Yours forever

The misty morning welcomed the calming sun as Sujoy sat in the balcony sipping his coffee. Resting his arms in the handle of the chair he watched the serene weather. This had been his routine for a couple of years now- sipping coffee with the sunrise. And how could he forget his daily dose of reading every letter of the morning paper. He gulped the tea his throat and enthusiastically bent over the table to complete reading the other the remaining task. A rivulet of emotions streamed down his eyes as he noticed the date, 7th June 2013. The day that meant so much to him that words were not enough to express them and he was taken back in the memory lane to the moment when it had all happened.

He gazed at himself in the mirror for the hundredth time. Combing his hair incessantly, he asked his mother for her valuable advice. He knew that she was the only person whose opinions were true and not emotional as his dad would often give. Loved a lot by his father, Sujoy was the only child of his parents and he was pampered and spoilt by his dada, as he affectionately called his dad. His wishes would be fulfilled before even words came out from his mouth and his parents would often succumb to debates over who spoilt Sujoy more, and the answer was inevitable.

“Dad, will she like it,” he questioned his father with insecurity gushing through his veins and a chemical riot in his stomach.

“I take the pleasure of telling this to you for the tenth time buddy, YES!”

He looked at his dad with disappointment and replied, “Stop lying to your son at least.”

He banged shut the door and tried to remain poised and calm waiting impatiently in the hall.

“Ding dong,” the sound of the doorbell reached his ears and he jumped from his couch like a ninja to open the door. A feminine figure dressed in a pink floral dress struggled to adjust her hair as he stood there gazing at her beauty.

“Excuse me, can you help me through with the packets? I am already struggling to handle myself in this stupid dress,” she cribbed as handed him the packets she had got for him.

“Hello uncle. Looking charming and handsome as always, what’s the secret of looking young? Please teach your son something,” she said hugging Sujoy’s dad. Sujoy hated his dad for that very moment. He had devoted almost two hours to look perfect for Amaira and all that came was a bagful of praises for his dad. Now that wasn’t a great start.

“I am telling you to keep this girl away from my husband, sweetheart. I don’t want your dad getting flirty with a sweet sixteen year old. After all murder is a criminal offence you see,” Sujoy’s mother whispered, tickling his funny bone.

“Mom,” he yelled back in a irritated tone.

“Come lets go in Amaira, the rest of the gang will be coming in soon,” he said giving cold stares to his dad.

He made sure everything was perfect for her. Entering his room Amaira asked for a glass of water and he rushed to the kitchen with a speed of lightning. For him, her smallest wish was like a command. Amaira toured his room to avoid an awkward boredom to settle in and she glanced at the perfectly made bed, with crease free lines and the study table that was stacked with perfectly piled up books and papers. Something that had her pet name engraved caught her attention.

“My dear Chashmish,” it read with a sparkle glittering through the cover. As soon as she went ahead to unveil the secret of that pretty looking book she heard footsteps approaching the door. She banged it shut, and hastily turned towards Sujoy and acted of not knowing anything about that mysterious book.

“Here’s your order mam,” he said as he stretched out the glass of water towards her.

She took the water sipping it slowly with excitement racing thoughts in her brain.

“Hello? You there,” Sujoy asked, trying to catch Amaira’s attention.

“Umm Sujoy,” she whispered hesitantly.

“Yes Amaira.”

“What is that book with my pet name doing on your desk?”

A chill ran down Sujoy’s spine. Did Amaira read the book? Did she come to know what Sujoy felt for her all this while? Would she ever understand his feelings after reading it? As soon as Sujoy was about to reveal the secret of the book, the gang entered Sujoy’s room with much commotion.

“Oh ho look, the love birds are already here,” Aditya joked.

The whole group started teasing the both of them with cheesy Bollywood songs like “Hum tum ek kamre mein band ho” as Amaira gave everyone cold stares warning them to stop their immature behavior.

Soon their favorite game began- the game of truth dare and stare. The gang, Amaira, Sujoy, Ritika, Aditya, Preeti and Yash, would always play it whenever they would meet up. The game began with a variety of funny and personal questions with Amaira leading everyone to dig deep into people’s secrets. The bottled was spun and it pointed to Amaira, who would have to prove how fearless she was.

“Stay with Sujoy in a locked room for 30mins and yes, he gets to do what he wants to,” Priyanka said.

Laughter rang throughout the group as everyone knew Sujoy was old school.

“With pleasure,” Amaira replied with a wink.

Everyone left the room, and Priyanka whispered something in Sujoy’s ear as she left.

“That bitch asked you to rape me, eh,” she asked, wanting to break the silence.

Sujoy walked up to Amaira, a bit too nervous. He could not believe he was about to do something that could change his life forever. He was going to ask Amaira to be his, till eternity.

“Would you please not say something till I finish and will you also close your eyes and trust me,” he asked in a low voice.

Amaira walked to his desk with his support, her eyes tightly covered by Sujoy’s hands. They had been best friends for quite some time now but never had he behaved so weirdly.

“Open your eyes now,” he said, removing his hands from her eyes. That was the moment, the book Amaira had been dying to read. She quickly grabbed it and sat on the chair as Sujoy leaned on the wall to watch her reaction. She carefully gazed at each page which held a different picture of her, even such which she didn’t know off. All that the book contained was her pictures, images of her favorite things, people, and favorite destinations. As she unveiled the last page it read “Be Mine” in dark pastels of read with a ring that stuck with tape.

“What the hell is this Sujoy? Is this some kind of joke,” she asked, banged the book shut furiously.

“Amaira, I love you god damn it. Why don’t you ever take me seriously?”

She started walking out of the room in an attempt to avoid him. Sujoy held her hand firmly and pulled her back.

“I’m tired of this cat and mouse relation Amaira. How long are you planning to run away from my love? Our group can see it, the whole world can see it, why the hell can’t you?” he yelled back at her.

“Because I don’t see you that way, Sujoy!”

Her eyes moistened as she continued, “I have never seen you like that till date, and probably never will. You’re the closest friend I have and I don’t want to let that feeling go.”

Sujoy had a sudden outburst of anger, “Oh yes, how can I forget! If you need a shoulder for support, Sujoy is there; you have a crush on someone, Sujoy please help me; you need a shoulder to cry on I have to be there; but you can’t love me, amazing as it may sound.”

Amaira was scared to her wits. Never had she seen Sujoy getting so aggressive with anyone, leave alone herself. She tried to free herself from his hands but his grip became tighter.

“You’re hurting me Sujoy, let me go,” Amaira hissed, the pain now unbearable through which Sujoy was putting her.

Sujoy put her against the wall and held her in the cage of his arms. Terrified by his behavior, Amaira’s eyes welled up and her sobs became high.

“And what about the pain you put me through all this while? I love you Amaira, please understand. I really do,” he said in a loud voice.

The banging on the door increased as everyone in the group heard the commotion. Everyone grew tensed as they had never seen them fighting this bad. That was it. Amaira had had enough. She pushed Sujoy and ran towards the door, scared and terrified. Everyone from the group gathered to know what had happened, but Amaira could not talk. Her sobs grew louder and she pushed through the questions and left.

The continuous coughing from the other end of the hall brought Sujoy back to the present. At once he stood up and walked toward the figure which was trying hard to gasp for breath.

“I am here, Amaira everything will be fine”, he reassured her as his soft hands rubbed her back.

“I will never be fine Sujoy! I wonder how you have loved this ailing wife of yours all the while with the same sincerity. Don’t you hate me for being a burden on you? Thank god now the time of my departure is nearing. You will soon be freed from this caged life,” she said with pauses, trying hard not to get emotional in front of him.

“Shut up, Amaira you’re not going anywhere. Remember our vows of marriage? To remain together in sickness and in health? And you are not sick alone. Its ‘We are sick’, remember? And the doctors have told me that you are just one operation away from being perfectly healthy. God wanted to torture me a bit for stalking you with my love all these years so he made you ill. Don’t worry I will prove it to him what a good husband I am,” he said with a wink.

“Ok! I lose my lord I lose,” she said as she took him in deep embrace and they just sat there, rejoicing each other’s company.

“I love you Sujoy. I love you so much. I wished I had respected your feelings before. How dumb I was to love that coward Aditya! Why Sujoy? Why did you come back to marry me when I was dying? Why did I never realize that your love was so damn true,” she sobbed as his hands enveloped her.

“Because, my love, not all love stories sail smoothly. Had you realized my love before, I would never have had the chance to feel the intense love that you have for me now. And a little drama is necessary in all love stories, isn’t it? The typical Bollywood masala that you always liked,” he asked with a fake laugh.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

“I love you more,” Sujoy replied.

They sat there enjoying what little time destiny had bestowed on them.

Three weeks later, Amaira departed, succumbing to the cancer which stole her lights away. He was happy with the time he had spent in her company, but his heart now had a void, a hole which contained all these new memories. As the tears raced down his cheeks, he realized that no love story ever cherishes a happy ending, and maybe he did not have love written in his luck.