There's an Archie story about the time that Mr.Lodge decides to sell his old car and Archie commiserates while Mr. Lodge gets all choked up - one of those rare moments when the two are in perfect accord over something.
This morning the BF sold his old bike and that's how come that particular comic came to mind. He said it felt like saying goodbye to an old friend as he watched the new owner ride off with that old bike. I felt nostalgic too- that bike had seen us through a lot.
It was 2008 when he got that bike and I remember us just staring and staring at it. We were really really broke, then, and his first salary, just over Rs.3000, was enough to make us feel immensely rich. He had few possessions, so getting that bike felt extra special. Before, we both used to scrimp and save so that he could take the bus to see me on weekdays, and a taxi on Sundays when there were no bus services. But he needed that bike because he lived right on the edge of town, and he had to attend classes on the opposite end, then come back to go to work where he had the evening shift. It was easier meeting up, but we still had to scrimp and save to pay off the loan on that bike and to buy petrol and stuff.
That bike had seen us through a lot. Like the time we went for a picnic without telling my parents, and we had to get home by 6. But we took the wrong road, and by 6, we were still an hour's drive away from home. How that bike raced to get me home by 630 at least because I lied and told my parents that the university bus had broken down and I would be home by then. And how apprehensive the BF must've felt when he ran out of fuel halfway and he silently switched to reserve. And that time I sneaked out because my mom had said we were seeing too much of each other so we should cool off. We had nowhere to go to, so we rode aimlessly about under a gibbous moon until we got to a huge water tower and we climbed up and watched as the city lights went out one by one.
Those times he would pick me up from the university and we would sing out loud and off-key and unembarrassed because there was hardly anyone around on that fairly deserted stretch of road. The silent, sulky rides on that bike after a fight. Rain-drenched rides over muddy roads as we kept our eyes peeled for possible landslides. And everyone on my street could identify that bike.
It started to give out around last year. One time, the bike kept on bucking and I thought he was being fresh so I giggled but it turned out there was something wrong with the..something. Then it started making high pitched noises. And other sounds. And the self-starter refused to work, and the side glass cracked and parts of it got a bit rusty and there were too many scratches and the spring was shot or something. A lot of somethings went wrong with it, and the repair jobs that it needed kept piling up.
And he finally decided to trade it in for another one. So he placed an ad this morning, and a couple hours later, some guy turned up and rode off with that old blue bike. True, it had become an old bucket of bolts but God, what memories that bike left us with!
I'm starting to hate the new one he intends to get.
(Dammit, I intended posting a pic to go along with the er..post., but the one I had in mind has another couple in it besides us, and that couple would not appreciate old pics resurfacing because they're both with other people now. Damn)
This morning the BF sold his old bike and that's how come that particular comic came to mind. He said it felt like saying goodbye to an old friend as he watched the new owner ride off with that old bike. I felt nostalgic too- that bike had seen us through a lot.
It was 2008 when he got that bike and I remember us just staring and staring at it. We were really really broke, then, and his first salary, just over Rs.3000, was enough to make us feel immensely rich. He had few possessions, so getting that bike felt extra special. Before, we both used to scrimp and save so that he could take the bus to see me on weekdays, and a taxi on Sundays when there were no bus services. But he needed that bike because he lived right on the edge of town, and he had to attend classes on the opposite end, then come back to go to work where he had the evening shift. It was easier meeting up, but we still had to scrimp and save to pay off the loan on that bike and to buy petrol and stuff.
That bike had seen us through a lot. Like the time we went for a picnic without telling my parents, and we had to get home by 6. But we took the wrong road, and by 6, we were still an hour's drive away from home. How that bike raced to get me home by 630 at least because I lied and told my parents that the university bus had broken down and I would be home by then. And how apprehensive the BF must've felt when he ran out of fuel halfway and he silently switched to reserve. And that time I sneaked out because my mom had said we were seeing too much of each other so we should cool off. We had nowhere to go to, so we rode aimlessly about under a gibbous moon until we got to a huge water tower and we climbed up and watched as the city lights went out one by one.
Those times he would pick me up from the university and we would sing out loud and off-key and unembarrassed because there was hardly anyone around on that fairly deserted stretch of road. The silent, sulky rides on that bike after a fight. Rain-drenched rides over muddy roads as we kept our eyes peeled for possible landslides. And everyone on my street could identify that bike.
It started to give out around last year. One time, the bike kept on bucking and I thought he was being fresh so I giggled but it turned out there was something wrong with the..something. Then it started making high pitched noises. And other sounds. And the self-starter refused to work, and the side glass cracked and parts of it got a bit rusty and there were too many scratches and the spring was shot or something. A lot of somethings went wrong with it, and the repair jobs that it needed kept piling up.
And he finally decided to trade it in for another one. So he placed an ad this morning, and a couple hours later, some guy turned up and rode off with that old blue bike. True, it had become an old bucket of bolts but God, what memories that bike left us with!
I'm starting to hate the new one he intends to get.
(Dammit, I intended posting a pic to go along with the er..post., but the one I had in mind has another couple in it besides us, and that couple would not appreciate old pics resurfacing because they're both with other people now. Damn)
3 comments:
Awwwww, this is both so nostalgic and romantic, so much like those Readers' Digest stories of sweet old married couples reminiscing over their courting days. On the more practical side of it, good job your boyfriend ditched the old bike. Nothing like a brand new toy for him, I'm sure :)
Uiha tikhan i tiaaa. Now I feel like a rusty old toy who will be replaced with a younger, sleeker model :( But this old dog still has some new tricks up her sleeve, woot! :D
ohhh, ka chhiar ve chiah! lovely, just lovely, that old, blue bike also took me to a hospital to visit someone, and to a certain house too. hehe. sigh! that old, blue bike :)
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