Beneath the Library - A Love Story!! By Tina Rathi

BENEATH THE LIBRARY – A LOVE STORY!!

By: TINA RATHI
rathiharsh@yahoo.co.in

Preface:

The maiden venture: “Beneath the library – a love story” by Mrs. Tina Harsh Rathi, is her first venture in the field of fiction writing. She is a Management Graduate from IMT, Ghaziabad, India and a homemaker by vocation.

The story encompasses various phases of emotional turmoil faced by a young boy and a girl who fall in love passionately, face lot of resistance from families and friends and society at large, get united and then later get separated due to situational factors. The book encapsulates a wide spectrum of vivid emotions portrayed in the life of these characters, and the support they get from friends, relatives and people at large. It indeed tries to present the state of mind, of two people who fall in love, and then get separated, along with the other factors affecting their respective lives.

I hope that this book succeeds in its mission to relive the emotions faced by this young couple, and makes it an absorbing read for the interested reader. Any communication/suggestions/remarks can be directly addressed to the author at following email address:

Tina Rathi Monday, November 24^th, 2008

rathiharsh@yahoo.co.in Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Disclaimer:

The book is purely a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person living or dead, is or may be purely coincidental. The writer or publishers do not claim any such responsibility either directly or indirectly to compensate them, neither are answerable to anyone.

I. Those Innocent Days!!

It was a bright sunny afternoon of the month of February, 2003, when the atmosphere was just too romantic for any youngster to stay indoors. Winters were receding gradually, and summers just didn’t want to knock the doors. The serene surroundings of lush green trees surrounding the library were an artists’ delight.

Varsh was busy in preparing for his upcoming CA examinations in a library nearby his home. It was only three months to go before the D-Day was to come. A bright student throughout his academics, Varsh, was known to be dedicated and sincere student in his friends and family. Rightly so, he had been a distinction student throughout, and never ever had his near and dear ones a doubt about his academic performance. Over and above academic intelligence and integrity, he was known in close circles to be a good human being, always ready to help others and emotionally attached to his kith and kin.

But today, however, Varsh just could not concentrate in his studies. Those big bulky books, which were normally savoured by him in the course of his appetite for knowledge, seemed to be an alien enemy to him. He just could not concentrate and settle on any particular book. One after the another, he glanced through all books and study material, like a newspaper, as if he was the editor of the next day news bulletin, and then kept them aside. Then he noticed a stray piece of paper lying just beside his pen-stand, and he started scribbling on it. This was one normal habit of his, whenever he was thinking something seriously; his pen started making doodles on any available piece of paper. Sometimes, these doodles were none less than attractive pieces of art!!

The sole reason of his dilemma was Gunjan, his classmate and most close friend. She was his good friend for five years now, and this was their last year of CA studies together. Like Varsh, she was in her early twenties, and a lively person. She always wore a million dollar smile, which was a sure shot remedy for removing any tension or problem which Varsh faced. A very close friend, she knew Varsh in and out. They had been studying together for around three years, worked in the same office as a part of their Articleship training, which was a part of practical training of their CA studies. They also shared the same tuition classes for CA coaching, and also shared similar interests like gossiping for long hours in person and on phone, going for a long drive to unknown and strange places, making friends all around and enjoying life as the way it came.

Then what was it that was making Varsh so tense today? The fact was that, like any other girl of her age, Gunjan would get married soon. Her father was just waiting for her CA examinations to get over, and soon she would tie her nuptial knot with some prince-in-waiting for his beautiful princess. Somehow, Varsh could not digest the fact that Gunjan would move away from his life, and become committed to some other guy for the rest of her life. He kept thinking over it again and again, also trying to visualize who the lucky chap could be! But he could not really accept the fact, which was going to be a reality soon. He did not know what to do, and whom to tell his problem. But why was he so much concerned? Did he have a soft corner for Gunjan, did he really wish the best for her future life….Was he in love with Gunjan?? He did not have the answer to his own questions. Some questions in life do not have an answer. They just have results/consequences. He had never faced such a dilemma in his life, and he actually did not know what to do, where to go, whom to talk to!! Only one name was hovering around in his mind – Gunjan!

II. The dilemma & the confession:

Varsh immediately decided to talk his heart out. He made a call to Gunjan, who was driving. She was on her way to library. She immediately realized that something was wrong with Varsh, the way he talked to her. She immediately sped up her car, and reached the library within minutes of the conversation. She was eager to know what was puzzling Varsh. She had made all kinds of guesses on her way to library, including family tension, exam fear or some other personal problem.

Gunjan was known in her circle to be the “(Wo)man for all occasions”. She was the perfect ‘agony aunt’ for her friends and family members. She always considered others’ problems as her own, and tried her level best to bring an amicable solution in case of any problem. Her friends had a deep sense of trust and belonging in her, and she hardly let them down. Sometimes, she would counsel them really carefully and lovingly, and at times she used to be the strict aunty type counselor whom one cannot really ignore. But her advice was well sought after and most of the times followed by one and all.

By the time she managed to reach the library, Varsh had already left the scene. He did not know where he was going, but somehow, he could not gather the courage to confide in Gunjan, and tell her what was going on his mind. Gunjan tried to reach him on his cell-phone, but Varsh did not take his call. She sent a text message to him quoting “What’s the problem, dear?”, but Varsh did not reply to that also. Maybe he was in a confused state of mind, whether or not to tell Gunjan what was going on in his mind. He did not know what her reaction could be, or may be he did not have the courage to face any negative consequences. Gunjan was known to be an emotionally sensitive girl, who would cry at the drop of a hat. She just couldn’t see anybody suffer and was the first person to stand for him/her. This was exactly what was bothering Varsh. Whether his feelings would emotionally hurt his friend, his best friend?? Whether he stood the risk of losing his best friend for so many years. What would Gunjan think? How would she react? This whirlwind of thoughts made him ignore Gunjan’s repeated calls and messages.

Finally, he decided to go for it! Come what may, he decided to communicate his feelings to Gunjan. He turned back his car towards the library; the only place which he felt was the best place to express his feelings. The library, where both of them studied together for so many years, was a storehouse of innumerable good and bad memories for both of them. It was the library, where they had spent a major part of their CA studies period. The very environment, the serene surroundings, the peaceful ambience, was just the right place for such delicate conversation to take place; if it was ever to happen!!

Varsh met Gunjan, beneath the huge & shady Banyan tree, located right in the remotest corner of library parking. Gunjan immediately realized that something is puzzling Varsh. He never looked so distraught and worn out. He always had a cheerful smile whenever he met Gunjan, no matter how stressed out or tense he might be due to studies, work or any other reason. The fact was that, more than Varsh enjoyed her company, Gunjan enjoyed his company. He was always supportive and protective for her. She always felt safe, secure and caressed in his company. She had immense confidence in his abilities, his character and his friendship towards Gunjan. At times, she would call him at dead hours of night, when she was not able to study or concentrate, but Varsh would never mind, in fact, he enjoyed counseling her or helping her out. Then what was the matter today, which Varsh was not telling Gunjan? She was feeling tense and worried, and it showed on her face. The ever so beautiful and glowing face had worn out, and displayed a terrible sense of worry.

Varsh immediately realized this fact, and handed over an envelope having a piece of paper to her. He had scribbled on the envelope not to open the envelope in his presence. Maybe, he didn’t have the courage to see her cry because of him. He requested Gunjan, to keep the envelope in safe custody and read only after he had left. Gunjan was becoming restless by now, and she really wanted to open the letter and read it. Her impatience knew no bounds, but she always respected Varsh and his feelings, so she kept her emotions at bay. Varsh immediately left the place, without talking too much with her….his eyes were almost in tears, and Gunjan could sense something was really wrong; and she needed to act upon it, and act really fast. But what was it; she did not know.

Hardly ten seconds would have passed after Varsh left, and Gunjan, as expected opened the “coveted” envelope. It was a handwritten letter, in absolutely illegible handwriting. Varsh was known to have a very bad handwriting, but just like a doctor can always read his illegible handwriting, and so does the medicine store keeper, Gunjan could always make out what he had written. She read out the entire communication in one go…..and her eyes brimmed with tears….tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of emotions and tears of attachment!! Varsh had conveyed his feelings of love towards Gunjan. He did not go beating around the bush, and had directly poured his heart out. The letter read as under:

“Dear Gunjan,

I do not know what has happened to me. I just cannot concentrate on my studies neither on my work. I have never felt so helpless in life, and I really really do not know what to do?? Exams are hardly three months away, and I really do not think I will be able to give exams. Even if I give exams, I doubt if I would even get the passing marks, leave aside the distinction marks, which everybody expects of me, including you and myself.

I do not know whether this is the right time to tell you, but the only cause of my dilemma is YOU. As you are also aware of, soon after this final examination, your dad will be gearing up to get you married. You are his darling daughter, and he will definitely seek the best groom for you. But the ground reality is that, I cannot even imagine being away from you. It is hard for me to digest the very fact that you will leave me and commit your life to some other guy, no matter how good he may be.

I did not have the courage to say it in your face, but the ground reality is that “I Love You”. In fact, I was afraid to see you in tears, and hence I was trying to avoid you since some time. But I feel, instead of just hiding the fact, and making both of us tense about the unknown fear, I instead chose to communicate with you, and as you know, written communication is my forte.

I do not know much about my future, without you. But I wish the best for you, for your future endeavors. I really wish all the best to you for exams, and if I do not get a chance to meet you after today, I also wish you for a happy life ahead, whatever you do, wherever you go, be happy and keep others happy, like you have always done in life.

I will not meet you now onwards, at least till our CA final examinations, which are important to both of us, for our future. Hope everything goes all right with you in upcoming examinations and life ahead.

Last but not the least, you have always been, you always are and you always will be a special person in my life, whom I will never forget, and I expect same kind of feelings from your side. No matter what you decide, please do not forget me.

Yours in all good and bad times,

Varsh.”

III. The month before the examinations.

Two months passed away gradually, since Varsh and Gunjan had met at the library for the last time. Neither Varsh tried to call Gunjan, neither did she. Both of them had their own apprehensions and their own sides of the story. They had so much to say to each other, but both of them resisted, as they both cared about each other. They knew the importance of upcoming examinations and the result of any emotional adventure or misadventure could have dire consequences on their results. The mind ruled the heart, which was a rarity in their relationship, it was generally the other way round, and both of them liked it that way. Varsh hardly managed to complete his syllabus at least once, which was a rarity for a student who used to complete his syllabus at least thrice before any important exam.

On the other hand, Gunjan was not able to study effectively. She had gradually stopped going to the library, where so many fond memories of their good times spent together kept on distracting her. She had stopped taking calls of common friends, and had confined herself to the four walls of her room, which was adorned by the many beautiful gifts given to her by Varsh. She had switched off her cell-phone, which came as a huge surprise to her vast number of friends, as it was a rarity. Her family members also smelled something fishy, but she covered up things in the garb of exam tensions.

On the other hand, things were not really good at the other end too. Varsh also returned the books borrowed from library, which was a surprise to fellow students - returning the books a month before exams!! He had made enough notes by himself to refer before the exams. His sole existence was confined to his room in his spacious bungalow where he lived with his parents. Theirs was a small family of three, Dad, Mom and Varsh, and one could say, not much emotional attachment was there between the three of them. He belonged to a prestigious family, which was well educated and had a good status in the professional and social circles. In fact, Varsh was an adopted child, and hence the natural feelings of love and affection between him and his parents were bound to be missing. Although they shared good attachment and love, the emotional void could not be filled by the legal deed of adoption!!

It was the month of April, when people generally preferred to stay indoors at afternoon, unless some important work was to be done. Similar was the case with Varsh, who spent most of his time indoors, totally detached with outer world. His physical presence was in his room, but same could not be said for his mental presence. His thoughts toured far and wide; reaching all possible places he had seen and heard of. He wanted to break free, from some invisible shackles, which had made him restless and uncomfortable. But then, again, the fear of exams, and paucity of time available for preparation, bound him back to his studies. There was a strange feeling of depression, which hounded him day in and day out, and he visualized his miserable performance in the exams, which otherwise would be a child’s play for him. He kept his books aside, and started scribbling his thoughts in his diary, which was a routine activity. His diary was his next best friend after Gunjan, and right now the only available alternative to express what was going on in his restless mind!

Every passing day before the exams, brought the fear of failure closer and made it dreadlier. Never ever before, had the thought of giving exams created such hype for him. His family members felt something was wrong, but they were not so emotionally attached to venture out and ask him whether anything was wrong with him. The fact was that the busy family of three, had all achievers in them, and everyone was more than occupied with his or her life, thereby leaving very less, almost no time for other family members. His father was a reputed professional with a widespread practice of consultancy, and his mother was a busy homemaker and an active social worker.

IV. Life without direction - a purposeless life.

Varsh was getting into depression slowly and gradually, without anybody’s knowledge, not even his. His close friends and office colleagues also had attempted at times, without much success to get closer to him and find out what was his cause of worry. But as the exams got closer, all of them got involved in the major mission of their lives, leaving him the way he wanted to be left-Alone!

Varsh had now started thinking about his future. He felt time and again, that his future was dark and miserable. He could not visualize a single good thing about his future. His future seemed to be bleak and dark. He had started thinking as to what direction his life is taking him to. What was to come next??? Nobody knew, neither did Varsh. But some unknown fear was hounding him and had made him feel more and more depressed with every passing day. He just could not think of anything without the love of his life. He had built castles in air, about a beautiful life ahead with Gunjan, and suddenly it seemed that a strong current of wind, had destroyed his beautiful creations.

A strange thought was troubling him since last few days. He doubted the very existence of his life, and often thought why to live? What was the purpose of such life? Slowly these thoughts became stronger and stronger, and with every passing day, crystallized into a mission of ending his life….Yes, he was in a severe depression mode and the thoughts of suicide had started coming to his mind. An avid internet user, he surfed all available websites, having description about methods and techniques of suicide, and his mind started thinking about what could be the most painless technique of doing so?

Varsh knew that his family doctor had prescribed some sleeping pills for his mom, some days back, as she had undergone a surgery, and she was not able to sleep at times, due to the severe pain. He somehow managed to steal that prescription from the doctor’s file, and then decided what the future course of action was. As the prescription mentioned only ten tablets of a minor dosage, he decided to use it more than once, to gather enough number of tablets, to put him to sleep, forever, without any pain!

The next two days were spent by him visiting all distant medical stores, which were at least two kilometers away from his office or residence. He feared that if any known person would come to know about his activity, he might be caught and his plan would fail miserably. He managed to use the prescription slip twenty times, and buy around 200 tablets, which according to him, was enough matter for his mission.

V. The last call!

It was the last weekend of the scorching month of April, when Varsh decided to call Gunjan, on a happening Saturday night. The call was totally unanticipated, as Varsh called on her landline number, reason being her mobile phone was switched off since quite some time. Gunjan, quite composed and relaxed after her nearly two months of average studies, asked about the well being of Varsh and his family. Both exchanged a normal friendly conversation, without any mention of what had happened two months back at the library. However, god gifted as she was, Gunjan could anticipate that something more serious was going on in the mind of Varsh, behind the façade of the normal pleasant conversation. She however, could not gather courage to ask what was the matter, as she herself did not want to get distracted emotionally by engaging into a related conversation. She however, told Varsh, totally out of the context, that she had tore off the two month old letter only the last night.

Varsh, like on any other normal weekend, was alone at home, as his parents were out for some event. He remembered both sets of his parents, the biological ones and the legal ones. He saw the photos of his younger siblings, which formed a part of a beautiful photo frame on his study table. He read his diary, and specifically, the pages written during the last two months, and activities done during these tumultuous months. For once, he thought why to end such a beautiful life with such nice people around him, who cared and shared!! But on second thoughts, again his mind took over his heart, and he decided to give green signal to what was going on in his mind for past fortnight or so.

He took his dinner, which was cooked by the maid, who lived in a servant quarter in the backyard of his sprawling bungalow, and relished it like the best menu of the finest restaurant he had been to. He took a bottle of water and rescinded towards his room, his abode. He had made all the arrangements, and had written a suicide note, blaming absolutely no one for his extreme step. He had expressed acknowledgements and gratitude for his family members for being a nice and lovely family and having shared the best of times with them. He also apologized to them for being so selfish and self centered, in taking such a heinous and cowardly step,

Varsh, opened the tablets from the sachets, and gulped down around forty tablets in one go. A few minutes later, he again took around fifty tablets. Within, fifteen minutes, he gobbled one hundred and twenty five tablets. He had started feeling drowsy, and he made himself comfortable on his bed, with his mobile phone and his diary by his bedside. In a few minutes from now, he would be relaxed and relieved forever, from his depression and tension, and would leave this world, which he felt, had nothing worth living for him!! He was happy, and needless to say, a smile on his sleeping face spoke more than a thousand words…

VI. The love triangle:

“Varsh, dear…dear…open your eyes…open your eyes please…!”

The bereaved voice of his mother, kept on ringing in ears of Varsh. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, only to find himself and his entire family in a well furnished hospital room. He could see the tense faces of all present in the room and sense of relief after he opened his eyes and looked around at everybody present at the scene. In a flash of a second, the entire series of events that had happened flashed before his drowsy eyes. He could not understand what had happened, and how he reached to the hospital. He could not understand how come he was alive??? He was speechless….

Before he tried to speak anything, his eyes started becoming heavier, and he again snored off to sleep. He mumbled something, which neither of those present could understand.

Meanwhile, the news of Paresh, having attempted suicide, rocked the people present inside and outside the patient ward. Nobody knew what was happening. The news of this double suicide event spread like wild fire, and within hours of the event, the entire city was discussing about it. Everybody had his version of the story, and everybody claimed to know the inside story, while none actually did. Throngs of people started visiting the hospital where Varsh was admitted, and equally buzzing was the hospital where Paresh was admitted by his friends.

Paresh was the son of a rich and famous MLA of the state where Varsh lived with his family. He was a good friend of both Varsh and Gunjan, but still nobody could understand what the connection was between the two startling attempted suicides. What was going on behind the scenes, nobody knew, but everybody wanted to know, and know it fast. Things were slowly going out of control, just like the news and rumors were spreading out of the hospitals to cafes, offices, residences, college canteens and last but not the least – the library. The very fact that both these guys had a big friend circle, the Gunjan connection, and the name and fame of the respective fathers of the three involved, made the story breaking news for one and all!!

After a few hours, Varsh again regained consciousness, and was given the timely medicines by the doctors. Everybody was relaxed by now, and the doctors declared that Varsh was out of danger. By now, it was Monday morning, which meant that around 36 hours had passed since the unfortunate Saturday night, when the thick of the events had started at residence of Varsh. Meanwhile, like everyone else, Varsh also wanted to know what had happened in the past thirty six hours. He had absolutely no clue of what was happening and what had happened during the time he was unconscious. He was absolutely clueless!!

Suddenly, the entry of Gunjan in the patient ward took everyone by surprise. Varsh looked at her, for a second, and then turned his face away. Gunjan, who had worn a distraught look, and swollen red eyes, broke again into tears. She had been crying ever since she came to know about what Varsh had done for her. She just could not digest the fact, that a person could love her so much, that he could lay down his life for her, at the drop of a hat.

Meanwhile, Gunjan tried to talk to Varsh. Varsh, wanted to know what had happened. Gunjan narrated the entire series of events that had happened in past thirty six hours. On Saturday night, Varsh had called her up, and as mentioned earlier, Gunjan had immediately realized that something major was going to happen. Restless as she was, she called up Varsh again after some fifteen minutes since they had talked last. Varsh had picked up the phone, but he was mumbling something. He was not clear, and it seemed as if he was sleepy when he was talking. He told Gunjan, in not very clear terms, that he loved her too much…and could not live without her. After saying this, he stopped talking, maybe, the phone dropped from his hands, and he could not pick it up as he had gone fast asleep by then. Gunjan immediately sensed some trouble, which some people better term as “Sixth Sense”, and she rushed to her friend Paresh, who lived nearby. She narrated what had happened to Paresh, and told him something was wrong, and that she wanted to meet Varsh.

When both of them reached at Varsh’s residence, nobody was at home. What had happened in the meanwhile, that Varsh had woken up for a while to attend nature’s call, and in the process of doing so, he fell down the staircase of the house, which created a big thud. The maid who lived in the backyard, rushed inside the home, to see a bleeding Varsh lying down on the floor, with white liquid foam coming out of his mouth and blood oozing from his eyebrow and forehead, which got hurt when he fell down the stairs. She immediately informed the neighbors who rushed inside the house, and considering it a case of accident, rushed Varsh to nearby hospital. They also called up his family members, who directly reached to the hospital.

This entire event was narrated to Gunjan and Paresh, by nearby neighbors. Gunjan immediately rushed to Varsh’s room, where she found the suicide note and the tablets. Immediately she realized what had happened, and told the entire incident to Paresh. Paresh dropped Gunjan at the hospital where Varsh was admitted and went back to his home. Now this guy Paresh, was also deeply in love with Gunjan, but had never admitted to her. Now he was under immense pressure. He thought that when Varsh would get well, Gunjan would realize how much he loved her, and being emotional as she was, would instantly agree to Varsh’s proposal made to her before two months. Paresh could not understand what to do. He was in a state of fix. He could not tell anything to Gunjan, right now, considering what had happened with Varsh. He immediately decided to prove to Gunjan that he loved her no less than Varsh. He went to a nearby known medical shop and purchased some fifty sleeping pills. He called up a couple of close friends and told them that he had taken sleeping pills. His friends immediately rushed to the place where Paresh was living, and admitted him to a nearby clinic. They also informed Gunjan about the event.

Slowly, the entire event was leaked out to people, albeit in bits and pieces. Everyone conjured up their own story. Everyone was acting as if he or she knew exactly the entire backdrop of the story. Everybody who knew either Varsh or Paresh or both, started conjuring up stories of how crazy they were for one girl – Gunjan, although they did not have the remotest idea of things before this series of events took place which rocked the city. Like typical people of a small town, they started cooking up their own stories, and started predicting what would happen next. Some even went to the extent of predicting that both the boys would die, and the girl would ultimately end up marrying some third person! Some sympathetic people were of the opinion that the girl would marry one of the two – if they survived – but who – was again a question that was a mystery. Some even went to the extent that both the boys will die, and the girl would commit suicide too!! As they say in Hindi, “Jitney Mooh, Utni Batein (The more the number of people, the more the number of stories cooked up!)”

VII. The devil and the deep sea.

In the meanwhile, like other people at large, Gunjan’s parents also came to know about the entire incident. They immediately rushed to both the hospitals and met parents of both boys, who had come to know about the incident by now, and tried to convince them that Gunjan was not at fault – she absolutely did not know anything till it happened. Varsh’s parents were aware of the situation, but Paresh’s parents created a huge uproar, right at the hospital. They threatened Gunjan’s parents to take them to the police and court, if some mishap occurred with their beloved son.

Meanwhile, Gunjan had decided that she would stay with Varsh till he gets well. She totally ignored what was happening with Paresh, because the fact was, whatever Paresh did, was just for publicity and false sympathy. He along with his friends and family had started maligning her and her family for all wrong reasons. She had come to know – in these testing times – as to who was genuine and who faked the chaste relationship of love – as they say, “Adversity is the true test of a person’s character”.

Gunjan’s parents talked to her, and tried to force her to marry Paresh, once he got well. The reason being, her family was more close to the family of Paresh, and Gunjan’s father had business relations with Paresh’s father, which he did not want to damage. On the other hand, Gunjan’s mother, petrified by the incident, was tense as to who will marry her daughter, now that she had been involved with two guys, and the whole world had suddenly come to know about it. Gunjan’s siblings also tried to convince her to get married to Paresh, as they very well knew that the simple and down to earth family of Varsh would never accept the girl as a bride, who almost killed their boy.

Gunjan was caught between the devil and the deep sea. Her heart and mind were at loggerheads. She could not make a decision, as to whether to rebel against all her family members and remain faithful to Varsh, or whether to bow down against their collective emotional pressure, and forget Varsh forever. This was the most difficult moment of decision making of her life!!

VIII. Triumph of true love!

Finally, the day of reckoning arrived. Gunjan visited Varsh when he was released from the hospital. She expressed her deep love for him, and that how, she could not realize how much she also loved him, when he proposed her. But, Varsh was instructed by his angry family members, not to meet Gunjan, neither to keep any relationship with her. Varsh told Gunjan, not to disturb her till the examination.

A month later, a fit and fine Varsh, gave the examinations. Gunjan and Paresh did not give the examinations, and were confined in their respective homes by their angry family members. None of them talked to each other, both angry at each other’s attitude. In the meanwhile, Varsh, who managed somehow to get ready, appeared for his exams, and cleared them, although with barely passing marks.

On the other hand, Gunjan had firmly decided not to get married to anybody else except Varsh. She had conveyed her decision in no nonsense terms to her family members, who were unhappy with her decision, considering what had happened in the past few months. She suffered lot of torture at the hands of her angry father, who even physically assaulted her for her decision. Her family members ostracized her for some time, thinking that she would bend under their emotional pressure, but she won’t do it this time!!

On the other side, Paresh’s parents took him away with them to their native place. They tried to convince Paresh to forget Gunjan, and started looking for other girls of their community. Paresh, imposter as he was, did a lot of bad mouthing about Gunjan, before finally agreeing to marry a beautiful girl of his parents’ choice. Their family left no stone unturned, to malign the families of Gunjan and Varsh, and to malign their relationship, merely out of animosity and jealousy.

On the third front, Varsh started limping back to normal life. He took up a good job, and started a new chapter of his life. His friends and relatives, had slowly started forgiving him, for what he had done, with a belief that he would never let them down in future, by taking any such stupid step again. Varsh, also tried to live up to their expectations, and became emotionally much closer than before, to his family and near and dear ones, including close friends.

Finally, one fine day, Varsh got a message indirectly from Gunjan, that she wanted to meet him “at the library”. His eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. But on second thoughts, he thought what his family members would think about it. He told about his dilemma to his close friend, who convinced him to do what his heart says. Varsh decided he would meet Gunjan, and they met. Tearful eyes and speechless faces greeted each other, with a deep sense of love and a long wait which had ended today. For some moments, both stayed quite, and let the silence speak…and lo…silence did so much of communication!! They hugged each other for sometime, before speaking up their hearts. Both of them reassured their immense love for each other, and decided to convince their friends and families about their decision.

Finally, finally, true love had won. As they say, “Marriages are made in heaven.” Nobody could deny what destiny had in store for them. Varsh and Gunjan, never ever had imagined, where life would take them too…and what would have happened was totally unimaginable for both of them... But one thing was sure, amongst a ferocious sea of uncertainty and a torrid hurricane of opposition, their never dying love, the trust, the bonding….which made them unite, separate and unite again.

Both Varsh and Gunjan, managed to convince their respective families about their deep love, and their commitment towards each other. Except for Gunjan’s father, a stone hearted guardian of his so called principles, everybody else agreed for the relationship. Finally, he had to bow down under the pressure of other family members. As they say, “Everything is fair in love and war”. True love finally triumphed…and as destiny would have had it its way…they got united…People say that even gods from heavens would have showered their blessings on the newly engaged couple on the auspicious day of their engagement…which was one of the most talked about event in the same old weary town…which once was conjuring up all types of stories…some months back, about the crazy boy and the stone hearted girl.

IX. As destiny would have had it!

Six months had passed away, since Varsh and Gunjan got engaged, and people had almost forgotten about them. Who cares nowadays about others…..everyone has his or her own set of pleasures and pains. The young couple was happy in their own life….dreaming about their marriage and a smooth life ahead.

As destiny would have had it, Gunjan’s father, on one fine day, again tortured her, to end this relationship, before it crystallized into a nuptial knot. It was a regular feature of his, as he was miles away from being happy with the way events were proceeding. Absolutely tormented by his unending torture, she could not resist the pressure that day. She went to her room, remembered Varsh and she slit her left wrist, with a kitchen knife lying on the table, and blood oozed out of her delicate hands, like water flows out of a leaked pipe. She ended her life in the confines of the same room, which she had adorned with the innumerable gifts given by Varsh and with the beautiful dreams of a lovely future life which she was going to spend with the love of his life.

Varsh was aghast when he heard this news. He just could not believe what had happened. Everything had happened so suddenly, so fast, that nobody could get even the slightest idea of the proceedings. In her suicide note, Gunjan had blamed nobody for her sorry step, and just confessed apologies to all those whom she had caused any kind of hurt during her lifetime. She had returned all gifts of Varsh to a common friend, who returned them to Varsh, when she met him. Life suddenly took a huge U-turn, and everybody was awestruck. What will happen next, was the talk of the town. All eyes were set on Varsh, and what step he would take next, was the million dollar question, to which nobody had any concrete answers.

Varsh, who was emotionally drained by now, decided to move far away from the city. He secured admission to a reputed university abroad to pursue his Masters degree, which was a long sought dream of his father. Varsh flew away in the silence of night, when the city was sleeping, and nobody knew what happened next. In a few days, as usual, people forgot about what had happened in the lives of the young boy and girl, and as they say…”The show must go on”…got busy with their own lives….

The beautiful saga of love, hate, sacrifice, separation, reunion and re-separation never continued…..