Tale teller: Simran Ramsay

“Can you check how long google maps says it’ll take to reach?”
I didn’t reply, but fished out my phone from my overflowing purse and typed in the address to our best friend’s wedding venue.
“5 hours”
She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and hit the accelerator. We were on our way.

4 hours and 58 minutes more

The sky was perfumed with cotton candy clouds and the blazing midday sun bathed us in heat and anticipation.

Riya and I used to be the best of friends. The type that was always with each other, the type that spent hours together and would go home to spend hours talking on the phone, the type that told each other everything, the type that was like family. Up until college started. It happened a little too fast for either of us to realize, but our friendship had started to fizzle. A bitter concoction of work, the pressure of fitting into a new environment and making new friends had dissolved our once flourishing friendship. 

4 hours 25 minutes more

 An awkward silence loomed over us, I was uncomfortable and desperate to break it, but words betrayed me, Everything I thought to say sounded either too formal or inappropriate, so I stared at the map on my screen.

3 hours 50 minutes more

Her stomach made a large grumbling sound, I looked up trying to stifle a laugh. The small box of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies was burning a hole in my bag, so I pulled it out and opened it to her, an offer to break the silence and tension that flooded the car. The decadent aroma of chocolate wafted up to our noses and I could see the corner of her mouth starting to curl upwards. Her eyes alternated between the warm golden brown goodies and the long road ahead. ” have some” I offered and her hesitant hand reached out a picked up a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie. She took a small bite and closed her eyes, making a small moaning sound like she always did when she ate something delicious. I giggled and when she realized why she did too. The silence was finally broken.

3 hours 20 minutes more

I picked up a cookie as well, it was still warm between my fingers, the chocolate melted in my hand and I licked my fingers without thinking. 
“I wish we had milk with these,” she said. I remembered how many evenings we spent having warm cookies dunked in milk after playing for long hours at the park, A time I would give anything to go back to. It was as if she’d read my thoughts when she said ” Do you remember how many of your mom’s freshly baked cookies we would gobble after playing” I laughed. 

3 hours more 

We were in the midst of a long conversation about our school teachers, reminiscing on the silliness of our childhood. It felt like old times like nothing had changed. We were still Riya and Prerna… best of friends.

an unknown amount of time more

Because I was too busy catching up with my best friend to bother checking.