened the day before and about telling it to Naisha. But I found an envelope with Naisha typed over it on her desk. Without any second thought I opened and read it and my fear came true. He had proposed to her. If Naisha reads this she would surely say yes. I had to do something. Thinking of destroying the letter, another wicked thought crossed my mind. I ran to the computer lab on the same floor and quickly typed another letter to Naisha from Kevin which stated that he had come to know that she had a huge crush on him and that he already has a girlfriend and was just using her for getting his stuff done. Also, I added that if she had any self-respect left then she would not talk to him nor ever meet him. I printed the letter quickly, put it in the same envelope and went back to the class. Everyone was present there so I entered quietly but to my Goodluck, my best friend hadn't returned. So, I placed the letter in the same place as the old letter.

She came back a second later and the classes began. In the middle of the class, Kevin gestured her to read the damn letter as it was kept under her desk. She leaned to search for it and my heartbeats rose. She got it and with a shy smile opened and read it. It hurt me badly to break her heart to a million pieces but it was necessary as she was building castles in the air. She started crying in the end and I asked her about it a lot but she did not say anything and went straight to her home after classes got over.

The next day she came to me and told me everything and I consoled her and told her not to talk to him even if he begs. She nodded her head and got determined about it. Kevin was extremely confused with her cold behavior. But she was so deeply hurt that she never gave heed to him neither talked to him. Even he stopped his effort to talk to her after about 2 days as he got someone else to do his work.

Today Naisha is getting married to Ryan, the love of her life and her perfect man whom she met on a business meeting. Even today she recalls Kevin as a funny teenage infatuation and laughs out over it. She hates him till today and does not talk to him even at reunions. I have thought a lot of times to inform her the truth as I know that she will anyway trust me but somewhere I have this little foolish guilt that I did not let her get her first love. I haven't informed her about this secret and maybe it shall be safe with me forever.