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Hey, there. You might be wondering who I am and why I am even greeting you, but this story is not about me. It’s about love and also about how I played a pivotal role in it. No, seriously, I promise this isn’t about me; I just happen to be the world’s best matchmaker and best friends with Cupid.
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It all began in the early hours of a crisp windy November morning, with dried fall leaves littering the sidewalks and temperatures dropping early. A point where it’s warm enough so you wear jackets and overheat but also cold enough to freeze off your fingers if you step out in a lone cardigan.
At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I wouldn’t know if it weren’t for the winter sale brochure I stumbled upon the other day. God, he was loud and obsessed with his sweaters on sale.
Anyways, there I was, cozied with my other friends inside our beige binder on our way to work, when we all met someone special as we stood there on the platform.
The moment she came flying in with a strong gust of wind and piled up right against Jughead’s shirt sleeve, all our eyes were on her while Jughead’s were on hers.
The pretty brochure had a pretty owner too. Bingo.
Now you see, Jughead is a pretty decent guy. He washes the dishes every few days, switches off the tap while brushing his teeth, feeds the stray cat when it visits once in a while, and even uses thicker magazines over us when a gallant mosquito enters the battleground only to be defeated by the wrath of laminated paper.
Unfortunately, most humans do not get to see Jughead in his natural habitat like we do and oftentimes, he comes off rather withdrawn. Thus, on most nights, he is left alone with his Chinese takeout and Criterion Collection subscription. It makes all of us all pretty sad to see our lovable dork having such morose weekends when we all party it up with the ink pots on the mahogany desk.
So, when Jughead eyed the woman as she gently peeled the paper off of his sleeve, it made us all pretty happy. He had met his dream girl. (Trust me, I know his preferences; I have sat through way too many reruns of movies with Grace Kelly or Doris Day in them.)
Jughead and Ms. Dream girl made bashful eye contact as she stood waiting for her train next to us and tucked a loose strand of her golden locks behind her ears. His azure eyes swirled with exhilaration as they met his emerald counterpart. We were having the most eventful morning in our whole bleached lives.
I couldn't hold my excitement in too long because there is only so much eye contact my A4 existence can stand and leaped right onto her.
Jughead leaned in to grab me from her face right as she tried to do the same. Their fingers brushed over my edges for a second and she retreated her hands back to stare at me bashfully as he held me away from her. She scrunched up her face as she looked back up at him and giggled out loud.
Jughead and the rest of us inside the binder followed her eyesight trying to search for what had her smiling wide and tinted her cheeks with a deeper crimson all of a sudden.
That’s when we spotted the red splotch of lipstick right in the middle of my body. As we all burst into laughter, we saw a rather tragic scene take place right in front of us.
Just as Jughead smiled and looked up back at her, he saw her leaving as her train had arrived.
“Wait! What’s your name?”
Jughead had tried to follow her but time wasn’t in his favor and he focused on her diminishing figure, as the train left the station and disappeared from his vantage point. All he had was the red lipstick stamped onto me as a reminder that he had met his soulmate only to let her slip through his fingers.
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Back at Jughead’s firm with the rest of my posse, we waited on the same metal desk for the new lads to come in. They always smelled really good because they were all brand-new, transferred right from the printer to the desk.
However, Jughead was lost in his own thoughts. He kept staring at the red splotch on me despondently, to the point that Mr. Page 27 was convinced he was trying to burn a hole into me.
But, I knew what was really on in his mind and it was her. The thoughts of her and what-could-have-been plagued him.
And then, I caught him scanning something beyond the large windows of the office. All of us immediately gasped when we saw Ms.Dream girl yet again, in the building just across the street. Her window was almost parallel to ours which gave us a clearer view that confirmed it was definitely her.
Jughead leaped up from his chair and tried to wave at her behind the windows to grab her attention. He knocked and waved his lanky arms, but she didn't look up and all his attempts seemed futile.
Just as Jughead unlocked the latches on the huge office window, Mr. Orbison strolled in with the newer lads and dropped them off on his table, glaring at him. Jughead sighed and went back to his seat. As we started familiarising ourselves with the inexperienced fresher lot, we heard Jughead sigh loudly again.
Fate had always been a little bit more taxing towards him than most people. His father was an alcoholic and led a biker gang, barely remembering the names of his children. His mother had abandoned him when he had just discovered how to use a typewriter, leaving him and his baby sister to fend for themselves. As a result, Jughead had never known of what life was outside of sacrificing and second thoughts since he was ten. Every decision he had taken had always been for the wellbeing of his sister. As Jellybean grew up to pursue her dreams and left for college, Jughead had to put aside his. Being a writer didn’t pay enough to cover the cost of living and his sister’s tuition.
The gig at the firm paid for his bills and he couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunities he was given. He wasn’t a naive, ten-year-old boy anymore with a head full of dreams of writing the next Great American Novel on his favourite typewriter.
But anyone with eyes could see he wasn’t fulfilled working a 9 to 5 white-collar job. Jughead yearned for more in life and it had all come to the surface when he laid his eyes on her. His pull towards her felt magnetic and the emerald green of her eyes tingled every nerve in his body. He felt more alive than he ever had in the past decade. He wanted to be with her not because he needed it but simply because his heart wanted it.
“Hey! I am new here and I just wanted to inquire, why is the human so sad? Is this normal? I am sorry, it’s my first day and I didn’t want to be intrusive.”
I eyed the intern up and down. The smell of fresh bleach and printer ink still pungent enough to permeate through me, indicating that it was indeed new.
“Jughead, our human, is experiencing love at first sight but he doesn’t know how to act on it yet and is bound by the shackles of life and responsibilities for any grand gesture.”
“Oh, well that’s what I thought. Is it the woman I see in the building across the road? He could send in paper planes with love letters in them if he wanted to right? He wouldn’t have to move and it would be grand enough of a gesture.”
I turned towards the intern with my headers raised. “Wow, that is indeed a good idea. Did not expect that from you, newbie. Well, we don't have the time to write the love letter but a few paper planes is attainable.”
Since Jughead and I had been together for over a month, we had a special connection. My kind and humans form special bonds if we work in close quarters for extended periods. Thus, I can page certain prompts to Jughead through the varied frequencies of the wood pulp I am made of. It involves a lot of science stuff that I am not astute enough to elucidate right now.
“You think he will understand?” the intern questions skeptically.
“I’ve tried this once before. Jughead is a smart person. I am sure he will figure it out.”
Just as I finish paging the message, Jughead's eyes light up with ideas and he immediately gets to folding the papers on his desk into paper planes. He springs up from his chair enthusiastically and propels it out of the window aimed at Ms.Dream girl’s open one.
Right as our martyr for love is launched out the window, a strong gale of wind takes it away even before it crosses the road.
The rest of us heave a collective sigh because Mrs. Page 34 was one of the most romantic ones of the lot. If she couldn’t cross the road, none of us even stood a chance. Just as some of us begin bracing ourselves for another day of work, Jughead reaches for another sheet to make another paper plane.
With raised margins and scrunched commas, some of my fellow men look at me hoping that I would talk Jughead out of it.
“I am not going to do it. I am not going to stand in the way of his chance at experiencing real love. Determination and love can tame even the wildest of storms and all we can do is be his life rafts in this situation. We shall live a short life but a good one,” I answered immediately.
“I told y’all to not let him stay near the books. He is pretentious and dramatic enough. He doesn’t need classic literature to enhance it,” Mr. Page 36, one of the older ones like me, spoke out.
“Hey Page 36, you are bitter because Page 34 just died. Everyone knew she was your mistress and you have been cheating on Page 35 since day one. Very Ares and Aphrodite I must say.”
The Arial text turned to Times New Roman on Page 36 out of shame just as he retreated back into the crowd.
“Now, my fellow peroxidized compatriots, this is our chance at doing something great. We choose to go to the other side today, not because things are easy, but because they are hard, because we are willing to accept this challenge and one which we intend to win.”
The people still looked blankly at me waiting for me to continue as if my point wasn’t clear enough. I sighed and continued. “We are gonna let Jones make paper planes until he runs out and we will give our best to carry his message of love to the woman on the other side. You see this mark on me? That’s our destination today and we shall bridge the gap that separates our modern-day Romeo and Juliet. I will not stand any resistance of any kind from anyone, including ‘accidental papercuts’. Now is not the time for theatrics.”
The intern whispered into my footnotes. “Well sir, I think we should wrap this up before it gets too late.”
“Yeah. Okay, comrades stack up neatly in piles now. Stiffer ones on the top and the older ones on the bottom.”
As soon as the papers rearranged themselves into neat piles, Jughead immediately folded the sheets with deft motions and sent them out the window. Each one of us tried our best to reach the beautiful blonde that Jughead wanted to reach out to.
On his tenth attempt, Mr. Orbison clears his throat and sends another glare at Jughead as he closes the door to his office. Jughead pauses for a second but shakes off his resolve and begins making his paper planes with a renewed vigor.
The piles of paper gradually diminished and he still wasn’t successful in reaching out to her yet. Some of us landed a few centimeters away from her window, a few even managed to surpass the window only to fly right into the trash can. The breeze took a few with it while stray birds obstructed our trajectory. Time slowly ticked away and fate looked like it had yet another one of its evil schemes laid out for Jughead.
As the last paper in the stacks disappeared, it was just me and the intern. As soon as Jughead reached out for the intern, we bid each other adieu, wishing one another the best of luck. With all his focus, he crafted yet another paper plane which landed right behind the woman’s chair.
That was the closest Jughead had gotten to his goal all day and he needed just a few more tries to achieve it.
Unfortunately, by the diabolical whims of fortune, all he could afford was one last try. He looked at me intently, focusing in on the red stain of her lipstick; the last reminder he had of her and his only hope of connecting with her. I was his only reassurance and I was ready to give my best.
He carefully picked me up and began folding my edges in dexterous movements. He got up from his chair and stood near the large office window, with me in his hands and his tongue stuck out a little, his entire attention on her. A tunnel eyed vision with only her in his sight.
Both of us took a deep breath as he readied himself to launch me towards her.
And then, a gust of wind blows all of a sudden and takes me with it as soon as I leave Jughead’s hands.
Jughead looked at me with wide eyes and eyebrows furrowed together as he saw his last hope of finding his soulmate fall to the ground and get crushed by the traffic of rushing cars of New York yet again.
Just as he looked up, he found the elusive blonde leaving the office and heading out of the building. As Jughead rushes to turn around, he feels a rough hand gripping his shoulders. It was Mr. Orbison with yet another stack of forms for him to work on.
“Do not defy me, Jones. I have had your ridiculous escapades for the past hour. I want these finished by noon. You will have to make up for the time lost. Hope you know the consequences of disobeying orders,” he demanded with a pointed glare at Jughead as he turned around to head back to his cubicle.
Jughead sat on the edge of his seat contemplating his choices. If he were to walk out to follow her, an entire month’s worth of salary would be deducted from his payroll.
As the seconds ticked by on the office clock loudly and his foot tapped the floor aggressively, the gears in his brain clicked into places and he remembered the swirl of her green eyes and her blinding smile. His choice became clear because he didn’t have an option to begin with. He was a moth attracted to her flame and would follow her till the ends of the earth if he had to.
In an instant, Jughead sprang up and ran out of the office leaving a trail of papers flying behind him. Jughead jogged down the office stairs and ran out the main door. He ran into the street with hustling cars to the point of almost being run over. He stumbled onto the sidewalk in front of her building when he realized he had missed her already. Another breeze blows by ruffling his inky hair as if mocking him for his failure. He curses out and looks around pulling at his hair and breathing heavily when a paper plane comes into his perspective. It was me. Donning my red mark as a message of love sitting right on top of a postbox nearby.
He grabbed at me and hurled me away from him to erase the reminder of what he had lost and fate declared itself the winner once again.
As the wind carried me, an idea clicked into my head(er) all of a sudden. I quickly flew past a few buildings and spotted all my other mates in a dark lonesome alley. I landed amongst them cautiously, trying to sense the energy in the atmosphere of my peers.
A few looked at me with narrowed expressions to the point of almost a reduced 6 font size while my other fellow romantics had worried looks full of commas and colons saddened by the fact that all of us were unsuccessful in connecting two people who were meant to be.
But I wasn't the one to give up.
As I looked around and spotted the savvy intern, I waved it towards me. His front changed colors and he quickly approached me
“Sir! I am so sorry. I couldn't reach Ms. Dream girl. I thought I was almost there but alas. And since you are here I concur it didn’t go as we hoped?”
“Yes, they haven’t met, yet. But I have an idea but I cannot do it alone. I need everyone’s cooperation.”
“Sure, sir. We are here to help.”
As I nodded and looked ahead, I found an abandoned carton and stood on it. After I cleared my throat twice, my comrades paid attention to me, some willingly and some not so much.
“Friends, papermen, and countrymen. Lend me your ears!” A sudden murmur spreads among the paper planes as I began.
The intern, yet again, whispered into my footnotes. “Sir, I think we should get right to business in simple words. All of us aren’t as wise and knowledgeable to discern what your embellished words mean.”
“Fine enough. I figured I was dealing with plebeians here. Thespians like me aren’t respected among the common folk anyway.”
“My fellow paper men, this morning we all set out with one single mission uniting us all: to bridge the distance between two fated lovers. We all witnessed the determination of a young man today, desperate to reach out to his dream girl. Unfortunately, destiny rolled out its wicked dice to separate the two. But when there’s a will, there’s a way. And we shall be that way for we shall not let Jughead’s efforts waste away in vain. He gave us all a meaning when he crafted us into planes and we shall honor that!”
A contemplative silence falls on the people just as Mrs. Page 34 emerges out from the crowd. “I am all in. I have always been. But what do you suggest we do? We are mere paper planes. How will we revolt against what is not destined to be?”
“We will do what we do best. We shall fly. My fellow soldiers, we must find Jughead and lead him to his dream girl. I shall fly to Ms. Dream girl and lead her to the spot where it all began, the train station. This red stain is a love letter on its own and if it is meant to be, she will follow me.”
“The excessive use of conditionals is telling me to turn the other way but if Mrs. Page 34 is in so am I, unfortunately.” Mr. Page 36 comes forward and so do many of the ones who had been cynical about my idea.
My prose filled with hope as I began directing the rest about my plan. We headed out in a line with cheers and newfound perseverance, set out to find Jughead.
It wasn’t too difficult to spot a brooding young man standing with a mournful expression and arms crossed against his chest, leaning next to a post box amongst the hustling and bustling crowd of New York in the middle of the day.
As we approached him and surrounded him all together, he looked at me with wide eyes. “W-what are you doing?”
Ah, my sweet summer child, I wish I could tell you.
As my soldiers closed in on him, they tackled Jughead to lead him towards the train station, after he tried to put up a fight in vain. Meanwhile, I headed in the opposite direction looking for Ms. Dream girl.
I whizzed past newspaper stands and over the heads of the passersby. No one noticed me and that fueled my resolve to accomplish my goals. In this city, everyone has a head full of dreams, continuously striving to tick off one milestone after the other. Their worlds were painted in monotones of black and grey. Dreamers do not stand a chance in their world, the ones yearning for technicolored lives have their hopes crushed under the sheer pressure of society and the stress of staying alive.
But I had been presented a chance to break out of the cycle and spill some colors into Jughead’s life; I will not pass up on that opportunity without putting up a decent fight.
I weaved through the crowds, looking for her in every corner and direction but to no avail. As my chances of finding her started dwindling, I spotted her among the crowd, near a newspaper stand. Her golden hair framing her head like a halo in the sun, looking like a vision. All still and serene contrasting the rest of the rushing passersby.
As I flew past and landed in a bush just next to the stall, she immediately noticed me. Her head tilted a little, curious about who might be flying paper planes in the middle of the street and leaned in to inspect carefully. Her entire face lit up and her eyes widened when she recognized the lipstick stamped onto one of my wings. She picked me up to take a closer look and the same dazzling smile graced her lips.
In the next instant, I fluttered out of her hand trying to bring her with me to the train station, as I encircled her while she looked at me with an expression of shock and curiosity painting her face. I flitted around her a few times and buzzed straight into the main street hoping she would follow me and she did.
She tailed my course through the streets and alleys, dodging people, and kept up. Her eyes filled with glimmers of hope mirroring the one on Jughead’s face every time he had hurled a paper plane out the window, as my heart grew ten times bigger. What can I say, I am a sucker for love at first sight.
“Don’t let him move from here!” I heard the intern say as I approached the designated spot on the train station to see at least a hundred paper planes restraining Jughead from making any sudden moves.
This was the moment we all had been waiting for.
I heard her steps falter as she realized where I had led her to and her breath hitched.
Blue meets green and it was as if a whole new world full of vibrant colors spilled out. Jughead stepped forward and the blonde matched his movements. Both of them, yet again, were entranced by the electricity that flowed through their veins as their eyes met. Cheeks tinted pink and lips parted unable to utter any decipherable words.
“I have an idea,” I heard Mrs. Page 34 mutter behind me and before I knew it, she began paging a message to Jughead. Whatever gets them talking works, I suppose.
And before I know it, I hear Jughead’s soliloquy. “In vain have I struggled, it will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
“Did you just…?” I ask out of amusement and shock as immediately recognized Jughead’s all too familiar words.
“I sure did,” Mrs. Page 34 replies self-contentedly.
Jughead slapped a hand on his mouth and looked at her saucer-eyed and face resembling the color of a tomato.
“I-I am sorry. I do not know what came over me and made me say that. I must have had a bad bagel for breakfast today. I didn't mean to tell you the L word. Not yet at least. Shit. I am sorry. Please don't tell me you are gonna leave now-”
“Betty. It’s Betty Cooper. And I don't mind a little excerpt of Pride and Prejudice every once in awhile. It’s one of my favorite novels,” the beautiful woman named Betty replied with a bashful smile painting her face and a hint of mirth in her voice.
“I am sorry, Betty. I am not usually like this. I don’t talk to a lot of people daily and I must have forgotten how to interact without coming off as a creep. It’s Jughead, by the way. Jughead Jones at your service.”
“Well, Jughead, I guess we could go grab a coffee and I can teach you the basics of human interaction again?”
“Lead the way milady.” Jughead bowed slightly and Betty laughed in return to intertwine their fingers and lead them ahead.
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And that’s basically how it all went down. I told you this wasn’t about me, didn't I? Now you may be wondering where I am and what happened to the two lovers?
Currently, I am in a medium-sized house in the suburbs in a glass frame on a wall next to the staircase surrounded by numerous pictures of two curly raven-haired girls, one with blue and the other with green eyes. I see them running around once in a while.
And from where I can see, there is one big framed picture of the two fated lovers that met at the train station all those years ago, dressed up in a white flowing gown and the other in a tuxedo. It’s been years since that fateful day and I catch Jughead winking at me once in a while. And as I hear loud ews and boos from the kitchen, I catch a glimpse of Betty and Jughead caught kissing by their two girls, still as much in love and so much more years later.
Sounds like everything turned out pretty well in the end and I was just the first puzzle piece in their jigsaw of life full of love, colors, and dreams.
fin