I was 12-13 years old when my parents got me and my brother a new computer (honestly it was all mine, since my brother had started sailing by then). A grey colour Dell machine with a CPU and speakers. This kind of a big computer isn’t seen a lot these days. The internet at that time was connected through the phone line and while connecting the modem made sounds like a bad Oprah singer.

It was fascinating for me to connect to the internet and see that green ball linked to two computers which meant, YOU’RE CONNECTED! What a great feeling that was. I loved yahoo chat a lot. It was the place to chat with people! My first time must have gone something like this :

Boy: Hi.

Snickers2005: Hi.

Boy: A/S/L?

Snickers2005 : What’s that?

Boy : Age/Sex/Location?

Snickers2005: Offline.

Little did I know what he meant was, if I was a girl or a boy. In my head, reading SEX was as if he was asking weather i want to have sex or have I had sex? Haha. That was me. I thought babies were born to women after a certain age, like if they were 25 years old they give birth to babies. Yeah, I did not know the process at all! I know what you’re thinking, but that’s Okay. I have no shame in admitting what I was because at least I wasn’t a girl sniffing coke and meeting random guys in my pre-teens or in my teens. But that story is for another day. After I got familiar with chatting online I started to spend 1 to 2 hours meeting people, blocking people, getting blocked by people & exploring weirdness across the globe. How I loved it. Obviously I became a smooth chatter and made a few friends. I loved to know where they were going for vacations and what kind of places they would love travelling to and most importantly what kind of taste they have in music. Destiny’s Child, Madonna or prodigy?

One such time I met Anna. Anna was from Chester, UK. I loved chatting with girls. I always wanted to know where they are from and how is school for them and do they have boyfriend? Have they ever held hands with a guy? I liked to know things from another girls perspective. It always felt nice. If you asked a boy these things then sure you would get blocked in no time. Boys were more into, so tell me what do you look like? The pro me came up with weird answers like, right now I look ok. I just came out an accident and I hurt myself so bad they had to give a few stitches and just in no time… the boy showed offline. So basically i was blocked. Haha. And 1/50 would want to know what happened? And then I would block them! Hahahaha.

Anna and I exchanged our address and we started to write letters to each other. Once in 2-3 months I received a letter from Anna. On one occasion she sent me a picture with her friends taken in the backyard of her house all dressed up for their school disco. Anna looked the prettiest. Yes, we were very fond of each other. I sent her pictures of myself and my dog. She said I looked pretty. Once she wrote to me about how she wished I was her real sister and not Clare and Chloe. And I have no words even now to say how I felt at that time. We exchanged a lot of letters in 4 years, made promises to visit each other. I would visit her in the UK and she would come to India to see me & the Taj Mahal. Then one day the letters stopped. We were around 18 years old when we started to email each other and sent photos of things we did. I told her I was in college then and studying commerce and how much I hated it. Her last email to me was where she mentioned that she is working part time and was earning and that she smoked the last pack of cigarettes she had. By then I knew Anna and my life had grown different. I remember Anna fondly, like how it met her 2 decades ago. I still love her and wish her best.

In 2006 my brother took me to Singapore where he had to attend company seminar for 5 days and asked me to join him. He said, “you can shop and go around in day time and when I am back by 5, then we both go out and explore Singapore!”. I couldn’t believe it. Me going on a vacation with my brother to a foreign country and spending his money buying me clothes, shoes and bags. Wow, it was the best thing! I fell in love with Singapore in just a day. I remember I use to tell Singapore every morning from my hotel room window (which I off course couldn’t open) how much I love walking on the streets, and seeing people do what they were doing.

One evening my brother told me, get ready, we were going out. You me and captain Steve are going out for drinks and dinner. I stopped thinking after hearing Drinks… everything else was blah! That was my first meeting with Capt. Steven, from Ireland. He took us to Long bar and ordered drinks for us. He made me try the Singapore Sling and more drinks after that. That night we chatted so much. I have no idea what we talked about. But I know it must have been something really nice because when we were leaving, he handed me a bag which had a Tall Long bar glass with a stand. He told me, Nicky, this is for you. And I had no clue weather to accept it or not. My brother politely said, Capt. Steve, thank you for your kindness, you didn’t have to do this. Capt. Steve said, No this is for Nicky. She must take it back with her.

I quickly took the bag from his hands, thanked him, hugged him and was smiling like a little baby through out. We took some pictures that night. I think he really liked me, and needless to say, I liked him too. I was a little bit nervous before meeting him because what would Capt. Steve and I have in common, I thought, and what would I talk. I remember I told this to my brother and said, just relax he is a fantastic man and you’ll love him.

I don’t remember much about what we talked about with Capt. Steve on that night but after that he shared his email id with me and we stayed in touch through emails. Whichever ship he sailed on, he mailed me from there and then for next 3 months we exchanged emails before he went home and could access his personal email id. And this went on for some time. He gave me nicest advice in those emails & i usually bored him with my chatter.

How often do we connect with people this way. We get to know them, we love them and they love us. Sometimes they give presents, compliments and forever a lovely memory. I always wonder what was it in me that they liked. I still don’t know. But I know I just loved them, their company, their emails, words etc. I feel so grateful to have met such amazing souls in my life, right from my teens till now. I miss you Anna and captain Steve. I wish the best for you and I hope one day you and I get in touch again. I know that the universe listens and graces us with magic & beyond. Until then, i continue to look for our emails and hope that you are available on your old email id.

I hope you all can think of at least one such person whom you met just like that, and have some memories together. It feels blessed, I know 🙂