Hollywood Moments
Devyani Arora
Perhaps it’s the naivety of a 24-year-old raised on movies talking, but I truly believe everyone should have a few Hollywood moments in their life before they die.
What is a “Hollywood moment?”
I’m so glad you asked; I would love to tell you.
A Hollywood moment is a moment that is so cringingly predictable and completely unlikely that when it happens in a film, we cry out “oh how cliche!” but when it happens in real life, we sigh with the joy of witnessing the magic of being alive
For example:
A White Christmas
Watching the sunset with your father on a porch
Breaking spontaneously into song with a group of strangers at a bar
Or right now:
[SCENE]
Park bench underneath a canopy of trees in the main square of an urban center. Two people, a young man and woman sit together, not quite facing each other, but making as much eye contact as they can
The park bench is for lovers
And grandmothers on babysitting duty
And Door Dash Drivers looking for a bit of respite from the heat
But for now, it belongs to us
You’re yapping away about another commitment you probably shouldn’t have made, and I hope
you’ll forgive me this moment where I realize that if my life were a movie, this instance, this
picture right here would be the poster they hang in the theater
For if I am the main character, you are the deuteragonist
A person in my life who has no origin story
Just as God once said, “‘let there be light,’ and there was light,”
He must have one day also said, “let’s give this child a companion,” and there you were
As if you’d always been there
So, now we’re here
The park bench is for lovers
And runners recovering from daily workouts
And the librarian who needs to be outside during his lunch hour
But for now, it belongs to us
I tell you about the boy
There’s often a boy, but not so often a story
And you smile that smile of yours
The one I adore even when it’s at my own expense
That smile you could give a child’s fingerpainting
Or a puppy’s first playdate
But you give it to me, and I willingly accept it
For seeing your face at all is a gift I will always accept
The park bench is for lovers
And God-fearing believers completing street ministry assignments
And toddlers filled with wonder at something new to climb
But for now, it belongs to us
You marvel at how old we are
How old we will be when we graduate
How old we will be when we finally start earning
I point out how gray your hair already is
And how big the bags under my eyes already are
And there is a bit wistfulness at how 14 years together are already behind us
The park bench is for lovers
And mothers carrying groceries home when the bus didn’t come
And begrudging fruit vendors who did not fit in the main square during the summer market
But for now, it belongs to us
It’s been six months since we’ve seen each other like this
Sitting on a park bench
Face-to-face
In my heart,
No matter how many times I say,
“Let’s see each other soon,”
I know it’ll be another six months before we see each other again
For if there were one lie I was told by Hollywood
It would be that the dearest of life’s friends are always a few steps away
Behind an unlocked door
In a kitchen that connects straight to a living room
That you sit in so often
It might as well be yours
And how pathetic are we
That after 14 years, and living only five minutes away from each other, we can manage no more
than two meetings in a year?
Sitting always on a park bench not meant for us
I walk you to your car
You give me a hug and ask me to go inside
And I will, you know
But only after you drive off
I walk by the bench on the way home
A young man is on it now
Pretending to sit, but really asleep
The trees sheltering him from the summer sun
It’ll be snowing the next time I see you
In a world of FaceTime, Snapchat, and unhinged iMessage games
What are the odds of finding someone who will call
On the phone
On the drive home from school?
And answer every call with, “Are you okay?” before “Hi,” or “How’s it going?” What are the odds of finding someone who will remember every single one of your birthdays? What are the odds of finding someone who will make time, eventually, to meet you on a park bench meant for lovers, even though you most definitely are not
These are our Hollywood moments
We can’t be Harry and Hermonie
Ross and Rachel
Will and Grace
Lilo and Stitch
We both have chosen paths that mean we cannot exist in each other’s daily lives But I live with the comfort of knowing that we will always reunite
That by the time you’re fully bald, and father of two
I will be the beloved auntie who will tell your children bedtime stories
Including this one
Of two forever friends
Devyani Arora is a third year medical student interested in chronic disease management and the medical humanities. She is a proud alum of Dr. Hatem's Creative Writing Elective at UMass Chan Medical School.
