Ek Choti Si Love Story

Rusha was one of the adorable teenagers in the neighborhood. ‘Tall and specxy’, that’s what her friends used to call her. The reason being, at the age of 16, she was 5 feet 8 inches tall, slim built, and wore a pair of pair of rimless glasses which were pink tinted. The glasses suited her well. The color of the glasses went well with her peach and cream complexion. The only thing, she hated about her was her nose. Her nose was not ugly and blunt. It was short and sharp. But, she wanted a pointed long nose, somewhat like a parrot’s beak. She loved tying her jet black, long silky hair into a tight pony tail, because, the fan’s breeze in class would distract her otherwise. Her dad was an A Class officer, working with the Indian government and her mom was a housewife. She was the only child of her parents. Unlike her friends, she was not an outdoor person. During holidays, she preferred staying at home, chatting with her mom and dad, and reading books, rather than going out and spending time with her friends. Her room was her world. Her dad got her room painted in light pink, because that was her favorite color. Her room was well ventilated with four windows, which allowed ample amount of sunshine and fresh air inside. She had two wardrobes in the room. Being a movie buff, she used collect pictures of movie stars and then, paste them on the closet doors. She loved watching movies at home. Every Friday, she used to ask her dad to get her a cd of a movie she hadn’t watched earlier. During weekdays, her day started at 6 in the morning. After waking up, the first thing she did was calling her pet pigeons and feeding them grains. After that, she used to get ready and go to school because her school started at 7:30 a.m. and got over at 2:00 p.m. She and her best friend Nikita, used to sit together in the first bench. Nikita had lots of admirers in school. Teenage love was blossoming in Nikita’s life, whereas Rusha was way far from it. Nikita was a charming girl, little shorter than Rusha. She was around 5 feet 3 inches tall, medium built, with wavy brown hair. Nikita was fair, with sharp pointed nose and beautiful eyes. She had a pretty smile, always intact on her face. That made her more attractive.

Rusha loved dreaming. Day or night, rain or shine, she always took out some time from her routine to delve deep in to her world of dreams. She always dreamt of a filmy love story. She wanted her love story to be like ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ or ‘Kuch kuch hota hai’. She had a crush in school. However, on Valentine’s Day, Nikita received a rose from that guy. Rusha was heartbroken, but then, the pressure of class 12th board exams, made her forget that experience.

After her exams got over, she enrolled herself in a music class. Rusha loved singing. She always opted for a short cut route to her music class, for which she had to cross a cricket field in the neighborhood. That field is always crowded with aspiring cricketers, busy learning cricket with their coach. Rusha was always careful while walking through that field, because you never know when a cricket ball might come flying and hit her. She liked to watch the kids playing out there. She was a not a fan of cricket, but because of watching the kids playing every day, she developed a liking for this game. Earlier, when she read the newspaper, she always skipped the sports page. But nowadays, she ensures that she reads that regularly. This morning, she came across a specific article which said that one of the guys in their neighborhood had won the man of the match award in corporate cricket championship event in Delhi. She read the news with great enthusiasm. The name of the boy was Samar Sharma. He was 26 years old, IIT graduate, working in a software firm in Delhi, originally from Assam. Apparently, he was a student of Modern High School, which was Rusha’s school. The name Samar Sharma rang a bell. Rusha could remember reading his name in the list of students who scored the highest percentage in Class 12th Board exams. She looked at his picture in the newspaper. It was a black and white hazy photograph. Although the picture was hazy, the guy seemed handsome. She kept on looking at the picture for a while. She then, took the newspaper to her room, took a pair of scissors, cut out the newspaper clip with Samar Sharma's picture and pasted in the door of her wardrobe.

That night, when Rusha went to bed, she could not stop thinking about Samar Sharma. The moment she closed her eyes, the newspaper clipping came in front of her eyes. 'I wish, the picture in the newspaper was clear', she told herself. Next morning, after breakfast, she rushed to Nikita's home. 'Heya Girl, good morning!' Nikita said beaming. 'Join us for breakfast, Rusha', Nikita's mom said. 'I just had my breakfast Aunty. Thanks.' Rusha replied with a warm smile. 'Come with me Niki, I need to tell you something very important. Can we talk in your room?' Rusha said, looking at Nikita. Nikita got confused. Before she could say something, Rusha pulled her into her room. Nikita yelled, 'Whoa Girl! Easy easy!. What's wrong? You sound so excited. All well?" . ‘All is well, Niki. It's just that, hmm', Rusha paused. 'Just that what? Tell me Rusha.' Niki said holding Rusha's hand. Rusha blushed. Then she said,'Niki, do you know Samar Sharma?'. ' Samar Sharma?, The guy from our school, who made it to IIT?', Nikita replied. ‘Yes’, Rusha said. Nikita said,' Ofcourse I know him. He stays in the last building of our society. I mean, his parents stay there. He is in Delhi. He plays good cricket as well. He is a very good friend of my cousin. They were class mates. But, what's the matter? '. Rusha could not control her excitement. She said' I saw his picture in the newspaper yesterday. The picture was not clear. Do you have a picture of his?’. ‘Of course not. Why on earth will I have his picture? , Nikita said laughing. Rusha exclaimed' But he is a friend of your cousin. He must have a picture of his. ‘Nikita could not stop laughing,' My cousin might have his picture. But why do you want his picture?'. 'Well, I guess, I like him'. said Rusha , blushing. 'What? Crush? You just saw a hazy picture of his and you think you like him?’ Nikita asked, shocked and surprised. Rusha looked at Nikita and said, 'Yes. I think, I have fallen in love with this Guy. I don't know if it is just a feeling which will fleet away. If it is, I will accept that. But, if it is not, I want to meet this boy once in my lifetime’. 'OMG! My filmy girl! Let me try and see, if I can help you', Nikita said, hugging Rusha. Rusha gave a warm smile to Nikita and said, 'I need to rush now. I have to go to my music teacher's home. She had called me for some important event coming up. '

Every moment Rusha was in her room, she kept on staring at the newspaper clipping, silent mumbling to herself, 'if only I could meet Samar once'.

Months passed. 12th board exams’ results were declared. Rusha came out with flying colors. She loved literature. She loved delving deep into Indian writers writing in English. Hence she took up English literature as her major subject in Graduation. She sought admission in one of the best colleges in the state, and the best college in her city. Nikita also opted for the same subject in the same college. Whenever Rusha read about love stories, her heart flew somewhere near Samar, the boy, whom she never met, but was head over heels in love. Nikita was one girl with immense patience. Every time, Rusha talked about Samar, Nikita listened to her patiently. ‘Does your cousin meet Samar very often?’ This is what Rusha used to ask Nikita, almost every day. And Nikita always replied with a warm smile’Yes dear’. ‘They are very good friends’. Then Rusha’s used to ask ‘Did he ever visit you?’ Nikita used to say, ’Yes, many times’. Then Rusha used to scream ‘Why don’t you invite him now?’ Then, Nikita, used to hug her tight and say, ‘I am sure, you will meet him one day’. But, days passed into weeks, and then months but the day never came.

On a fine Sunday morning, after her first semester exams were over, Rusha woke up very early. She heard the birds chirping and peeked out of her window. The dawn sky looked very pretty with shades of orange. Rusha thought, ‘how beautiful nature is’. She freshened up quickly, and got ready. She wore a black sports T-shirt, black track pants and a pair of sports shoes from reebok. She tied a neat, tight pony tail, and went for a walk. There were people already in the park, walking, jogging, and chatting. The fresh morning air smelled amazing. Breathing deeply, Rusha walked briskly in the park. She loved listening to songs while walking. With her headphones on and music playing loud Rusha walked briskly and got lost in thoughts of nature, when a hard cricket ball came from nowhere and hit her left knee. A sharp piercing pain numbed her leg for a moment. She tripped on a piece of rock and fell down. She cried in pain focusing on her knee. A bunch of boys, mostly teenagers, with one or two senior guys, came running to her. They were playing cricket, when the ball came and hit her. One of the boys from the group said ‘Extremely sorry, let us take you to the hospital’. Rusha was writhing in pain. Before she could say anything, the two older guys carried her to their car and rushed her to the hospital. She had to undergo some x-rays and the doctor over there said ‘Thankfully, everything is fine. However, she needs ample amount of rest. She can walk, but only if necessary. Otherwise, I recommend bedrest ‘. The boys listened carefully to everything the doctor said, while the nurse tied a crepe bandage on Rusha’s knee.’ Rusha was then brought in a wheel chair to the doctor’s chamber. The boys looked at Rusha. One of them went up to her and said, ‘We are sorry. It was an accident. The doctor said, you will be fine soon.’ Rusha’s eyes were red, her nose turned pink, she had tears in her eyes. She just said sobbing, ‘It’s hurting a lot. Could you please drop me home?’ The boy looked at his friend in remorse and then told Rusha, ‘Of course, we will’. They dropped Rusha Home. Her parents were shocked to see her plight. The boys narrated the entire story to her dad, while her mom took her to her room.

Rusha’s mom called up Nikita and told her about the incident. Nikita came running to see her. Nikita said ‘How careless can people be? Silly boys! Urgghhh’. Nikita lost her temper. Rusha, replied calmly, ‘That’s okay. It was an accident, and the boys were very helpful’. Nikita said, ‘Helpful? First they hurt you, and then they help you?’ ‘Nevermind’, said Rusha. My mom always says, ‘Whatever happens, always happens for a reason’. ‘Okay okay Rusha. I know you. You hate blaming others. Fine, let’s forget about this accident. By the way, who were these boys? Have you seen them around before?’. ‘No. I never saw them around here. One of the boys wore thin rimmed glasses. He was tall and fit with sharp features and wheatish complexion, and the other was also tall, but little plump and fair. He also wore glasses.’ said Rusha. ‘Hmmm,okay. Let’s go out for a walk’, Nikita said maintaining her calm. Rusha cried’ Walk? I cannot walk for a week. Doctor has advised me bed rest’. ‘ Arre, that’s fine. I will take you for a walk in your wheel chair’. Nikita smiled. Rusha gave her a tight hug and said’ Love you Niki’.

Next morning, when Rusha woke up, she felt little better. She peeped out of the window from her bed and then looked at the people walking down the street. She saw a familiar face out there. One of the boys who had dropped her home yesterday, was actually staring at one of the windows of her house. She thought, ‘he must be feeling bad for yesterday’s incident. I could see the remorse in his eyes. Maybe, that’s why he is checking if he could see me’. After sometime, the boy went away.

In the evening, Nikita came. She went to Rusha’s room and said, ‘someone wants to meet you’. Rusha was startled for a moment and asked’ Who?’ ‘Rohit, my cousin’, replied Nikita. ‘Why does your cousin want to meet me? ‘ asked Rusha. ‘Because he and his friend were responsible for your injury. ‘His friend could not come to apologize, because he already left for his hometown. But my cousin is here. He wanted to say sorry’, Nikita said laughing . Rusha was surprised. With a raised eyebrow, she said’ You mean, samar’s friend?’. Nikita laughed and said, “Yes, Rohit is Samar’s friend’. Rusha could not control her excitement, ‘She asked, ‘ Was the other guy with your cousin, Samar?’ . Nikita laughed out loudly and said ‘No, the other guy was not Samar. The guy here to meet you is Rohit, my cousin, and he knows Samar very well’. Nikita then said, ‘Can we call Rohit here in your room. It would be better if you don’t strain yourself’. Rusha said’ Why, of course! Please call him here’. Nikita went to the living room and called Rohit. Rohit smiled at Rusha and sat on the chair next to Rusha’s study table. He saw all the paper clippings of news related to Samar Sharma, stuck on Rusha’s cupboard . He looked at Rusha and said’ How are your now? Rusha replied, ‘much better. Thanks for helping me’. Rohit smiled and said, ‘Well, we were the ones, who hurt you. I and Sid. Siddhant and I were teaching the kids cricket that morning.’ ‘That’s okay. Let bygones be bygones.’ Rusha replied with a smile.’ Rohit smiled at her and again looked at the newspaper clippings on the cupboard. ‘Seems, you are a huge fan of Samar?’asked Rohit, smiling at Rusha. Rusha blushed and said, ‘Yes. And you are Samar’s friend, right?’. ‘Yeah’, said Rohit. ‘I know him very well. He is a very good friend of mine’. Rusha blushed and said ‘Could you help me? Can I meet him just once? I promise I will not bother him. I just want to meet him once’. Rohit was constantly smiling. He asked ‘You have gathered all the information about Samar. Do you even know what he is as a person?’. Rusha replied’ Well, you know, I just want to meet him once. I don’t know whether he is nice or not. But, if I meet him once, I will feel, I have achieved something in my life’. Rohit laughed loudly and said ‘You don’t even know how he looks like? What if, he is not good looking?’ Rusha seemed little upset and said’ His looks don’t matter. It’s just that I love him’. The moment she uttered these words, Rusha realized that she might have said something wrong, because, Rohit was looking at her without blinking his eyes. With his wheatish complexion and lean structure, Rohit was a good looking chap. His thin rimmed glasses, added to his looks. Just then, Rusha’s mom stepped in, with tea and cookies. Rohit enjoyed drinking the tea. ‘Ginger tea, Aunty?’ He asked with a smile. ‘Yes’. Rusha’s mom replied with a smile. ‘I am a huge tea fan. I don’t get to drink Assam tea much in Delhi.’ he said with a sigh. He was talking to Rusha’s Mom, but every now and then, he threw glances at Rusha. After having tea, he said ‘I need to leave now. Need to meet a friend. Take care Rusha’. Rusha smiled and said,’ sure, ‘Thanks’.

After couple of weeks, Rusha felt much better. She was on her toes again. She did not hear from Rohit again. Nikita told Rusha that Rohit and Sid had left for Delhi some weeks ago. Rusha just nodded without much interest. But, she did talk a lot about Samar, to which Nikita always smiled.

One a fine Friday morning, Nikita came running to Rusha’s home and shouted at the top of her voice, ‘ Rushaaaaa, guess what? Rusha came out of her room perplexed and asked ‘What happened Niki?’. ‘We are going to Kaziranga tomorrow’. ‘ Ok. But, why are you so excited about it. You have been there before’. Rusha replied nonchalantly. ‘Because this time we are going together’, Niki beamed. Rusha said, ‘Last time also we went together. Our families went together’. Niki laughed out loud and said’ This time we have a special guest with us’. Rusha got interested this time, and asked skeptically, ‘Who?’. Niki screamed, ‘Samar Sharma.’ Rusha’s heart skipped a beat, the moment she heard that. She shivered and then asked slowly, ‘Are you serious Niki?’. ‘Yesssssss, I am damn serious girl!’, cried Niki. Rusha stood there, smiling, not knowing what to do. She went to her room, sat down on her bed, stared outside, looked at the trees, went to the window, looked at the sky, and just said, ‘Love you God’.

Rusha could not wait for the next day to arrive. She just tossed and turned on her bed, thinking about Samar, and waiting for the dawn to set in. The moment, the clock struck, 4, she was wide awake. She took no time in getting ready and, by 5:00 a.m. she was all set. They were supposed to leave for Kaziranga by 7:00 a.m. But, Rusha could not wait. Her mom got her breakfast, but, amidst so many butterflies in her tummy, she could not eat a single bite. Every 5 minutes, she looked at the clock. The moment the clock struck 7, Rusha, rushed to Niki’s home. Rusha could see two boys and Niki’s dad getting two cars ready. One of the boys was Rohit and the other was Sid. ‘But where is Samar?’ Rusha asked herself. Nevertheless, she went ahead, and wished them good morning. Rohit saw Rusha, and smiled warmly. ‘How are you feeling now?, he asked warmly. ‘Much better,’ Rusha replied dully. She wanted to meet Samar. But he was nowhere in sight. Just then Niki came with her mom and a lady and a gentleman. Niki hugged Rusha tight and introduced the lady and the gentleman as Rohit’s parents. Rusha wished them and then again got back to her thoughts. Niki then announced that She, Rusha, Rohit and Sid will go in one car, and the elders of the family in the other car. All of them boarded their respective vehicles, and the journey started. Niki told Rusha that she wanted to sit in the front seat because Sid is driving, and she will have to help him with the directions. So, Rusha and Rohit will have to sit on the rear seats. Rusha was very upset . She came here for Samar and Samar was not there. And there was no way she can shout at Niki in front of the boys. Meanwhile, Rohit broke the ice. Clad in navy blue collared t-shirt and black jeans, Rohit looked dapper. His rimmed glasses are the same, which Rusha had seen last time. Rohit asked Niki, ‘Samar was supposed to join us, where is he?’ There was a twinkle in Rohit’s eyes when he asked that. Niki turned around and told Rohit, with a cute smile, ‘ He is there in the backseat pocket’. Rusha was confused. She looked at Rohit with rolling eyes and then she patted on Niki’s shoulder with irritation ‘What are you guys talking?’, Niki, turned around in her seat, got up there on her knees, bent, took out a sports magazine, and gave it to Rusha, and said. ‘There, your Samar is here. You can see his pics here’, and then she burst out laughing. Rusha could not control her tears. She never thought Niki could play such a cheap prank on her. She told herself, ‘Niki knows what Samar means to me and she did this to me’, tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes. ‘Whoa, whoa, what’s this, Rusha’, said Niki. Rohit was looking blankly at both the girls. Sid pulled the car at the side and stopped the ignition. Niki wiped, Rusha’s tears, and said, ‘Dearie, just turn the first page of the magazine and see, please’. Rusha’s eyes were wet, her nose was red, she took out her glasses, wiped her tears properly, wore her glasses, and said’ I want to go home. Why did you do this to me, Niki?’. Niki just smiled and said, ‘You don’t trust me, Rusha? Please turn the first page of the magazine and see’. Rusha reluctantly turned the first page, and, the moment she saw the article and the picture out there, she was amazed. The article read’ Samar Sharma bagged the trophy again’. And then, there was a clear picture of Samar Sharma with a trophy. Rusha looked at the pic, and then stared at Rohit. Rohit sat there, smiling. Rusha, stammered, ‘You..you are Samar?’ …. Niki and Sid laughed out loud and Rohit said calmly, ‘Yes, I am Samar. Rohit is my nick name.’ Rusha cried and laughed at the same time. ‘What’s all this Niki?’, She asked with a smile in her lips and tears in her eyes. Before Niki could say something, Rohit replied, ‘Let me explain. I heard about you from Sid, who is Niki’s cousin. I never thought that somebody could love someone without meeting. Every time, I heard about you, I just told Sid and Niki, I don’t believe it. Then, Niki insisted that I should meet you once and decide. The accident you met with was sheer coincidence. I never thought I will meet you that way. I never knew you are the same girl, Niki was talking about. But, as destiny had it, I met you. And, when I spoke with you, I realized Niki was right. I wanted to tell you then and there, that I was Samar, but then, I thought, let’s give you a surprise. And hence, we are here. I am sorry, if I have hurt you.’. Rusha could feel the sincerity of his voice, she could see his honest eyes, she listened to him without interrupting. Tears still flowing profusely from her bespectacled eyes. Rohit gently took off Rusha’sglasses, wiped her tears, and told her, ‘I love you Rusha. Do you still love me?’ Rusha hugged him tight and whispered ‘I do’. …

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 12.09.2016

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Dedicated to all the people who believe in love and destiny.