Storieo

Category: Relationship

Collection of Best Relationship Stories

  • The Revenge

    The Revenge

    A story of a girl's journey amidst the feudal mentality of the so-called decent society.

     

    “I love you Anjali. I had always liked you ever since school. I always wanted to tell you but never got a chance. Now that you are here, my feelings for you have spread their wings again. It has taken me weeks of mental preparation to speak to you about my feelings. Please accept me the way I am. I am sure you must have come across many handsome and rich men in your life but I bet no one can love you as much as me. I will love you unconditionally throughout my life and I want to grow old with you.” Ramit stopped at the sound of claps.

    “Bravo!!!” said Rhea clapping excitedly . “It was perfect. This will help me in my rehearsals. Thanks yaar Ramit. You are such a sweetheart,” Rhea said switching off the recorder.

    “Have you changed the script?” Ramit enquired.

    “Oh yeah, a little bit, the previous one wasn’t strong enough I felt.” Rhea tried avoiding his enquiry.

    “But Rhea, we have only a week remaining before the play. Is it wise to make changes now?” Ramit sounded worried.

    “Come on yaar Ramit, We are good to go,” Rhea said dismissing the conversation. “Can’t you postpone your Kolkata visit. We are already short of time for the play and…”

    “No, I can’t, now can we proceed?” She said hastily. Ramit looked at Rhea and thought how normal she looked after a series of unfortunate incidents that happened to her barely months ago. He wanted to ask her a thousand things but something stopped him. He kept staring at her when suddenly he was jolted by a ‘WHAT?’ expression from Rhea. He slowly shook his head in denial.

    ‘Ok, chalo, bye then, see you on Tuesday.’ Ramit casually hugged Rhea and left.

    Rhea, Ramit and Rishi were best of buddies for 10 years ago. While Rishi and Ramit were childhood buddies, Rhea came into the picture only in college. They were fondly called ‘R3’ by their friends. While Rishi chose to become an architect, Rhea and Ramit were interested in acting so they joined NSD after college. While Rishi was comprehensively into acting, Rhea took up script writing and also acted once in a while in plays.

    Five years after they left college, Rishi had surprised everyone by suddenly proposing Rhea one day by climbing on to the stage while she was rehearsing for a play.

    A little taken aback, Rhea had accepted the ring amidst tears of joy and applause. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Rhea married Rishi and not Ramit.

    Rishi and Rhea led a fairy tale life for two years until one day when Rishi returned from office with a grim face. Rhea opened the door and hugged her husband in elation. “Congratulations daddy!” She said shyly. “Hmmm, you too.” Rishi said with a dry smile.

    Rhea looked at him and his disappointed face and asked, “Too much of work at office? Are you not happy? Rishi….. Let’s celebrate, I have such a good news for you. Come on freshen up, we will go out for dinner.”

    “No… No, ah… not today, actually I am too tired.” Rishi sounded uninterested.

    Rhea tried containing her irritation and remained quiet. That day for the first time after marriage, she had felt left out and lonely. Her achievements were celebrated with great grandeur by her family members until she got married against their wishes. She practically had nobody to share her happiness with. Her in-laws had died in a car accident when Rishi was in his first year of college. Rhea felt it was too early to reveal it to her friends. She wept that night inconsolably with no one by her side. She was a tad stronger the next morning.

    Rishi and Rhea were not talking ever since the good news. There was tension in the air for quite some days until one day when Rhea made-up her mind to confront her husband on the issue. “Rishi, can we talk about it?” Rhea said firmly keeping the coffee cup on the center table.

    “About what?” Rishi pretended to be oblivious.

    “Don’t you know?” She was furious. “What is it that’s troubling you? Don’t you want this child? Tell me, if you don’t. Talk to me about it yaar Rishi.

    Speak up, don’t be mum. Why are you behaving so strange? We are living like two strangers in one house and that too at a point when we should be the happiest. We are going to be parents.” She stopped only to breathe.

    “Calm down. It’s not good for you now.” Rishi showed his concerned.

    “Yeah, right! Huh! It is not good for my health now. My husband is bl**dy not talking to me for some vague reason and I don’t have the right to question him too.” Rhea lost it completely.

    “Sit down,” he said preparing himself for the confrontation.

    “Right after you called that day to give me the good news, Ramit called me too to congratulate.” Rishi began weighing his words carefully.

    “So??” Rhea looked at him perplexed.

    “He said he accompanied you to the hospital,” Rishi continued.

    “Yeah, even Natasha came. Because I suddenly started vomiting on the sets, so they took me to a nearby hospital. But how is that related?” Rhea tried fathoming.

    “Ah….I don’t know how to start…..ummm…Okay let’s do it….going by the due date you told me, my calculations come to 9 months and a week after we had the last relation established . Do you remember, the same night I left for a conference in Bangalore?” Rishi spoke softly.

    Rhea kept staring at her husband in disbelief while he continued. “I also remember that one week after I left, you had a sleepover party at our place to celebrate the success of your last play.”

    “And you had Natasha, Priya, Puja, Ananya and…..” Rishi paused to look at Rhea and then continued, “and Ramit that night at the party. Four girls and one boy. And it was an overnight stay for all of them. Right? So going by the…………..”

    “STOP!!!!” Rhea stood up from the sofa, “Just stop before I ……………..” her voice trailed off.

    “This is disgusting Rishi. I never expected ….I can’t believe what you just said. I am hoping it is all a nightmare and not reality..” Rhea spoke with tears flowing incessantly from her eyes.

    “I left my home for…..and Mr Rishi, it was you who proposed me only to accuse me of this.. I can’t take this. My my….my heart is broken and how….” she said falling to her knees.

    Rishi dashed to pick her up only to be stopped by a strong hand gesture by Rhea which meant – ‘Dont you even dare.’

    “Rhea, people have always spoken about you two ever since college days. He left engineering for a career that you went for. Also, he only acts in the plays written by you or the plays where you act. You need to understand my predicament too,” Rishi tried justifying his stand.

    Rhea walked out of the room throwing her hands in disgust. Their conversation had come to an end now.

    Rhea started looking after herself with no help from her husband. She started going for regular check-ups. Her pregnancy was not too pleasant with a perpetual feeling of hatred for the child’s father on her mind.

    She made futile efforts to engage her mind differently, every time to land up in the same dark thoughts. She distanced herself from Ramit too. The doctors warned her of the complications arising due to her depression and negative thoughts. She consulted a psychiatrist too to seek help.

    Rishi had stopped caring about his wife at such a crucial time of their lives. Both of them kept to themselves most of the time. While Rishi changed his shift to night, Rhea spent most of her daytime in the nearby garden. The cooking was limited to a cup of coffee or tea. Both of them ate out most of the time.

    One night, Rhea got up to acute pain in her stomach. She waited whole night for the morning to arrive. She requested Natasha to accompany her to the doctor. And as expected, the bad times were far from over. Rhea lost her baby and the reason cited was her depression, odd eating timings and the callous attitude towards her pregnancy.

    Rhea was shattered. Natasha told Rishi in spite of warnings from Rhea to no to inform. Rishi arrived at the hospital to take them but Rhea refused to get into the car and took a rickshaw instead. While Natasha got down midway, Rhea reached home followed by Rishi.

    “I want a divorce,” Rhea uttered with a firm face as soon as Rishi stepped in.

    “What?” Rishi looked taken aback.

    “I want a separation. I can’t ..I don’t want to live with you,” Rhea said with a straight face.

    “We will talk later about……”

    “There’s is no later. It’s over, finished and done with. I want a divorce from you Mr Rishi Acharya,” Rhea said looking straight in her husband’s eyes interrupting him in the middle.

    “Why not?” Rishi began. “Why not Ms Rhea? When your dirty intentions were exposed, you chose to abort the child and now you try to blame me for all this. This is the biggest benefit of being a woman in our society. Shed a couple of crocodile tears and get all the sympathy.”

    He continued, “I know where this is going. After taking a divorce from me, you will marry your boyfriend. Good plan, I must say. But there is still something which is unclear. Why did you drop his child then haan?” Rishi was unstoppable.

    “You must have had calculated too of what you will do with the alimony, right? It’s not so easy darling. It’s not so easy,” he said with a smirk.

    “Are you done? I don’t want anything from you. You cannot give me anything. You are a coward, poor man. With this, you have proved today that you were my biggest mistake. Someone who could not trust his wife, someone who is not sure of his own child, is talking of giving alimony? Huh! I will get back to you with the papers and by the way I am not leaving the house since I am also paying for the loan,” Rhea said in one breath before leaving the room.

    They continued to live in the same house like two unknown people. The news of their separation also spread like forest fire. They are questioned in their respective workplaces about the same. It did not take much time for the reason of their separation to spread too. Gradually, the news reached Ramit. He had already felt the cold vibes by Rhea recently. He understood the entire matter. Somewhere deep down, he saw this as an opportunity. It was not a hidden fact that Ramit was truly head over heels on Rhea from the college days. In fact, he had confided in Rishi too about his fondness for Rhea which the latter had dismissed knowing his flirtatious nature. Ever since Rishi proposed Rhea, Ramit had felt cheated by his school friend and held a grudge somewhere at the back of his mind against him. As much as the fact remained that his presence had wreaked havoc in the married lives of his friends, he was unapologetic about it.

    Rhea started seeing a lawyer to get a divorce from Rishi as they continued to stay in the same house for namesake. Rishi spent most of his time at a friend’s place only to drop in to pick things of his use. He stuck to his stand on not divorcing Rhea for reasons best known to him.

    Months after Rhea avoided Ramit, one day he finally approached her in the canteen. Rhea sat there with her friends. Her friends left the table on seeing Ramit approaching them. While Rhea also tried leaving, she was blocked by Ramit. “Ramit please, let me go!” she said turning her face away.

    “I will, just talk to me for ten minutes, I have something for you,” Ramit pleaded.

    “No, please don’t create a scene; I don’t want anything from anyone. I have had enough from people….let me go,” she pushed him away.

    As she dashed towards the green room, Ramit ran from behind and flashed his mobile in front of her. He showed a picture of Rishi with a girl in front his office casually holding each other’s hand.

    Rhea stood dumbfounded not knowing how to react. “Why are you showing it to me? And that is none of your business.” Rhea tried pretending that she was unaffected but her face gave way to the truth, which was otherwise. She was burning from inside to see that man smiling with some other girl.

    “This is the girl who is the reason behind your separation and not me Rhea!” Rishi said with a firm face.

    Rhea looked at him a little perplexed trying to gather what he meant. She agreed to talk to him.

    Ramit started explaining as the coffee arrived at their table. “She is Anjali. She was with us in school. She was an introvert and mostly kept to herself. She recently got transferred to Delhi and her office is in the same building as Rishi’s. I met her one day in a mall when she told me about it,” Ramit said sheepishly trying to interpret Rhea’s reaction.

    “Rhea, I clicked these pictures only to make my stand clear. My name is embroiled in your issue unnecessarily. So I wanted to come out clean from all this. Going by the way they interacted in public, it looked more than a casual friendship. And at the time of………”

    “Wait! Are you trying to provoke me?” Rhea asked suspiciously interrupting him.

    “I have no business doing that. I am just showing you the actual reason behind your separation,” Ramit said a little annoyed at being accused of provocation and got up to leave.

    “Can you give me these pictures?” Rhea asked.

    Ramit nodded in affirmation.

    After that incident, Rhea and Ramit gradually became friends again. They began acting in plays again. Rhea also interpreted Ramit’s fondness for her easily. She chose to remain neutral to get more information about Rishi and Anjali from him. She started keeping an eye on the two with his help. She could also feel something brewing between her husband and his school friend. And one day when she received divorce papers from Rishi, it was clear that there was some plan in her husband’s mind.

     

    THIS DAY:

    Rhea opened the door to see Ramit standing. He had dropped in to record the lines of a play they were doing together as Rhea was leaving for Kolkata that night.

    “Can’t you postpone your Kolkata visit. We are already short of time for the play and………….”

    “No, I can’t, now can we proceed?” she said hastily cutting Ramit in the middle.

    Soon after Ramit left, Rishi arrived.

    And as he was leaving the house after picking some necessary stuff, Rhea stopped him, “Rishi, can we talk for a minute?”

    “I am listening,” he said turning towards her.

    “What made you agree for the divorce now?” Rhea questioned.

    “Well, this is exactly what you wanted? Then what is bothering you now. Let’s just finish it on a pleasant note,” Rishi reverted.

    Rhea smirked and took out the photographs from her bag. “Pleasant note? Hmm!! I got to know that you are in a relationship with someone.”

    “That’s none of your business,” Rishi was furious to see his pictures in her hands.

    “Well yes, it is. I am still your wife……unfortunately!” she said with a pause.

    “Are you spying on me? Come on! Get a life. Have better things to do,” Rishi suggested.

    Rhea instinctively started laughing on hearing that. “Why not? Thank you for the suggestion.”

    Rishi left the house red-faced. Rhea felt very light and nice. She didn’t have such a hearty laugh recently. Her face was beaming with confidence and her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She opened her clenched fist. A flight ticket lay there in her hand. She started laughing again all by herself. She kept laughing until her stomach started hurting. Her laugh resonated in the empty house which soon trailed off as soft sobs. She covered her face and began to cry. First slowly and gradually it rose. She felt wounded, cheated, secluded and lonely. She had come to the city with different dreams. She felt cheated by two men and her own fate. While one man was responsible for her divorce, miscarriage and infidelity, the other saw it as an opportunity to make his own way. Rhea came into her bedroom and picked up the recorder. She pressed the play button thoughtfully and a familiar voice began –‘I love you Anjali. I had always liked you ever since school .I always wanted to tell you but never got a chance. Now that you are here, my feelings for you have spread their wings again. It has taken me weeks of mental preparation to speak to you about my feelings. Please accept me the way I am. I am sure you must have come across many handsome and rich men in your life but I bet no one can love you as much as me. I will love you unconditionally throughout my life and I want to grow old with you.’ She took out the divorce papers and meticulously signed on them.

    Rhea then neatly put the recorder and the papers inside a big envelope. She kept the envelope then in Rishi’s cupboard. The top of the envelope said- ‘Begin a new search.’

    The taxi honked and she was out with her bags. She looked behind at the house one last time. Her eyes were wet but remorseless. She bid bye to the house and started her new jourrney.

     

    Image Credit: indianewengland.com

  • Can love happen twice ?

    Can love happen twice ?

     

    I’m on a date. Not with the man I love. I’ve loved once & probably never will again.

    From what I’ve learnt about you from our constant virtual chats on the internet, we’re in the same boat. Your love story never started because she never said yes. Mine ended when I caught him cheating on me. My love for him never ended though. Neither did yours, for her.

    Is our date really a date? What are we doing? I look at you awkwardly gulp the wine, trying to make small talk with me & all I can do is remember my first date with him. All smiles & giggles. Coy glances & flirtatious talks. But, you’re nothing like him. You’re just a mess. You’re probably wondering what it would be like to have her sitting in front of you instead of me.

    We’re only two lonely lovesick strangers looking for love. So, what if we don’t love each other? Is it wrong for us to seek love from others when we have been forsaken by the ones we love?

    The most fortunate ones find love from the ones they love. The rest of us cannot afford to choose & consider ourselves fortunate to find any love at all.

    I look into your eyes. You look into mine & quickly lower your gaze & start fidgeting with your spoon. I smile.

    We talk about the weather, our favourite places, food, books, authors, movies, dreams, fears, aspirations.

    You tell me that you want to get over her. I tell you that I can help, but I cannot compete with her. You assure me that I wouldn’t have to. You know I wish to forget him too. We’d help each other. Are we using each other? Perhaps, but we don’t mind.

    We split the bill & leave the restaurant. We bid adieu & I start walking towards home with faint steps. Another lonely night awaits me. Another sleepless night tortured by his thoughts & memories. The picture of him in bed with a stranger.

    Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I’m relieved to see you again. I don’t want to spend the night alone, you say. I smile.

    We walk together to your home. Just two forlorn people looking for an escape from loneliness.

    Your room is comfortable. You come close to me. Close enough to feel your breath upon me. I do not push you away. You lower your mouth upon mine. I do not resist.

    Your mouth tastes nothing like his. Yet, when I close my eyes, I can feel his lips on mine instead of yours. Are you thinking about her too?

    Your hands wander on my tingling skin. Do I remind you of her? You hold me tight in your arms as I rest my head on your chest. Do you wish to hold her instead?

    I’m grateful for the warmth of your skin. We fall asleep soon enough. Did you dream of her? Can we ever do this without thinking of them?

    Can we ever love again? We’ll never know unless we try, will we?

  • An Unpleasant Deja Vu

    An Unpleasant Deja Vu

    Memories are funny things. They attach themselves to some strange smell or a particular song or a particular place and this ability of our brain to associate some things to a particular memory is the basis of a Deja Vu. Yakta, 29 year old single girl, experienced a bitter Deja Vu one day which took her to a journey to her 'Oh so awesome' past life that ended on a bad note.
     

    My dinner was waiting for me. I looked at it. Atleast something was waiting for me. I started eating it.

    It was cold.

    But I didn't mind cold food. Not at all. One of the perks of being lonely and lazy is that you don't mind cold food at all.

    I sighed. Lonely and lazy. I never thought I'd come to that point in life when these words would describe me. And some days I become lonely, lazy and sad. That's when the loneliness really gets me.

    Television was meant to be for public entertainment. But somehow I find nothing so entertaining. As I flipped through the TV remote only to give up my phone rang.

    My phone rang and my heart skipped a beat.

    It was just my boss.

    I wanted to toss the phone onto a wall but then I'd be a jobless and phoneless lonely girl.

    "Yakta, you haven't submitted your reports yet. I hope you submit them by Friday. Can you do that?"

    "Sorry sir. Yes sir"

    "Alright Friday then. Thank you."

    Well an unhappy boss isn't a great thing either. I sighed again. I looked outside.

    Lonely and lazy and fed up with this life. Yep that's what I am.

    I wore my shoes and went outside.

    The feeling you get when you start something big, but don't know what to do after that, THAT is exactly how I was feeling at that moment. I had come outside but I didn't know what to do.

    The cool breeze sent a chill down my spine. I took out my earphones and started walking aimlessly. It had rained the day before and I did not like the smell of damp soil. But I kept on walking, because I had nothing better to do and physical exercise was something that I needed desperately.

    I stopped. I felt like I was paralysed. It seemed as if I was teleported somewhere else in the past.

    The same song.

    Memories hit me like a wave.

    The trees and roads disappeared and I was sitting in a room. A room different from the one I live in now. A time when I wasn't alone.

    My head was on his lap. He was gently stroking my hair with one hand and holding a book in the other hand.

    "I can't remember all this" he said looking at me.

    “What can you not remember babe? " I knew the answer to the question though.

    He was my husband, and a post graduate medical student. We met at my college fest and it didn't take much time for us to realise that we were made for each other. He was a medical student and I was a Zoology student. He used to study 9 hours a day and I barely studied before the exams. Yet I used to get 80% in all my exams and he had to struggle and work hard day and night to score more than 60%. I graduated before him and got a job before him while the poor thing remained a student. I earned more than him by working for lesser hours than him. We got married after 5 years of dating. He had just completed his MBBS and managed to secure a good rank in his post graduate competitive exam. I felt bad seeing him coming home late at night, tired and disappointed with himself. His perpetual complaint was not being able to retain what he studied even after repetitive revision. I assured him that he just expected too much from himself. And I knew that wasn't the answer he wanted.

    "Look at this, I've been studying it for the past 3 hours and I'm still clueless"

    I decided to take a look.

    I was horrified. Being a Zoology student I knew that what was written in italics were scientific names of organisms.

    "I can't remember what bacteria causes what and if I don't know that, I won't be able to know what antibiotic to give" he said.

    "I don't know what to say babe. Make a table. Write and learn. Read it everyday" I shrugged my shoulders.

    He gave me the ' don't talk about stuff you don't know' look and got up.

    "Where are you going?" I looked up at him

    " I'm off to sleep" he said without looking at me.

    I knew he was upset and it upset me too. For the past 7 years I had always seen him disappointed with himself and his performance and I felt helpless. I wanted to do something to make him happy.

    I followed him to the bedroom. He turned on the air conditioner and sat down on the bed, put his book next to his pillow and was going through his phone.

    I went and sat down next to him.

    To my surprise, he was looking at our old pictures. I looked at him and smiled.

    "Remember this one ? " He showed me a picture.

    " Of course I do"

    We both were sharing an earphone and listening intently to a song when someone decided to click our picture. It was the perfect candid picture.

    "Do you still have that song?" He asked me

    I played the song on my phone and put my head on his shoulder. It seemed like a perfect romantic moment.

    Seemed like was the key word here.

    " We should get a divorce" he dropped the bomb.

    I was so sure that I heard him wrong that I didn't even bother reacting to it. My head was still on his shoulder.

    " We should get a divorce Yakta"

    I laughed. I knew he was joking .

    " Why? You like someone else ? Some nurse in your hospital?" I said jokingly.

    The song started playing on repeat again. He turned it off.

    " I'm serious."

    I lifted my head up and looked at him. He had a grave look on his face.

    I burst out laughing again, expecting him to burst out laughing any moment. But he didn't .

    " You don't motivate me Yakta. You're my source of distraction. I wasn't supposed to marry so early but I did it because you wanted to. I was supposed to go abroad and study but I didn't because of you. I can't discuss medical stuff with you. Your life is simple and you did not have to do much work and you still earn more than me. I want a study partner and you can't be that either. I can't spend hours in the library studying because I have to come home to you and as a husband I have to satisfy your needs and in that process I'm falling back. Im losing out on my studies. Mom was right, I should've just married a doctor. Atleast she would understand my situation. I want to do super specialisation after my M.D but after some days you'll want a kid and then another responsibility. I can't move forward with you. "

    I couldn't believe what I heard . From what was supposed to be an intimate and romantic moment, here he was enlisting reasons for our divorce. I calmed myself down and told myself that this was a temporary problem and he would be fine the next morning.

    But I was wrong. So wrong.

    Eventually we got divorced.

    For one year, I blamed myself  for being the reason behind the divorce. I believed in his reasons for the divorce until one day I got a letter from him.

     

    Hi Yakta

    I hope you're coping up well. I know you're a strong girl and everything happened so fast and you just accepted everything so easily and without a fight. I know the past five months have been hard. We fought a lot and I said really mean stuff to you. You didn't deserve all this. You were a great wife. You supported me and I'm sorry for all the things I said.

    The divorce wasn't your fault and I know I'm late but you deserve to know this. I cheated on you. I had an affair with a batchmate of mine. Being in the same field and her ability to truely understand my problems attracted me and she became my study partner and she did not believe in marriage which was even better for me. I was guilty, trust me I was. I love you Yakta ,I still do, but my profession and my desire to excel made me take this step.

    After our divorce I shifted with her only to realise that she wasn't the one for me. And that day I realised what a horrible mistake I made. I lost out on you. I gave up on us. I know I'm too late now, but yes, you deserved to know this.

    I don't want us to get back together because i know by now you're disgusted at me but all I can ask for is your forgiveness. I hope you reply back.

    Your ex- husband

    Tanvin

     

    I never replied back. It was my turn to be selfish. I had to heal the damage I had done to myself by blaming myself for one year everyday after the divorce for not being a good wife only to realise that he was cheating on me. Till date, I never understood why he asked me about that song just before he told me that he wanted a divorce and why he was going through our old pictures. But then some questions are supposed to remain unanswered.

     

    The honking of a car broke me out of my trance. I realised some other song started playing and I was still standing on damp soil.

    I came back home. I hate the rainy season and I hate the smell of damp soil.

    I sat down and worked on my report when I realised that I forget to do something. I took out my phone.

    I deleted the song from my playlist.

    Deja Vu can be a bitch at times.

     

  • This Love that Feels Right

    This Love that Feels Right

    The story revolves around two persons deeply hurt by their past and wanting to live in their past ignoring their life waiting ahead of them. Read the story and find out whether they overcame their situations or got trapped in it?

     

    We both met at a junction where we both needed each other very badly in life. We both were punctured in life, hurted from our past, when we encountered into each other, we acted normally. Slowly, we started knowing each other, we used to text each other for hours and hours, used to talk like hell, ignored our wok too but we always had a fear at the back end of our mind that we don’t want to indulge in love. Our past had punctured so much hatred in us that we were actually ignoring the thing that we had not only started liking each other, but slowly we were falling for each other. Ryan met Slyvia on a cruise which was heading to Greece. Ryan was going for some official work, while Sylvia was visiting Greece to iterate about the architecture and the cuisine of Greece. Ryan was a typical businessman and Slyvia was a travel expert. Although both were different from each other but yet they understood each other very well.

    So when they met on cruise, they talked normally, then they felt something tingling. But both were rigid, they ignored their feeling. By the time they reached Greece both knew much about each other. Although they both had their own work, but they both were smart enough to find time for being in touch with each other.

    Some more days passed by and then they both confessed about their feelings but still they both thought that it was not right to be with each other.

    Both were fighting a fight within themselves and so both were confused. They even tried to stop talking to each other, but their emotions were just flowing out of their hearts and they were unable to hold on their emotions. Every passing day was making it more and more difficult.

    Slyvia was quite mature in this case because her life was full of struggles and she knew that she will lose her heart out, what she was scared about was that will Ryan understand about his feelings? Will he lose his heart out? Will he give the same commitment like she wanted to give to him? All these questions were wandering in her mind and so she kept things to herself. She was actually waiting for Ryan to disclose his emotions, she was waiting for him to overrule his emotions. She wanted Ryan to speak on this topic.

    Finally on 17th October, which was Ryan’s birthday, it was the day when Ryan finally broke into tears near his mom and expressed everything to his mom. He explained everything in detail and then his mom suggested him that what had happened in past had gone away and he should look forward to a better and bright future. His mom asked him to go and find his love which was Slyvia. He ran and searched for her, he called her and she picked the call, and the next thing both said to each other was something which both wanted to speak out since long. Both confessed their feelings to each other, Slyvia left her insecurities aside and believed in him and he too left his bitter past aside and accepted the way she was. Both left their past behind and headed together for a better future.

    Today, at present day both are blessed with two kids and both are enjoying the lavish company of each other.

    Their love is fresh and warm; it has the same charm which it had when they met for the first time.

    Not always your past can affect your future, it is you who decides what your future will be, it is you who can change your present and your future too, make sure you take the right decisions and you don’t deprive yourself from the beautiful feeling called love.

  • God in a Coffee Shop

    God in a Coffee Shop

    Two strangers from different places who meet in a coffee shop decide to interact with each other, oblivious of what is happening in each other's lives. Yet one of them leaves a mark on the other and encourages her to continue with her own life and move forward. 

     

    'I'm sorry, I like you but I don't like you enough, I need time… I need time to think. I'll talk to you. Later.'

    These words were playing on repeat in my brain as I pushed the door open.

    'Good afternoon Ma'am ! Seats for two I presume?

    No, I just need seat for one, not two this time.

    'Yes. Thank you very much'

    I put down my bag and looked around.

    Love. Everywhere.

    The only odd one out in the cafe was me. Alone. The other people in the café probably didn't care I was alone. But in my mind they did, so I tried to act like I was waiting for someone.

    But how long could I fool random strangers. When the waiter came with the order I just looked at him and said, ' One Hazelnut Frappe'

    'That's it Ma'am?'

    Oh how I wish it wasn't.

    'Yes, thank you'

    I took a book outta my bag and tried to read it but stupid association centre of my brain just would not comprehend the beautiful piece of literature. Damn.

    "Hey, I need help'"he said

    "What?"

    "There's this girl, I really like, and I don't know how to approach her"

    "Oh-my-god! Who is she?"

    I never realised I could hide my feelings so well till that day. I did not realise how emotionally strong I was till that day. I didn't realise that I could genuinely love a person so much, that I'd do anything to make them happy even though it meant my heart being pulverised into pieces.

    "Ma'am, your Hazelnut Frappe'

    Sometimes you don't know where memories take you, you're probably staring at something but all you see is the movie of your past. As I broke outta my memory trance, I realised I wasn't the only one who was sitting alone. A foreigner, was sitting in the table next to me and he unlike me, was enjoying sitting alone. As his eyes caught mine, he smiled at me.

    " Hello!"

    Friendly. That was my first impression of him.

    "Hey!"

    " Pretty hot here, huh? How do you Indians manage?" , he said as he was wiping off the sweat of his face and looking for the nearest air conditioner.

    The summer heat I can manage, but the heat generated by the turmoil in my heart is something I'm sweating about.

    "It's okay, we're used to it I guess, and if we do feel very hot we come to a cafe like this and order something cold" I pointed to his hot coffee

    He chuckled

    " I'm Steve"

    Steve.

    "I'm Farhan"

    "Hi Farhan! I'm Chandrayee"

    It was fun to see the perplexed look on his face after he heard my name. Outta all the confused post-hearing-my- name faces I'd seen so far that was the cutest and the funniest.

    "I'm Chandrayee"

    No look at all.

    He'd probably heard so many Indian weird names that he didn't even really care anymore.

    "So you're here alone?" He asked

    I looked down at my Frappe and pretend like it wasn't a big deal.

    "Yeah, going home. Thought I'd just grab something cold. You?"

    "I was supposed to meet a friend, now that he isn't here, here I am sipping hot brewed coffee"

    "Where are you from?" I took a sip from my frappe. Damn. It didn't taste like it should've. Too much sugar.

    "Ohio"

    "That's pretty neat"

    "Yeah"

    Silence. So that was it. We as two complete strangers had nothing to talk about and neither was I interested in saying anything. The frappe disaster spoiled my already troubled mood.

    I got up and as I did, he looked up and said, "you're leaving?"

    "Yeah. I have to catch the metro"

    "I wanted to say something to you. Don't mind please"

    I froze.

    "Chandrayee, I have to say something to you. Don't mind. Please"

    I tried to put on my 'I'm okay' look but I knew what was coming.

    "The thing is, I'm scared. I'm scared that you like me alot and I can't really like you back the way you do. I like you, but not enough. I'm sorry."

     

    "Depends on what you say, but yeah I'll try not mind" I put down my bag in the seat in front of him

    "I've been practicing this thing, I learnt it from my friend, talking to God and trying to hear what he says and as I sat with you, I got this feeling. He was trying to say something and I thought I'd share it with you. You don't mind right?

    Had this been some random Indian I would've scoffed on his face and asked him to mind his business. But coming from an American, I could really try to believe this isn't hocus pocus.

    "Go on"

    "God says he loves you.."

    I thought God loved everybody, why would especially say that to me. I'm just a heartbroken girl.

    "… And he knows you're really confused right now. You do deserve an answer. But he wants you to give it sometime. Give it a little bit of time and everything will be clear."

    I had a lump in my throat and I could feel my eyes getting wet. I picked up my bag and smiled at him.

    "Thank you. I appreciate you sharing it with me"

    He smiled back.

    And as I was about to leave, he looked at me with a queer face and said

    "You have a really weird name"

    I laughed and waved at him

    Someone's perplexed face made it to the top of the list.

     

  • Till We Meet Again

    Till We Meet Again

    Akash and Muskan are meant for each other. When they miss a chance to meet each other the first time around, destiny keeps throwing them together again and again. 

     

    The room was comfortably dipped in darkness when a figure slunk in through the door and came to stand by the bed. The person watched the sleeping body on the bed for a few seconds before snorting softly and pulling open the curtains. Sunlight poured in, bathing every inch of the room in warm yellow, and still the man on the bed slept on. The man’s friend, who had crept in earlier, grabbed his shoulder and shook roughly.

     

    “Akash, get up, you kumbhkaran!”

     

    The sleeping man, or Akash, squirmed around and covered his face with the blanket. “Go away, Harry,” his muffled grunt was heard from beneath the sheets.

     

    “It’s half past ten, you idiot!”

     

    It had the desired effect. Akash sat up with a snap, blinking rapidly and looking slightly disoriented. “Wha– half past… shit, I’m late!”

     

    His friend, Harry, laughed as Akash sprung into action, jumping down from the bed, pulling out a t-shirt and jeans from his closet and practically flying into the bathroom to take a shower. Akash would never change. His profession did not suit him, late as he always was for work.

     

    ***

     

    The studio was small by normal standards and was situated in a side street where parking a car was a big issue. The constant flickering of lights as the light-men set up the area and the heat from the bright lights irritated Muskan and gave her a headache.

     

    “This is too much, yaar,” she said in exasperation. “Where’s the bloody photographer?”

     

    Muskan was a fashion designer. She was straight-laced, professional at work and had no patience for unpunctuality. Her friend, Nancy, who was the model for this particular shoot, was comparatively more chilled about everything.

     

    “With our luck, he’s probably dead in a ditch somewhere,” she joked.

     

    Muskan looked at her in shock. “That’s not funny, Nancy. He’s a photographer. He should understand the meaning of time management. If you’re not punctual, then –”

     

    “Yeah, yeah,” said Nancy, cutting her off. “If you’re not punctual, then you don’t understand time management, you’re not serious in life blah blah blah. You and your philosophies, Muskan.”

     

    Muskan huffed and checked her watch. She had really wanted to meet this photographer because they were working together for the first time and she always made it a point to personally acquaint herself with people she worked with. But if she waited another five minutes, she would be late for her meeting and she couldn’t allow that.

     

    “I’m off,” she announced, causing Nancy to look at her in surprise.

     

    “But you haven’t met the guy yet,” protested the model. “Don’t you want to tell him what kind of photographs you want, what kind of angles and lighting…?”

     

    Muskan grabbed her bag. “He knows. We’ve spoken on the phone, Nance. I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

     

    She was out of the door before Nancy could protest anymore. The other woman just did not want to be left alone with the studio crew as they waited for the photographer. Muskan smiled and tried not to feel sorry for her friend as she hurried down the stairs of the rundown building that housed the studio. She almost crashed into a man who seemed to be in a similar hurry to go up and each mumbled a quick sorry to the other before going their own way.

     

    The man was none other than the photographer – Akash. He burst into the studio, panting, and shouted, “Sorry, everyone. I’m here. Let’s get to work.”

     

    ***

     

    The movie theatre was crowded with people. It seemed everyone wanted to see the new Khan movie that had recently come out. Akash lounged on the sofa with his friends, exchanging jokes and jabs as they waited for the movie to begin. Harry sat beside him, his eyes on his mobile phone but his ears paying full attention to their rowdy group of friends. Through the crowd, a familiar face caught Akash’s eye. He shifted around in his seat to get a better view of that face.

     

    “Oooh, never pegged you as one to check girls out,” Harry teased. He was looking up from his phone and his eyes followed Akash’s to the woman at the popcorn counter.

     

    Akash rolled his eyes but kept his gaze on the woman. She was holding a can of coke, a tub of popcorn and was laughing with her friends.

     

    “Think I’ve seen her before somewhere.”

     

    Harry snorted. “If you’re gonna use a line like that, use it on her. Spare me the horror.”

     

    Akash turned his head to look at his friend briefly before finding the woman with his eyes. She was moving away towards another auditorium and Akash felt mild disappointment at knowing they wouldn’t be in the same auditorium.

     

    “It’s not a line,” he said to Harry absently. “I have seen her before.”

     

    “If you say you saw her in your dreams, I’ll kill myself.”

     

    Akash ignored him and continued as if Harry hadn’t spoken at all. “I just don’t remember where.”

     

    A large body blocked his view and he found himself standing up to keep the woman in his view. She was pretty but she wasn’t exceptionally beautiful to warrant such attention from any man. So, Akash didn’t understand the pull he felt towards her.

     

    As if sensing that she was being watched, the woman looked up with a small frown, her eyes quickly sweeping the lounge area. And through the crowd and the distance between them, their eyes met and locked with each other. At first, she was surprised and then she became speculative as she watched Akash, as if she was trying to remember something. Eventually, she shrugged and gave him a tentative smile.

     

    Thoroughly confused but not wanting to seem rude, Akash smiled back at her. Who was that woman?

     

    The auditorium doors opened and her friends pulled her in. Harry waved a hand in front of Akash’s face, breaking him out of his stupor.

     

    “Let’s go, Romeo, movie first, obsessive girl-ogling later.”

     

    Akash scoffed and punched his friend on the shoulder as the group of friends made their way into the auditorium, playfully elbowing people as they pushed ahead.

     

    ***

     

    Muskan sat in her favourite spot in the garden, a cosy little bench directly facing the lake. The cool morning breeze blowing through her hair and the sight of the ducks in the lake calmed and inspired her. Her sketchbook was open in her lap and she lazily sketched one design after another, imagining the dresses come alive before her eyes as she drew them. She frequently took breaks, letting herself close her eyes and breathe in, letting her eyes roam over the lovely green landscape and letting herself enjoy as she worked.

     

    Across the lake was a man photographing the family of ducks floating on the surface of the water. Muskan absently watched him turn this way and that as he tried various angles to shoot from. It was when he lowered his camera from his face that Muskan did a double take. She knew that man. He was standing a bit far but she was pretty sure that it was the same guy from the movie threatre last week. She felt a strange pull in her gut as she watched him. He was speaking to a beggar boy now. He turned away slightly and knelt down, bringing his camera in front of his face and Muskan guessed that he had convinced the little boy to pose for him.

     

    Her sketchbook lay forgotten as she stared at the duo, her eyes soaking up the wonderful scene before her. The boy looked really happy as he turned this way and that, silently obeying the hand gestures and commands the man threw at him. At one point, he laughed out loud at something the man said and the sound somehow carried over to Muskan. She found herself smiling as well.

     

    When the so-called photography session was over, the man gave the beggar boy some money and rumpled his hair. Then he turned his camera to the lake again. He moved the camera around, taking in the entire landscape through his lens and Muskan quickly looked away. When she peeked at him again, his camera was lowered and she felt a jolt at seeing him looking straight at her. It seemed like he had recognized her as well.

     

    She saw him look around and realized that maybe he was looking for a way to get to her side of the lake but Muskan knew this garden like the back of her hand.

    He would have to walk quite a bit before he reached the part from where he could circle back to her side. He looked at her again and she shrugged. Maybe they were being too forward with each other. Maybe they shouldn’t even look at each other like that. They barely knew each other. Muskan had seen him once. Technically, twice or more, if she listened to her gut instinct telling her that she had seen him before the threatre. But that still didn’t mean she could allow him to approach her. He could be a creep.

     

    Maybe he was thinking the same thing. Maybe not. But Muskan saw him shoot her an embarrassed smile. He rubbed the back of his neck in uncertainty and relaxed only when she gave him a small smile. He nodded and turned away. She watched his retreating back for a while before returning to her sketchbook. After a while, when she looked up again, he was gone.

     

    ***

     

    Muskan and Nancy were looking at clothes in a shopping mall. Nancy kept up a constant chatter while Muskan silently perused dresses.

     

    “… and I told her modeling jobs are not easy to come by. I work hard for a living, you know.” Nancy held up a dress for Muskan to see. “What about this?”

     

    Muskan shook her head. “The design’s too loud. I want something subtle, something elegant.”

     

    Nancy coughed and mumbled “thief” under her breath. Muskan narrowed her eyes at her friend and flicked her on the arm. “Hey,” she cried defensively. “I’m just looking for ideas and trying to get inspired. My designs are not stolen!”

     

    Nancy smirked. “Got you.”

     

    Muskan huffed and flipped her the bird. Nancy laughed and wandered off to another shelf where a dress caught her eye. “I’m trying this one out,” she told Muskan before disappearing into the trial rooms.

     

     

    Meanwhile, Akash and Harry were in the trial rooms as well. Akash was standing outside a stall on the other side of which stood Harry, checking himself out in the mirror.

     

    Akash grumbled, “Dude, you took eleven t-shirts in there. Eleven! Are you buying for the whole family or what?”

     

    A shirt flew over the top of the stall door and landed on Akash’s head. He threw it on the floor and glared at it as if it was the very spawn of evil. Harry’s voice echoed throughout the trial room as he replied, “Have patience, little grasshopper. The fruit of patience is sweet.”

     

    Akash slapped a hand to his forehead. “If you don’t come out in five minutes,” he warned. “I’ll leave without you.”

     

    “What’s the rush here?”

     

    “Man,” sighed Akash glumly. “I promised Mrs. D’Souza I would click photos of her dog, Chocho.”

     

    Harry laughed, his loud, clear voice echoing again. “Since when do you photograph domestic animals, Akash?”

     

    “Mrs. D’Souza is my neighbour, yaar. I couldn’t refuse when she asked.” Akash banged his fist on the stall door.  “Remember you have five minutes, loser. And stop laughing.”

     

    He left, Harry’s guffaws following him outside the trial room.

     

    Akash wandered the ladies outfits section aimlessly as he waited for his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a great looking pair of legs and he stopped in his tracks. Holding his hands up before him in the imitation of a camera, he slowly moved them up the woman’s body to rest on her face.

     

    A soft curse escaped his lips at the sight of his mystery woman. She was standing in front of a mirror, holding a dress to her body as if checking how it would look on her. She noticed him in the mirror, standing behind a shelf and staring at her. She looked torn between being surprised at seeing him or being happy. It eased Akash up a little – at least she wasn’t frowning or calling the cops, claiming Akash was stalking her.

     

    Not knowing what to say or do and slightly embarrassed at being caught staring at her, Akash ultimately pointed to the dress she was holding up and made a face. The woman was initially confused but caught on soon and Akash watched as she put the dress back in its place and held up another for his inspection. Akash wrinkled his nose, silently conveying that this dress was no better.

     

    He decided he was enjoying the game a little too much. His heart fluttered when she picked another dress and judging by the way she tried to fit the dress around her properly, Akash could tell that she really liked it. It was a lovely dress, designed in hues of blues and greens, and it would definitely look stunning on her. When she looked up at him, he grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

     

     

    In the trial rooms, Harry, after finally trying out all eleven t-shirts and settling on the ugliest one, was coming out when he bumped into a soft someone who was leaving as well. She was all dark hair and brown eyes and red lips, and she immediately started apologizing for not seeing him coming. Harry cut her off, not at all interested in her apologies.

     

    “It’s perfectly okay,” he said. “We had to meet. ‘Twas inevitable.”

     

    She looked confused, so he elaborated roguishly, “You’re a woman, I’m a man, you look beautiful, I look like Hritikh Roshan… see? It’s fate. We’re perfect for each other.”

     

    Her brown eyes widened at his blunt attempt at flirting and she stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out into a laugh. “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath, shook her head and turned to leave.

     

    “At least tell me your name,” said Harry, taking a chance.

     

    She stopped and turned. “Nancy,” she said, her voice deliberately throaty. “Nancy Alvares.”

     

    When she left, Harry placed a hand over his heart. Damn!

     

     

    Gaining confidence from their non-verbal conversation, Akash had just taken a step forward to approach the woman and speak to her for real when someone called her.

     

    “Come on, Muskan, let’s go.”

     

    So that was her name. Muskan. She looked at him longingly for a second, then walked away reluctantly, giving him a small, half-hearted wave. Akash stared after her, disappointment heavy in his stomach. When Harry came and waved a hand in front of his face, Akash blinked and glared at him.

     

    “Oh, so you’re done now?”

     

    Harry grinned, Akash’s sarcasm not lost on him. “Come, Chocho must be waiting for you,” he teased.

     

    Akash growled under his breath as Harry dragged him to the cash counter to pay for his t-shirt.

     

    ***

     

    A few days later, both men were at Akash’s house. Akash was sitting with his camera in hand, looking at photos he had recently snapped and Harry was smiling away dopily at his laptop. Curious to see what he was smiling at, Akash leaned over to see the picture of a familiar face on Harry’s screen. Harry was chatting with her on Facebook.

     

    “Nancy Alvares?” said Akash.

     

    Harry looked up in surprise. “You know her?”

     

    “She’s a model. I did her photo shoot a couple of months ago. Where did you meet her?”

     

    “The mall. I went on a date with her,” replied Harry proudly.

     

    Meanwhile, at the same time in Nancy’s house, Nancy was showing Muskan Harry’s Facebook timeline.

     

    “Isn’t he cute?”

     

    Muskan nodded wistfully. “This is nice. You meet once, you go on a date.”

     

    At this end, Akash was telling to Harry, “And in my case, you keep meeting each other and still don’t get a chance to say a single word to one another.”

     

    “What do you mean?” asked Harry.

     

    “There’s a woman…”

     

    “I keep bumping into him time and again,” Muskan was telling Nancy.

     

    “And I just know her first name. Muskan,” said Akash.

     

    “And I don’t even know his name,” said Muskan. She noticed a photo in Harry’s friends list and started. “Hey! That’s him. Oh my gosh, that’s him!”

     

    Nancy shot her a strange look. “Muskan, this is Akash. Our photographer.”

     

    Muskan was shocked. That’s the guy who was late that day, the one she never met because she was in a hurry. They had spoken on the phone a couple of times after that day but they mostly coordinated by email.

    She suddenly remembered one more thing. He was the one she had almost crashed into when going down the stairs. That’s why she had the feeling that she had seen him before. Maybe that’s why he recognized her in the movie theatre as well.

     

    “Akash Sinha,” she said in an awed whisper.

     

    “So this is your dream guy,” teased Nancy.

     

    Muskan blushed. “Yeah, well, he’s not punctual though.”

     

    “You’re crazy.”

     

    ***

     

    It’s like, now that she knew who Akash was and was hoping to run into him again, she saw him everywhere. She saw him in anyone who was strutting around with a camera in hand. Once while she was walking out of an ATM, she saw a guy standing with his back to her, clicking photographs of the traffic and, heart beating wildly, Muskan ran to tap him on the shoulder. He turned out to be someone else and she walked away feeling incredibly stupid. She had his phone number, sure, but she didn’t want to call him and seem too eager. That was not her style, but it took a big effort on her part not to just dial his number like a normal person.

     

    Akash wasn’t faring any better. Since he didn’t know Muskan’s last name, he couldn’t search for her on Facebook or any other social media website because there were a lot of women with the same name running around, Muskan being a common name. Whenever he would hear the name Muskan, he would spin around to check if it was his mystery woman but it never was. He was beginning to feel like an idiot, turning at every mention of a female name.

     

    Harry, meanwhile, was going on dates with Nancy and their relationship seemed to have progressed to them calling each other girlfriend and boyfriend. Akash tried not to be jealous but he was and he couldn’t help it.

     

    Then one day, Harry dragged him to a bookstore on the pretense of wanting to get a book for Nancy’s birthday when in reality, it was all a set up for him to see Muskan again. Nancy had obviously told Harry about her friend Muskan who had a crush on Akash and Harry immediately remembered Akash having the hots for a woman named Muskan, and so both Harry and Nancy hatched a plan to make their friends run into each other again.

     

    Nancy directed Muskan down the aisles and Harry pushed Akash until all four were in standing in the same aisle in the bookstore. Both matchmakers conveniently disappeared once Akash caught sight of Muskan loitering some distance away, looking rather bored as she perused the bookshelves. He was pleasantly surprised to see her there and, wondering if she was real or not, he kept staring at her until she felt his gaze on her and looked up. Her eyes widened and her lips curved into a surprised ‘O’.

     

    There was no way in hell that Akash was letting her go this time. He took a step towards her when a particular book caught his eye. He pulled it out with a grin and held it up for Muskan to see. The book was titled, ‘Have We Met Before?’

     

    Muskan read it and laughed. She held up a finger to indicate that she wanted to play along. Her eyes roved over the books on the shelf until she found what she was looking for and pulled out a book to show Akash. This book was titled, ‘Destiny Plays A Game.’ His grin widened. It was true, and rather obvious that since they kept running into each other, destiny had a big hand in it and perhaps they were meant to be together.

     

    Harry and Nancy watched them from the adjacent aisle, peering through the gap in the bookshelves as their friends engaged in a silly non-verbal conversation. Nancy was giddy and holding back a squeal and Harry was smiling from ear to ear. Finally, his friend would stop pining and be happy. He told the same to Nancy, who giggled and punched his arm.

     

    “Don’t be mean,” she whispered. “Look.”

     

    And they looked as Akash held up another book. It was a beverage recipe book and its cover featured a big cup of coffee. He pointed at the cup of coffee, then at Muskan and at himself. Muskan understood what he was trying to say and she spoke to him for the first time –

     

    “Yes.”

     

    She walked towards him and Akash met her halfway, both of them smiling foolishly and neither caring about it at all. They were together and that’s all that mattered. Later, they would shower Harry and Nancy with gifts of gratitude but for now, they had a coffee date to go on.

  • Beginning of the End

    Beginning of the End

    The girl takes loses herself in the past when her future gets shattered.

     

    Day 2:

    Yes, I was standing in the same spot in the footpath like I was yesterday. I had decided to give one of my pass classes a miss so that I could be here the exact time I was yesterday. The best part of today – it wasn’t raining and the streets were absolutely dry. It wasn’t even too sunny for me to have to carry an umbrella, everything was just perfect. I was only worried about whether I had missed the boy or whether he was going to come today at all.

    It felt kind of stupid, waiting for someone I don’t even know. I didn’t even ask him his name. He could have been some guy who just happened to be passing this street yesterday at the same time as me. There was no guarantee that he would do the same today, or ever.

    After fighting with myself for a few minutes, I realized the absurdity of this whole scenario. I was just turning away to leave when I saw him walking up to the bus stand on the other side of the road. He was talking animatedly with a friend of his. He was wearing a Captain America t-shirt; his now dry hair made his face look more cheerful; his eyes and smile were as bright as they were yesterday. His bag-pack assured me that he was returning from his college.

    I knew that all I had to do was just cross the road. It was no big deal. My heart pounded in my throat as I crossed one lane and reached the divider. Then it suddenly hit me – I had no idea what I will say to him. I took one long look at him and his friend, and my mind went completely blank.

    When a bus came and stopped in front of their bus stand, I sighed, and quickly walked back to where I came from. I could not understand what I was thinking, going up to this random guy. I didn’t even know him. I need to go back to college.

    ‘Hey, it’s nice to see you again!’

    I turned around to see that guy walking up to me. I was expecting he would get up on the bus with his friend and go home, not cross the street and just come up to me. Unfortunately, I was still speechless. I tried to make sense of what he just said, but I had no idea what he found so ‘nice’ in seeing me again. He didn’t even know me.

    He studied my face for a moment and explained himself, ‘We met yesterday, I asked you if you needed any help with your –‘

    ‘Yes, of course I remember,’ I found my voice at last. Looking up at him again, there was only one thing I was dying to know now.

    He took one big step forward and offered me his hand, ‘Hi, my name is –‘

    ‘I’m sorry, but can you tell me something?’

    He blinked a few times and took back his hand, looking a little confused. ‘Sure.’

    ‘I know this is really abrupt, but why were you so happy when I saw you yesterday?’

    His smile changed – it seemed as if he was expecting me to ask him this. He let out a loud sigh and cocked his head to one side.

    ‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’

    Day 368:

    I didn’t need to blink so much anymore because I knew this nightmare wasn’t going anywhere. The tears rolled down silently and all I could do was just keep looking at the hearse carrying him away. Neither of our parents let me go with him. I couldn’t think about anything but the physical pain in my chest. It seemed as if there was something inside that was being pulled to its fullest extent, on the verge of being torn apart. The hearse was pulling it away, but it only stretched further and further. A strange sensation of burning started in my head when it dawned on me all over again – he was really gone and he was never coming back.

    My knees hit the ground with a loud thud. I closed my eyes and surrendered to this nightmare. The thing in my chest tore apart.

    Inside my eyelids, I could still see him, smiling down at me.

    Day 397:

    The brawl starting right beside me made want to hurl my glass of drink at the two men. Would it kill them to act their own age sometimes? If they can’t hold their alcohol, why do they drink in public places? The man right beside me was becoming a little too agitated a little too fast. I know I should probably move to some other seat, but I shouldn’t have to!

    My phone rang. After frowning at it for a few seconds, I reluctantly answered it.

    ‘What do you think you are doing, disappearing from college like that? Your mom and I are worried sick! You have to come home, right now! You better not be in some run down pub, drinking like a middle-aged –‘

    I clicked the phone shut and dismantled it. As soon as I put down all the parts on the table, I got knocked off from my barstool. The man who was sitting next to me was on the ground too.

    I saw a familiar pair of shoes come and stand in front of me. ‘You need any help with that?’

    My heart skipped a beat when I recognized that voice. Keeping my head down, I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could and ran towards the exit. I was too scared to look back.

    My hands were trembling as I pushed open the door and stepped outside in the rain. I just stood there in the cold rain, panting, and trying to grasp what just happened. But the rain kept distracting me.

    Every drop seemed to burn me with all the memories I had tried too hard to brush aside. I half-heartedly glanced back inside the pub. I don’t know what I was expecting to see. My hands balled into fists in frustration because I couldn’t understand why all this was suddenly coming back to me now.

    As I was about to cross the road, I noticed a girl with an umbrella standing on the other side. After a while, I realized that it wasn’t just any girl – she looked exactly like me. Only that she looked happy and hopeful and didn’t seem at all bothered about the rain. I could not believe what I seeing.

    And then I saw him, dressed in the black t-shirt and blue jeans, walking up to the girl with the umbrella. His smile, his bright eyes, the skip in his step, was all the same. Anyone would think that it would be impossible to overhear a conversation taking place that far, in this pouring rain, but I could hear them loud and clear.

    ‘Why were you so happy when I saw you yesterday?’ the girl asked him.

    He gave her the same smile and tilted his head the same way before saying, ‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’

    I gasped and clasped my mouth with both my hands.

    ‘Try me,’ said the girl, exactly the same way I had done more than a year ago.

    A big bus blocked them from my view for a few moments, but after it was gone, I saw him looking right at me and saying, ‘All the while I was coming home from my friend’s place, and I was thinking that this day couldn’t get any better. But at that moment, it just did.’

    ‘How?’ I whispered. My feet started moving towards him. I knew what he was going to say because this whole conversation had already taken place a year ago. I couldn’t keep standing on this side of the road anymore. I had to go to him. I had to talk to him. We never even got to say goodbye.

    ‘I saw you…’

    I couldn’t hear him finish his sentence as I was greeted by a bright light and deafeningly loud horns.

    I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the wet road, the rain still pouring down on my face. I couldn’t feel the rest of my body. I could make out some dark figures running towards me. However, I didn’t care about any of that. His voice was still echoing inside my head.

    ‘I’m sorry. I just couldn’t say goodbye.’

    I smiled, ‘It’s okay.’ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes shut.

    Inside my eyelids, I could still see him smiling down at me.

     

  • True Love?

    True Love?

    How many of us really know what love feels like? 

     

    ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’

    I asked my best friend, one last time before she stepped out of the cab.

    ‘I will be.’

    Payel picked up her office bag and slowly got out. After she shut the door, the cab took off. I looked back at her through the window to see her walking up to her office building. She looked fine.

    No one would really be able to tell that she spent last night drinking and crying horribly after she received a call from her boyfriend of 7 years. He’s her ex-boyfriend now.

    Payel is my childhood friend and she has been like a sister to me since high school. We have always been super close to each other, sharing way too much with each other than we probably should. I have seen her as a handful of guys paraded in and out of her life. She had always been a strong yet reckless person who loved playing with fire. She knew herself very well and was always so frank about herself, it often intimated people, and I loved that about her.

    This also attracted the attention of Ritesh, and soon they became the one popular couple in college, who made everyone jealous. I had been dating guys here and there too, but I never had that amazing chemistry and friendship that Ritesh and Payel shared. Everyone knew they were definitely going to get married and have lots of kids. There was not a single person who knew them and didn’t wish them well.

    They were the reason I believed in a true love. They were the only ones who made me feel like there is a soulmate for every single person out there. You should consider yourself very lucky if you ever come across yours in this lifetime. I believed Payel and Ritesh were the luckiest among all the people who ever found their soul mates. But I couldn’t say the same anymore.

    I have seen them together for so long that it was hard for me to accept the conversation they both had over the phone last night. You might think that this was probably some setback and they would make up soon and everything would go back to normal. But I was there with Payel, hearing her shouting and sobbing, and watching all my hopes for them fall apart. I can’t even imagine what Payel must have been going through at that point of time.

    I had never seen her break down like this before. I could almost hear her heart breaking by the way she was talking to him. It was so hard for me to see her like that. I could understand that that one phone conversation is going to completely change her life as she knows it. And I hated that.

    I had made a point to have a word with Ritesh about this. He was also a very good friend and even though Payel had reassured many times that there was no way to reverse this, I still wanted to hear it from him too. I wanted some benefit of doubt.

    I kept thinking over and over again – is this what true love looks like? Can it really break people like this? All the famous romantic poets who wrote about love and their beloved, are those really true? Does something like an immortal love really exist? I hardly believed in what I read in literature, but I had seen a beautiful love story unfold in front of my eyes. I didn’t need old poets to tell me what true love looks like. But now, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

    All these thoughts kept bouncing around in my head as the cab eventually reached the mall nearest to my house. After paying the driver, I walked in to buy some more stock of Payel’s favourite food and drink – ice cream and wine. Well, they were my favourite too.

    I looked around to find the ones Payel absolutely loved and made sure I got lots and lots of those. Red wine and black current ice cream are basically her life support and I want to make sure she has enough of them whenever she needs them.

    I decided to walk back home from there because my house was pretty close.

    On my way home, I couldn’t help but think how I’ll never see Payel and Ritesh together again. They had started to reach a point in their lives where their dreams of a future together were finally coming true. Everything was going absolutely fine, till last night. I was feeling very down thinking about everything.

    It was when I realised that I need to start walking faster when I noticed something on the side of the lane that made me stop.

    I knew there were many street dogs around in this locality but I’ve never seen so many of them gather at one place like this. I saw a middle aged lady standing in front of the gate of her building and calling the dogs. The group of dogs was getting bigger and bigger and then I saw another middle aged man walking out. He came and stood beside the lady with two big bowls of rice. The excitement of the dogs were clear from the way they all started wagging their tails.

    I walked closer to the scene and saw that the bowls had rice and some chicken in them. As the man was putting down the two bowls, the lady went back in and came out balancing four more bowls. Some of the dogs yelped in happiness and got busy eating. There were different bowls for the different dogs and they seemed to know very well which was for them.

    The couple looked like proud happy parents of all these dogs. They hugged them and patted them as they were eating. Some of the dogs came to lick their faces in between their meals. The parents looked down on the dogs as they enjoyed their meals. They even scolded the one or two naughty ones who were trying to pick from the other dog’s bowl.

    The couple sat down on the ground among the dogs and peacefully watched them eat, patting them here and there. The dogs loved their company and started to playfully run around them after their meals were over. The man had some balls in the pockets of the pants he was wearing and he gave it to the dogs to play with them.

    I realised there were two more guys standing near me looking at the same scene and smiling to themselves. I was smiling too. Seeing those playful happy dogs with this lovely couple – it was so beautiful and warm.

    After looking at them for a while, I decided that my ice cream was on the verge of melting, so I had to run home.

    The scene didn’t look like it was happening for the first time, it looked like a daily thing. I don’t usually use that lane at this time of the day, otherwise I would’ve definitely noticed them before. And I am so glad I did today. It really warmed me up after spending the night with Payel like that.

    It also got me thinking about this strange concept of love.

    All these years of seeing two people being hopelessly in love and being convinced that this is what true love looks like. And after last night, I am not sure of anything anymore. They loved each other for so long, I’ve seen it! How could something so bad exist that break up two people so sourly?

    But now I see these dogs and this couple. They’re like such a sweet family, it’s so beautiful. It was so nice to see this couple taking in and looking after all these dogs that most people neglect and don’t care about.  Not only just caring about them, but treating them like their own children, talking to them and playing with them. And the way the dogs were playing with them, if that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

    We all pretend to know a lot about love. Poets and famous literary figures have written so many things about it. But how many of us know what true love really feels like?

  • Will you be my better half?

    Will you be my better half?

    This story is about how long distance relationships can work and what is really needed is only mutual trust and patience. 

     

    The train had stopped at the Nagpur station. She had very clear memories of spending some precious minutes with him.

    It had been six long years. It was a very long time period for her to patiently wait for him. Things might have changed since then. He might have found someone else. He even might have forgotten her. Maybe he was not coming to meet her also. She was very afraid. Afraid of seeing the change that she might not be able  to gulp down her throat. She still remembered his oval shaped face with his favourite navy blue glasses and those well shaped teeth giving her always a million dollar smile. Suddenly she got reminded of someone's quote.

     

    "Don't expect anything from anyone. Just do your work with full dedication and perseverance. You will surely get what you want. "

     

    But that is not how relationships work. The weighing balance must weigh equal on both sides. The needle must keep oscillating constantly.

     

    And she was a Homo sapien, not a saint. She expected a lot from him. She was afraid of the disbalance of the weighing balance.

     

    She waited so long for this moment and was yearning to see him. All those days and nights of endless conversations and making of promises would now answer her. The longing for just holding each others hands was too much for her to feel. Too much of suffocation had made her finally let loose her senses and leave everything for going for him.

     

    He had promised to meet her at the station and spend a little time with her. She was traveling for a business trip from her office to Mumbai. She had told him to come to Nagpur to just look at his glasses and his smile. Hoping for him to be still the same. Keeping her fingers crossed. All those years had really scared the crap out of her. She hoped for the good.

     

    Her phone was suddenly ringing with an irritating beep sound. He had texted her.

     

    "I am here. Will meet within the next 5 minutes."

     

    Hannah looked out of the window of her seat with a lot of anticipation. She was feeling restless. She would see him now at any moment.

     

    The dirty Nike shoes had changed into polished black shoes. The loose shirts and jeans were replaced with a suit. That complacent smile was replaced with a stern look and a faint smile. And the blue frames had gone now. Only frameless glasses were resting on his nose. He walked like a perfect corporate office employee. He made his way through the crowd and got into my coach. B-3. She saw him moving with a royal gait.   Hannah called him.

     

    "Jose! Jose! Where are looking? Here! I am here!"

     

    She waved her hand at him. He came to her and gave her a smile. She helped him to get to the upper berth seat. They both sat beside each other. Silent for almost ten minutes. Hannah was trembling like a dead leaf that was about to fall from a tree. She was nervous to start a conversation with him. He croaked.

     

    "I have only half an hour Hannah. I had got something for you. I couldn't talk about it all this while with you. I hope you will understand."

     

    She was staring at him. He handed her an envelope and a cube shaped box. The box was wrapped with a shiny golden paper. The weighing balance was losing the balance now.

     

    "Open it after I leave."

     

    Hannah was confused. She was left in a dreadful suspense. She felt afraid more now. She couldn't hold the envelope. So many thoughts rushed through her mind. Is he going to reject me? Or is it his marriage invitation card? Am I not a part of his life now? Why is he not able to say that he doesn't want me anymore? She calmed down somehow and put it in her bag.

     

    Jose started talking about what he was doing and how he was busy with his job. Hannah looked at him talking incessantly and listened to him patiently. He unlocked his phone with a bizarre pattern and showed all sorts of photos of his office campus and the places he had visited. Then he talked about his roommates at his dormitory. And then about his elephant headed roommate who bothered him always.

     

    Out of the blue, Jose's phone started vibrating. It was his alarm for leaving. Time had flown by like a bullet train. The train had stopped at his station. It was Indore. He got down from the upper berth and smiled at Hannah.

     

    "Come with me till the gate."

     

    Hannah got down and walked him out of the coach. He got down at the platform and said something Hananh had not expected at all.

     

    "You have not changed at all. You are still the silent listener. Why don't you talk? Please don't forget to open up that envelope and the box. Okay then, I am leaving. I am getting late. Bye Hannah!"

     

    Those sparkling shoes faded away into the crowd at the platform 6. She couldn't listen to the tapping of his shoes. He had changed a lot. He had changed so much that she felt numb and deaf.

     

    The half an hour was like half a minute. Half a minute had taken away her soul from her body. When the whistle of the train was sharp enough for her to hear, she regained her senses. The train started moving. She quickly got back to her seat, opened her bag and tore open her envelope.

     

    A hard grey coloured card was inside it. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't wait. She flipped through the card and found something written in a familiar cursive handwriting.

     

    "Will you be my better half?"

     

    Hannah was ecstatic. She opened up the box to find out what he had got for her. But she found something that was totally different from her expectation. There was a neatly folded chit in it. She unfolded it.

     

    "Don't expect me to be a romantic fool. Obviously it is not a ring. :p I love you Hannah. Call me. I am waiting for your reply. Don't make me wait any longer. Six years were too long."

     

     

     

  •   A Juliet like story

      A Juliet like story

     

    Romeo and Juliet 
    Heer and Ranjha
    Laila and Majnu
    Radha and Krishna


    We all have read their stories, loved their stories and lived their stories. Most of the times we have witnessed these love stories but were these things for real? They could sense each other’s pain, no doubt how apart they were. They never got married but still their love is the most divine one but what if it’s only one sided.

    Would these stories have been still so famous if only Juliet could feel the pain and Romeo had no clue of it? If only Juliet was irrevocably in love with Romeo? What would we call that story then? A partial love story or we’ll stick with the general name “A one sided love story?”


    What if you are the Juliet? What if the one you love doesn’t love you, would you be happy? Would you still be in love forever?

    I knew a girl who was a Juliet of her own story; sorry who is The Juliet in real sense and this is her story.

    It was a cold December night; she was standing in front of the mirror staring at her own reflection. She was talking to herself. “I need to stay awake and study.” She repeated 5 times looking in her eyes. She was determined in her thoughts.

    Suddenly she started feeling nervous. Her body started sweating. She removed all her clothes, switched on the fan but nothing could stop the sweat. It felt as if her body was getting hot from inside up. She had no one around, her parents were sleeping.

    How could she even explain it to anyone especially when she was wearing nothing? Tears started rolling down her cheeks, it was 2am, and what was she supposed to do? She didn’t have a single clue of what was happening to her. She took her cell phone and decided to call one of her gems. Damn she didn’t pick up. Next on the list was her another gem but what would she tell him?

    She had no idea so she decided just to text him what exactly she was going through. With all her courage and hope she texted him “Hey sorry to bother you so late but I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m sweating in such a cold night and I’m kind of feeling very nervous”


    She waited for 5 minutes for his reply but she didn’t get any fruit for her patience. She started crying even louder just when her cell phone rang; composing herself she picked up the phone. It was him. With a low voice she spoke:


    “Hello”


    “Hey! What’s wrong sweetie? ”He enquired (worriedly)


    “I really don’t know” she replied 


    “Have you gone mad or what? I took a drug just now that keeps the body warm and sweating is its first symptom but why are you feeling this way. I took it, there is no way that you could feel the same” he said it all in one breath.


    She could sense a little worry in his voice as well. It was an unusual thing that happened.


    Listening to his voice she froze for a minute. She didn’t know how to respond. This was the first time something like this had happened with her. She was just 17 and a girl full of ambition and dreams. She was too innocent to understand this feeling.

    “Hey you here right?” he asked


    “Yeah, I guess I should sleep” she replied


    She cut the phone but kept looking at the screen. She still was confused with this unusual feeling. She kept on staring at the ceiling of her room. The stars were twinkling and shining. Her brain was continuously thinking the whole night about this incident. His every memory was flashing in her mind like a movie.


    From the first time she saw him till their last talk.


    It was first of January; she was waiting for her friend. It was her birthday. At the corner of the stairs there stood a boy wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. He was standing at a distance but all the girl’s eyes were on him. He was fair and tall and his hair was black as a ravens. You could see his bright eyes shine through his fair face.

    It felt as if she knew him from a very long time. She knew what his name was, she knew everything about him but she had never met him before. Her friend had told her a lot about him and that’s how she didn’t even take a second to recognize him. She could read his eyes, she could read his face but all those things were never noticed until this night. All of a sudden in that second all the things that ever happened to her related to him started making sense. 


    She realized she could feel his pain. Somehow she felt deprived of her own existence. She felt as if her soul was not her own anymore. His face, his eyes were coming in front of her again and again. She couldn’t get rid of his vision. She felt cheated because her heart was not hers anymore. It had gone without even asking her .She always wanted to fall in love. But this feeling was annoying. Feeling his pain gave her happiness but at the same time it used to make her realize that he doesn’t love her. He would never love her. Why would he? He was her best friend’s boyfriend.


    This isn’t right, her mind kept on saying. She had fallen for someone who would never ever fall for her. She had become the Juliet of her own story but with a Romeo who would never acknowledge her love. She was in love with the idea of love but his feeling; it was killing her from inside.

    She thought if she would stay away from him it this feeling won’t haunt her and she would be back again.

    She didn’t talk with him for days, ignored his calls, ignored his texts and even if by chance they would have a conference talk, she wouldn’t communicate with him.


    Things were getting stabilized just then her left leg started paining a lot without any reason. She just sat on her bed and started rubbing it. Her cell’s screen flashed a new number and just to check who it was she picked up the call. It was him again. Before she could recognize and cut the call he told her that he was injured because a rod had just hurt this left leg. 


    “Why can’t you take care of yourself you dumb” she replied


    “Look who’s talking? Now you talk with me you idiot. Where the hell have you been.” He asked
    “I wanted to be alone for a while that’s it, don’t change the topic how did you got hurt?” she answered
    “A rod went inside my leg, I was riding on the bike and then suddenly the bike slipped and there was a broken rod beside the construction work and it went inside my leg. And why should I take care of myself, what will you do then? ” he asked,


    “What the hell! Don’t you know how to drive and just look at you, you are laughing. “she said (angrily)


    “Why are you getting mad, I’m all good” he said


    “Hmm better be good, it’s not only your life anymore”, she pleaded


    He didn’t understand the meaning of her sentence and he would never ever understand it because he was too busy in his own pain.
    Things had become common for her now; she could tell when he was awake, when he was drunk, when he cried, when he got hurt, when he needed her. She was THE JULIET in real sense but his Romeo never recognized her.

    She knew there was no sense in running away from him. She was his best-friend. He would tell her his every secret, would flirt with her, tell her how important she is and would be with her whenever she needed him.

    All was going good apart from one simple thing, she had made him number one priority and was destroying herself each day whether it was her studies or anything else related to her career, her happiness. She would stay awake for him all night just to listen to his all day buzz. She would stay quiet when he used to talk with her.

    She used to flirt with him, tease him but when it was his turn to speak she would listen in a very calm way. He would tell her each and every thing at the end of the day and would narrate her stories at time. They would talk about almost everything and still they would get a new topic to discuss each night. She would call her Barbie and he would fight with her because of this name.

    Somehow that innocent little girl had no idea where her feeling was taking her. Days passed but her love just grew stronger and stronger. He would tell her about the girls he met, the girls he liked.

    She would give her suggestions how to behave on a date and she would cry in the night because she had no idea if she could confess her feelings.

    She knew he would leave her and the simple fear losing him would kill her more. She always wanted his happiness and she could trade all her life for him but the point of fact was he didn’t know how much she loved him.

    He had taken her for granted, no doubt he would fight with the whole world for her but he never knew how hurt she was. She was hiding her feeling from him and that was the most painful task to do. She had to be pretentious in front of him. She used to love him a lot but this love was very hurting. And that day she wrote her first love letter:
    “Dear Barbie
    I know you hate this name but I can’t help myself from calling you this. And the simplest reason of it is that you are as pure as a Barbie doll. You are someone on whom I can rely on, who would never hurt me intentionally and would be with me whenever I need you.
    I know you must be wondering why I am writing you all this because to be honest I don’t have enough guts to say it to you. I have fallen in love with you.  Not a usual one, intense and deep one but I can’t hide it anymore from you. I love you a lot Barbie and I always will till the end of this time. I can’t control it anymore;

    I can’t hide from you anymore. I can do anything for you but I am tired of this now. You never listen to me nor do you know how much you mean to me. I can’t see you getting destroyed because that destroys me as well. You deserve all the happiness in the world but you are stuck to that single girl who doesn’t care about you at all.


    I’m tired of feeling your pain Barbie, I’m sick of feeling your soul into mine. Wherever I look I see your face and it just won’t stop. Every guy I see, I see your reflection in him. It’s scary and I have no one to express this fear. I want to get you out of my heart and mind and you won’t go so I’m writing you this letter Barbie to get all the things out of my heart.

    I love you irrevocably and unconditionally and I don’t expect your love in return because I know it’s an unreal dream doll but whenever you need me, you can always count on me.

    You are my best friend, you taught me what it feels to be in love but you never told me the most important thing when you fall in love was that the other person should also love you. You should have told me how it hurts when the former person doesn’t feel the same for you.
    You didn’t tell me any of it and see I am here alone fighting with my own fears.
    Well you always knew I was in LOVE with the idea of love, the typical ROMEO-JULIET   love but I never thought I’ll fall in love with you who’ll never love me back and get stuck into this Juliet stuff all alone with my Romeo so scared from me that he would just run away as far as possible on seeing me.


    Sometimes I do doubt my love but then I don’t get any good explanation of what I suffer from  when he isn’t  around but I could sense each pain that he goes through even if he’s miles apart.


    I know it might sound a bit unreal and only magical but trust me you would never want this to happen in your lives because it is something beyond just LOVE stuff….


    I can’t help it but the thing is I actually hate to love you.
    Being in love is not that easy and if you ask me I think   that 
    “It’s always better to be loved than to love.” 


    Yeah I know it’s your favorite line but trust me you are very lucky that someone loves you this way doll….stay happy.

    Your very own
    Basanti

    She wrote it and cried a lot but then as her tears rolled her eyes she folded this paper and kept in her diary so that nobody could ever know how weak she was from inside. She was smiling seeing his pictures. She was praying for his happiness. She had decided that she would not talk to him anymore.

    She would try to move on in her life. She would make new friends who would know her worth, who would know that she was priceless. Someone who would acknowledge her, love her truly not just as a lover but as a friend, as a protector, as a princess. She wouldn’t pick his call she decided for the sake of deciding.


     It was late at night, he called her and she talked with him the whole night.
    Her letter still lies in her diary waiting for her Romeo to read it….