Most days, I pick up my daughter and one of her friends from school. They study in the same class and live in the same apartment complex.
I have started enjoying this little routine quite a lot. I actually look forward to picking them up. The ride back home is always interesting. They keep talking about something or the other. Sometimes it’s about school, sometimes about their classmates, and sometimes about things that I hardly understand. I love listening to their conversations. There is something very special about the way children talk to each other. No filters, no calculations, just whatever comes to their mind.
Since both of them travel with me on my motorcycle, I have made a simple rule. One day my daughter gets to sit in the middle, and the next day her friend gets that seat. They have been following this arrangement quite happily.
A couple of days ago, my daughter wasn’t feeling well. That day, she told me she wanted to sit in the middle so that she could rest her head against my back during the ride. By the time we reached home, she had developed a high fever.
A few days later, when we were going to school again, she reminded me of something in the morning.
“Baba, I sat in the middle for two consecutive days. Today I will sit at the back. My friend will sit in the middle.”
I was a little surprised. I hadn’t even thought about those two consecutive days, but she had remembered. She could have easily continued sitting in the middle, but she herself decided that it was her friend’s turn.
It made me think about the little bond these two are developing. They are still so young, but perhaps these small things are how they learn to care for each other. I don’t know how much they understand about friendship at this age, but I can see that they are slowly learning to share and think about each other.
They will grow up. Their school days will eventually be over. They will have their own lives, their own friends and their own journeys. I don’t know whether they will remain as close as they are today.
But I do hope they never lose this simplicity. I hope they continue to remember the little things, make room for each other and remain as innocent as they are today.
For now, I am happy with these everyday rides, their endless conversations and the little friendship that I get to witness from the front seat.