Crimson, Red, Cherry Coke

By Pranjal Gai

Despite our differences in hue and lighting, we are all the members of the same family.

My closest friends and I have experienced more than most people could ever imagine..

I am not here to be critical, but sometimes the universe we have so meticulously created can fall

apart again with just one tiny crack or perhaps something far more

With love, grace, scratched knees and weary hearts, we constructed that world.

And here we are once again attempting to keep it all together.

We believed that the stars were changing, so I blamed it all on the Mercury retrograde.

However, even that has happened.

Everything still seems to be slipping.

Is it possible to find the equilibrium we seek? Transient

We are woven together by the love, the passion and the shared trauma.

I mean it wholeheartedly when I say these two individuals mean the world to me.

We are water, fire and all things in between.

We may be too much for you – we are boisterous, affectionate and chaotic.

However, that might be because you were never enough for us.

Somehow, things do improve in many ways.

Not necessarily in large extravagant ways but in little intimate moments: the late-night walks, the

texts that say “we love you”, the laughter after sobbing and the silent realisation that sometimes

– without even realising it – we are living our childhood fantasies.

Yes, we are exhausted.

We are still here, though.

Continuing to support one another

Too huge for this planet, but a heart full of love.

By Pranjal Gai