“Back to the future….!” That Steven Spielberg’s movie inspired Jason a lot, he was obsessed with the film, so much so that his dorm room was filled with those posters.  “Back to the Future 2 and 3 came but the impact the first one had on me was immense” he’d say. One day I sat him down to ask why.

“Well, you see when I was in high school, I tried my luck with girls, but it never worked, they either wanted a jock with a ripped body, athletic moves, and handsome features or a cute dork with nerdy looks. All romantic comedy movies glorify this type of lead character. On the other hand, I am neither a jock nor a dork. I am an average-looking guy, sometimes nerdy, sometimes not; it depends on the conversation. Astronomy, yes, but only limited to the Milky Way galaxy, politics, yes, and also limited to the North American continent, but when it comes to films, HELL YES, I’m a nerd! So this particular film helped in teaching me the old school charm with girls in times of speed dating and left and right swiping, you see after that movie, when I walked up to a girl with my mediocre looks and boyish charm and dropped in my self-declared world-famous pickup line in between the conversation saying ‘Hey girl, by the way, did you know I’ve seen the future, want to know how it might look like?’ after a dramatic pause, sending my inviting looks her way I’d say ‘Well it is much like the present… (referring the tension she and I are sharing), but only a tad bit longer.”

“It worked like a miracle,” he continued. “Let me be honest, it did not work every time, but after a few trials and errors, I knew how to pull it off. The living evidence is the woman I’m talking to right now. You, honey, my wonderful wife!”

And that made me weak in my knees yet again.

Samanvitha Orugant is an avid storyteller who likes narrating stories about people, emotions, and places. She believes our world has innumerable tales, some hidden, some not, but all waiting to be told. She can be reached via email at samanvita.krishna@gmail.com