IRIDESCENT.

I fell in love with love. . Age 2. I fell in love with the sound of cuckoos chirping in the balcony. The melodies brought me happiness, the sight of a bird taking flight brought me wondrous curiosity. Love, I realised, was happiness. . Age 4. I fell in love with my toy cars. Playing around with them all day and all night, imagining all the car races I have to win, the sound of my engine revving past the finish line. Love, I realised, was desire and obsession. . Age 6. I fell in love with the sight of planes in the sky. The way they took off from the ground, giving flight to themselves and to my dreams of growing up to be a pilot. I wanted to see more of the word and know more of the world. Love, I realised, was burning curiosity and wonder. . Age 8. I fell in love with football. Beckoning my friends from the minute I came home till the minute my mom called me because dinner was being served, and then wearing my favourite jersey and watching my dream team ...

If she were a season, she’d be spring. Bright, sunny, full of life. If she were a flower, she’d be the rose. Beautiful and dainty. If she were a wine, she would be the champagne. Effervescent and tangy. Different strokes, for different folks.  I still reminisce and cherish that day, the first time I ever laid eyes on her as she walked into the classroom. My mouth, I was told, had formed a perfect 'O'. She was gorgeous. Everything about her seemed so perfect, that somewhere deep inside the chasms of my heart, something tingled and sent a jolt of electricity running through my entire body, charging me with a rush of hormones coursing through my veins, a feeling I had never experienced before. My heart, it seemed, was hammering in my chest, and all of a sudden I became cautious that maybe others could hear it beat too. I could feel the heat off my face, as I blushed red like a ripe tomato in the prime time of its harvest. Try as I might to not glance at her, it seemed as...