I remember this one moment from first standard.
I was one of the first students at Navadeep Public School in Kollam.
Back then, the school was run out of a house. At least that’s how I remember it.
This was… 1995.

Anyway.

One day, I had just come out of the washroom. I think I was washing my hands…
and I was standing in front of this big mirror.
And then this girl from my class comes that way.
A beautiful girl.

I don’t remember her name. Or her face, really.
Just that she came close.

She came near me, smiled,
and squeezed one of my cheeks.
Just like that.

And then she walked away.

That was it.
But that was my first ever crush.
I was six.

My name, Ashik, means lover in Hindi.
I guess I started living up to it that day.

I don’t know if she remembers it.
But I do.
And maybe that means something.

Maybe the heart starts noticing beauty and connection long before we have words for it.
Before we even know what this feeling is, it’s already begun.

Maybe love doesn’t wait for us to grow up.
It doesn’t care about your syllabus or age certificate.
It just… shows up.

Like a girl walking past a mirror.

And suddenly, you’re never quite the same.

So when I hear about school kids falling in love,
I don’t roll my eyes.
I don’t think it’s wrong.
It doesn’t mean they’re ready for big commitments, no.
I’ve learned it takes a lot more than that first spark.

But that spark?
That first noticing?

That’s human.
That’s life starting to feel itself.
That’s God’s whisper, maybe.

And that’s beautiful.

Anyway,
if by some wild chance,
you’re the girl who pinched my cheek in 1995,
drop me a message 😄