The hero of this story is one of my friends. Let me call him Mr. X. X fell in love for the first time when he was in first standard. It was the year of America’s first Iraq war. He does not remember how it started or when he first saw her. She was not in his class but he saw her during lunch break and intervals. Many times, he stood still admiring her beauty or stalking her wherever she went, not knowing what else to do. The feelings was such strong that he still holds a vague memory of her round, cute face and remembers the way her hair was bundled and the colour of her water bottle. X told his parents about this girl. However, to his embarrassment they found it amusing and discussed it in front of relatives and guests. Nobody cared to help him out of the situation. X wanted to grab her attention and be friends with her. He tried to interact, but ended up annoying her and she grew very hostile to him.
The last interaction between them happened on a fine afternoon. She was about to wash hands after lunch. X approached her asking for some drinking water. He does not remember what exactly she replied but it was unexpected and scared him. Trying to act like a Bond he snatched the water bottle from her hand and threw it away. She started screaming and he made a tactical withdrawal from the scene.
Years passed and America again attacked Iraq. This time with bigger ambitions and resources. It was March 2003 and X was a fresher in college. We all agree that college life adds more meaning to things like friendship love trust etc. X liked this new girl. Though she was not the second he ever liked. X watched lot of English movies and believed that coming days will make him forget the sorrow of yesterday. He learned how to talk and initiate an affair. Love veterans among his friends advised him not to indulge in love. But since advice is the most abundant thing in the universe we usually do not take it seriously, especially during college days.
After 4 weeks of relentless effort finally X became a boyfriend. It was the happiest day for him at least he believed so for the next 3 years. The couple went through usual stuff. They went cinema, ate together, exchanged cards and gifts, remembered birthdays and anniversaries and spent considerable time with mobile phone when they were at home and tried to make each other happy in all possible ways. When it was about to finish college she found it difficult to continue and almost suddenly pulled out from relationship. The exact reason is still unknown to me. I guess family came before boyfriend. He was broken for a week, gloomy for an other and became normal after 4 weeks.
Now X understand the advice he got earlier. I asked him once which is more disturbing, the misery of an unrequited love or vacuum after a broken affair. He did not answer. Fortunately he never cared to advice someone. Each year hundreds of movies and books release with love as the central theme and most of them got a “they lived happily ever after” ending. But the most remembered ones got a rather tragic or unhappy climax which is more probable in real world. Can’t we see it coming? may be we should learn some lesson through experience only. X still believes that coming days will make him forget the sorrow of yesterday. The story of X ends here, but not his life because a part of X is inside me. May be inside every one of us.
