Many ways of a bond

Perhaps there is many a way to form a bond! A bond could be forged across borders, across hearts or across a table of  inched cutlery.

We were two strangers sworn to know each other only as strangers.

We almost held our bond as if it was 'stranger hood'.

We spoke not in words but with silence.

We hardly spoke.

 If we ever did it was only polite meaningless words.

We were dedicated to our sense of strangerhood. So we never asked each other our names.

We followed the rules of strangerhood.

He knew what I taught, he did not know where or how I lived or what i thought or dreamt.

I knew he lived above the building, I did not know what he thought or did.

We were never beside each other to know each other's pain or joy.

It didn't matter to him ,if we met after days at  a stretch.

He never seemed to have noticed my absence, I dared ask him of his once and he mumbled a stranger's reply of a vague vacation.

It was not that we didn't care. I was someone he wanted to be kind to. He was someone who would be part of a lifetime to me.

But we were so dedicated to our sense of being strangers.

I may not know the back of my hand well but I knew the rhythm of his footsteps  by sound than sight. Yet I did not know him enough.

Months across, almost 365 days... we stuck to our sense of strangerhood.

He wrapped me in a gesture of kindness he would offer anyone as far as I assessed his character.

I wrapped him as I would a lifetime's memory.