When Meera Sharma returned to her hometown of Lucknow for the first time in ten years, the Summer Air Smelled of a blend of wet earth and jasmine. Since Meera's absence from Lucknow, the city had changed significantly, with new cafes popping up in Hazratganj and a variety of glass buildings built in the place of older structures and more changed streets that are busier with people moving around than before. However, with a familiar aroma of an array of street food cooking in the air and with narrow streets and old colonial buildings, it was like stepping back in time and into the past where the memories of Aarav Singh began to resurface.
Aarav was Meera's childhood friend and her first crush. There was a time when Aarav made Meera a promise under the mango tree in her back yard, promising that they would always be together, regardless of where life took them. Aarav was only twelve and had so much confidence in the promise he made to Meera.
"I will wait for you, Meera," he said, full of laughter and inadvertently telling Meera that he would be there for her no matter how long it would take, whether it took ten years or more to do so. That is the same promise that has stayed with Meera throughout her adult life.
Meera laughed at Aarav when he made the promise, thinking at the age of twelve that he was too young to truly comprehend what he was saying. However, now that she was standing next to the already large and gnarled mango tree that had been growing in her backyard for so long, Meera was wondering if she truly understood the promise that was made by two young hearts.
As she was standing next to the mango tree, her phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number saying, "Are you still in Lucknow? - A." She immediately felt her heart skip a beat. Aarav? With excitement, she immediately messaged back "Yes, I am here."
That night, they were at the old riverfront where they had used to escape to as children. The Ganga was flowing peacefully at that time of day, reflecting the golden rays of the sun setting. Aarav was standing with his back against the railing, his hair slightly longer and the calm confidence in his eyes was not something he had as a boy when she looked at him and smiled. His smile was like it had been in the past several years.
"Meera, you have come back," Aarav said quietly.
"I did," she answered with a slight tremor in her voice, "I had no idea if you would still care."
Aarav let out a chuckle that was familiar and warm, "Care? Meera, I have waited ten years to see if you would come back."
"Ten years?" she said, frowning. "That's a long time to keep your promise."
"It's not just a promise. It is about knowing that some things are worth returning to."
They strolled along the riverbank; the conversation flowed just like it had in the previous years but weighed down by time. Meera shared details about her job in Delhi, relationships that did not work out, and how alone she felt living in a big city with no childhood story to share. Aarav spoke about his work in the International Heritage field.
Though time has passed since their reunion, they have both found a commonality in their hearts that they were not aware of.
The week following their reunion consisted of much time spent getting reacquainted with each other, as well as reliving their pasts by visiting places such as the library where they used to borrow comic books, the tea stall where Aarav was so shy to buy her first kulfi, and the little playground at the school where they once made promises to each other while sitting under the mango trees. Each location served as a physical link to the past and provided a means of communication between them, while still serving to remind them of the years of being apart.
One evening while sitting on Aarav's balcony looking at the city lights shining brightly like stars, Meera asked Aarav if he felt that they had changed since they made promises to each other under that mango tree.
While Aarav held Meera's hand and expressed that he, too, felt that the two of them had changed, he believed that the fact that they were now both still standing under the same sky identified the two of them as being the same two as they had been when they had made the promises under the mango tree.
Meera felt Aarav's positive feelings toward their reunion and was happy.
However, as always, life tested their relationship with one another, and Meera had recently returned to.
The letter inside was written neatly by his adult hand:
"My Dear Meera,
In many ways, promises are like balloons; they may be very weak; yet, at times, when they are treasured enough, they may endure through time. I cannot say to you that you must stay, for you have your own life to lead. However, I want to let you know that whenever you want to return, I will always be here waiting for you under this same mango tree, forever.
Meera couldn't help but shed some tears while holding Aarav tightly and feeling the years dissipate from their memories. "I don't know what will happen in the future," she remarked softly, "but I do know I do not wish to lose this – our connection."
Aarav acknowledged her and held her while stroking her long, dark hair by pressing his forehead against hers and suggesting, "Perhaps then we should make a new promise, the promise of today, tomorrow, and the rest of our life together."
Aarav and Meera said their goodbyes on their way to Delhi, but this time they did not know what the future held. They did have a plan to be together forever. They would establish a strong commitment to each other with telephone calls every evening, letters written every week, and frequent weekend visits.
One year after their initial meeting at the same mango tree, and after waiting in anticipation, Aarav gave Meera a beautiful ring while kneeling down in front of her. Meera looked at him with tears streaming down her face and laughed while saying, "All this time you've been waiting!
"I have never been so sure," said Aarav. "About anything."
The ring he offered to Meera represented more than a piece of jewelry; it was symbolic of all the promises made by the two of them as children, of the trials and tribulations they had both undergone throughout their lives, and ultimately it represented Aarav's courageous decision to embrace a true love that had survived the test of time.
While Meera accepted Aarav's proposal, the mango tree outside their house swayed gently back and forth, as if to applaud the union of these two souls, and in doing so whispered to them that promises made long ago can always lead to new beginnings.
During this summer in Lucknow, we witnessed not only the union of these two people, but we witnessed a love story that has spanned decades—and we learned that promises made do not ever go away—they simply wait for the appropriate time to be fulfilled.