The moment I opened the message from the senior, I couldn't stop myself from laughing.
Sometimes I genuinely felt that my destiny had a strange sense of humor.
The message simply said:
"Let's meet this weekend if you're free."
I stared at the screen for a few seconds before placing my phone on the bed.
"Seriously?" I whispered to myself.
Because just a few days earlier, I had already made plans with my best friend for the same weekend.
Out of all weekends, why this one?
I was excited to meet my best friend after so many months, but at the same time I didn't want to refuse the senior either. He had always been there whenever I needed someone to talk to, and cancelling suddenly didn't feel right.
After thinking for several minutes, I finally replied:
"We can meet, but I've already made a plan with my best friend this weekend. If you don't mind, you can join us. This way you'll finally meet her too."
A few moments later he replied.
"Sounds good. Looking forward to meeting both of you."
And just like that, the plan was finalized.
After ending the conversation, I placed my phone aside and lay down on my bed.
The hostel room was quiet.
My roommate was already asleep.
Meanwhile, my mind refused to rest.
I kept thinking about the strange situation I was in.
Both of them knew parts of my life that almost nobody else knew.
My best friend had witnessed my entire school journey.
She knew every crush, every tear, every terrace story, every farewell memory.
And the senior?
He knew the emotional side of me that I had hidden for years.
The side that still believed in destiny.
The side that never truly moved on.
And tomorrow, for the first time, both of them would be sitting together.
I suddenly covered my face with a pillow and groaned dramatically.
"Please don't team up and tease me."
Knowing both of them, there was a very high chance they would.
With that final thought, sleep slowly took over.
---
Finally, the weekend arrived.
For the first time in days, I woke up feeling genuinely excited.
I was going to meet my best friend after such a long time.
The same person who had been with me through school, boards, farewell, heartbreaks, dreams, and countless emotional breakdowns.
Just thinking about meeting her again made me smile.
But along with excitement, there was nervousness too.
Because this time, the senior would also be there.
And honestly?
I had no idea how the two of them would get along.
After breakfast, I immediately started getting ready.
For some reason, I changed my outfit three times.
Then changed my hairstyle twice.
Then spent another ten minutes staring into the mirror.
I finally laughed at myself.
"Why am I behaving like this?"
Before I could answer my own question, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From the senior.
"I'm waiting downstairs near your hostel."
My eyes widened.
"Already?"
I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed downstairs.
The moment I reached outside, I saw him standing there casually checking his phone.
When he noticed me, he smiled.
"Ready?"
I nodded.
"Ready."
And together, we left for the café where I had planned to meet my best friend.
---
The entire journey felt surprisingly comfortable.
We talked about college life, anatomy practicals, hostel food, and random funny incidents.
Soon we reached the location.
I immediately started searching the crowd for a familiar face.
And then I saw her.
Standing near the entrance.
The same smile.
The same dramatic expressions.
The same best friend who had been part of almost every important memory of my life.
Without thinking twice, I ran toward her.
And hugged her tightly.
"Oh my God!"
She hugged me back immediately.
"Look at you! Future doctor!"
Both of us started laughing.
For a moment, it felt like nothing had changed.
Like we were still those school girls meeting during recess.
Then suddenly she noticed the senior standing behind me.
A mischievous smile instantly appeared on her face.
And that smile alone was enough to make me nervous.
Because I knew exactly what that expression meant.
Trouble.
Big trouble.
The senior introduced himself politely.
My best friend introduced herself too.
For a while everything seemed perfectly normal.
Almost suspiciously normal.
The three of us ordered drinks and started talking.
College stories.
Hostel experiences.
School memories.
Funny incidents.
Everything.
The conversation flowed surprisingly well.
In fact, they got along much faster than I expected.
Which should have made me happy.
At first, everything felt completely normal.
Too normal.
The three of us kept talking about different things. My best friend was telling funny stories from her college, while the senior was sharing some hilarious incidents from his first year of MBBS. Soon all three of us were laughing continuously.
For the first time, I felt happy seeing two important people from different parts of my life sitting together.
One knew my past.
The other knew my present.
And somehow they were getting along surprisingly well.
After some time, my best friend suddenly started telling embarrassing stories about my school days.
"Do you know," she said while laughing, "she used to spend half of recess standing on the terrace."
I immediately kicked her leg under the table.
"Please stop."
The senior looked amused.
"Oh really? Why?"
My best friend tried very hard not to laugh.
I knew exactly where this conversation was heading.
And honestly, I wanted to disappear.
"Nothing," I quickly replied.
But unfortunately, nobody listened to me.
My best friend continued dramatically,
"She used to act like she was enjoying the view, but actually..."
"Okay!" I interrupted immediately.
"We are changing the topic."
Both of them started laughing.
And at that moment, I realized my worst fear had come true.
They had teamed up.
Against me.
The entire afternoon went like that.
Every few minutes they found some new reason to tease me.
Sometimes about school.
Sometimes about college.
Sometimes about how serious I looked all the time.
Meanwhile, I kept pretending to be annoyed, but honestly, after a long time, I was genuinely enjoying myself.
Because life had been so busy lately.
Classes.
Assignments.
Practicals.
Stress.
And somewhere in between all that, I had forgotten what it felt like to simply sit and laugh without worrying about anything.
As the evening approached, we decided to take a walk nearby.
The weather was beautiful.
A cool breeze was blowing and the streets were crowded with people enjoying their weekend.
While walking, my best friend suddenly moved a little ahead after spotting a shop she wanted to visit.
That left me and the senior walking side by side.
For a few moments, neither of us spoke.
Then he suddenly looked at me and said,
"You look happier today."
I smiled slightly.
"Maybe because I finally met her after so long."
He nodded.
"I can see that.
After a small pause, he added,
"You deserve days like this."
That simple sentence somehow stayed in my mind.
Because very few people noticed the difference between when I was smiling and when I was genuinely happy.
And somehow, he always seemed to notice.
After visiting a few shops and taking countless pictures, we finally sat in a small park nearby.
The sunset looked beautiful.
Orange and pink colors covered the sky.
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Almost perfect.
Then my best friend suddenly received a phone call and moved a little away to answer it.
Now it was just me and the senior sitting on the bench.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then he suddenly asked,
"Can I ask you something?"
I looked at him curiously.
"Hmm?"
His expression became unusually serious.
For the first time that day, he looked nervous.
Almost as if he was carefully choosing his words.
And the moment I noticed that expression...
I knew he wasn't about to ask something ordinary.
Something important was coming.
Something that could change the direction of our friendship completely.
And honestly...
I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear it. 💫