This is a sequel to the last post, although it talks about an absolutely different aspect of that beautiful yet weird thing called love...all new readers should read the previous post first..
Arnav was waiting for the most unforgettable moment of his life, at the farewell party for the 2008 batch at FMS.. All his classmates were enjoying themselves, talking to each other, exchanging parting gifts, but he was standing all alone, still waiting for Sneha, and thinking about what he would say, how he would say it..He had recalled the dream at least a hundred times, the way she had said, 'Of course I love you too dumbo !'.. Somehow he felt that she had been much better than him so far, that she liked him, admired him and loved him much more than what he deserved..He wanted to tell her everything..tell her about the way he himself didnt realize how much he loved her, tell her that he could not imagine his life without her now..
He was waiting for her, but Sneha was nowhere to be seen..He kept on calling her, but she did not even pick up his phone calls..He called at her home, she had left long back.. Now he was getting nervous, restless and worried at the same time.. Someone like Sneha could never be late for a farewell party...
Finally, after two hours, she arrived at the party, wearing a black sari, exactly similar to his dream..Arnav simply could not wait to talk to her...
"Hey, you look beautiful in black.."
"Thanks Arnav.. "
"But where were you.. and you were not even picking up my calls.."
Words could not express Sneha's excitement and happiness at that moment..As always, out of excitement, she did not even listen to Arnav and started talking...
"Arnav, I need to tell you something... You know, I met Kartik today.. He had called me yesterday..I mean, it was like...."
This was like a huge shock to Arnav.. Kartik was a guy she had a crush on when she was a first year student at her engineering college and she had put an official end to their friendship because of the fact that he was a self-obsessed, inconsiderate guy who always took her for granted..How could he be back after five years..and how the hell could Sneha be happy about it..Arnav wanted to ask all these questions, but all he could say was..
"Sneha, I don't get this..You had told me that you had stopped talking to him because he was not worthy of your respect, that he never deserved being your friend...So..."
"Yes..I had been selfish then...I never tried to understand what he had gone through..Even though he had been rude, he had ignored me badly.. I could have given him another chance.. You can't imagine how much I had missed him, I tried to convince myself that I have moved on..I tried to forgive him, but somehow I could not even forgive myself.. "
"Sneha, for God's sake, why do you need to forgive yourself.. Remember you had once told me, 'You can be happy with a person you don't love but you can never be happy with a person you don't respect'.."
" You know, I had never lost my respect for him..Whatever I said was out of anger and frustration, I always expected a lot from him and never tried to understand him..I feel guilty for the same.. Five years back, I let him go...I let him go because it was required..but now I feel that I have to be there for him... Err, maybe you won't get it,Arnav.. probably because you have never gone through such a phase, you've never been in love.."
" You know, I had never lost my respect for him..Whatever I said was out of anger and frustration, I always expected a lot from him and never tried to understand him..I feel guilty for the same.. Five years back, I let him go...I let him go because it was required..but now I feel that I have to be there for him... Err, maybe you won't get it,Arnav.. probably because you have never gone through such a phase, you've never been in love.."
"You need to be practical... Think about it, what if he repeats the same,and you say I don't understand you because I have never been in love?"
" Listen, Arnav, I am sorry, I know I shouldn't have said that.. but you know, you cannot imagine what he means to me, so what if he brought some tears into my life, so what if I had to spend a phase of my life being really sad..His presence, the fact that I met him, those memories.. everything makes me happy...You know what, two people who are meant to be together,meet towards the end no matter what..We misunderstood each other, we fought, we broke up,but eventually, we realized that destiny...."
" How can you be so concerned for a guy who never cared about you, Sneha?"
" You don't love people if they love you too..True love is unconditional..Love cannot be selfish, Arnav...There is no reciprocation, no retaliation in it..."
Arnav did not get how to react, he did not know what to say.. He simply wanted to forget the whole conversation, to forget what Sneha said and to take his own words back.. He wanted to escape and get rid of it.. All of a sudden, a classmate called them for a group photograph, Arnav was least interested, but he did not have any other option.. Sneha started talking to other friends and classmates around..Arnav decided to go away, to leave that place.. It was one of the most unforgettable days of his life indeed, but not at all similar to what he had expected...
He couldn't stop thinking about it... the way Sneha had said, 'probably you won't get it because you've never been in love'..the way he wished to express himself at least once...the way he imagined what Sneha would have decided if he had told her all this last year...Things could be different then... And then,would he get to talk to her that often..He could not sleep that night...
A page from Arnav's diary, that was full of pages about Sneha,her talks,days spent with her... Arnav wrote :
" Life comes up with weird phases... Till now, it used to revolve around Sneha... From now on, Sneha's life would revolve around someone else...I really don't know how to describe how it feels..I did call her ..I wanted to apologize for what I had said, but then I decided against it.. I told Sneha that I was happy for her, that I had complete faith in her decisions and I hoped that she would be happy forever...She was about to cry...She told me she would always miss me..Once again, I could not express myself...
Am I happy or am I sad? Probably it does not matter at the moment..I don't know how I could not notice her eyes, her smile, her happiness.. as if everything was telling me how much she loved Kartik...they were destined to be together for sure...
Sneha is right...We don't love people because they love us too.. It is the only feeling that goes on without any reciprocation..Sometimes, love is not about being happy with someone, sometimes its all about watching her go away from you and being happier for her happiness...
I thought that it would be difficult to move on, but today, something made me realize that there is no such thing called moving on.. She will always be a part of my life, even if I'm not in her life... Yes, I feel her presence even when she is not around me..She will always be there for me, through her unforgettable talks, through her philosophies...How can I ever forget whatever she has done for me...
I just realized what she had said, so what if love brings a few tears into your life, it gives you a reason to smile for a lifetime..It asks you no questions, it has no reasons, but it gives you endless support...
That support, that care, those life lessons, that friendship and that beautifully weird feeling called love, it was all a part of my destiny.. Thanks to a crazy girl called Sneha, unknowingly, she had taught me what friendship means, what true love is and above all how to live life !!
Two years later...
Arnav was a successful popular author now... His first novel was a work of fiction and of course was a huge hit...
His second novel was titled 'That Beautifully Weird Thing Called Love'... The very first page said, dedicated to my best friend Sneha, who made me believe I would be a great author one day..
P.S.
1. I was really happy to see that great response for Part-1.. I don't know how you all would react, but this is what I wanted to express through fiction, love is beautiful... be in love with it !!
2. On popular demand, Life In A Metro - Part 2, regarding the women only Coach... coming soon..
3. This stupid message is exclusively for Shanks....Mujhe pata hai tu kahega, kahani poori filmi hai, par kahani filmy tab hoti jab Sneha apni shaadi k mandap se uth ke bhaag k Arnav ke book k release pe pahunch jati ;)
