Pandorathon 23rd May TSL Prompt replied to but desultorily - yet going on

 "Rains sprout happiness" May 23 TSL Pandorathon Prompt by given Sarmita Dey

Writing to keep my hand in

We called him Bird/Kili because he had a bird tattoo on his face, on the side of his right eye that looked small, beautiful and impressive but was probably some scar and not a birthmark. It looked a bit like that of a kite and was an indentation. He was very friendly to me, appreciated my intelligence which was not much, knew I was good at English and made me write a love letter for him once, and basically was just a fun guy. He used to start his answer papers with JMJ which stands for Jesus Mary Joseph and draw a cross on it being a Catholic but was weak in studies. Don't know if it helped him or not. We shared a lot of stories together, and he had a cycle on which he used to take me around. We had a lot of adventures and memories we made together. Then we drifted off, apart from each other, when we came to college. He died, I heard later, from my Whatsapp school group for those who studied with us from first to fourth or the other one for those from fifth to tenth.

It seldom rains out here. Memories of rain bring back memories of such times and friends and rain sprouts happiness remembering him, and walking from British Council to Jacob's or something near, back to his gf's house behind her and her friend, with him on his cycle. Same one I wrote the love letter for. Riding on his cycle in front or back. He was bigger, taller, so did not expect me to take him on the pillion and ride doubles as the lead.

Show not tell, But not in the mood. Can't. Won't. Shan't. Tell this time and not show.

The rain of memory sprouts the happiness of childhood back of a friend long dead and gone with memories that cannot be shared anymore with him or anyone else.