Unconditionally - Anjali & Rahul

Chapter one

After Aman let Anjali go, which she would be forever grateful for, Anjali turned around and saw Rahul.

Rahul. Her first love, her best friend and her favorite person. She couldn't see her life without him from now on, the more of eight years they spent apart were already cruel and endless. She also could not imagine a life without little Anjali, that sweet and fun girl full of life.
Since meeting little Anjali and meeting Rahul again, Anjali has felt complete, something that hasn't happened in years. These years were very hurtful... She found herself without her beloved father and saw her mother helpless, so they had to rebuild their lives; Anjali also had to deal with her past wounds. She learned to take care of herself and felt truly beautiful, but she was empty inside.

The only thing that brought a little light into her life was her summer vacation at Camp Sunshine, where she was able to do two of the things she loved most: teaching and spending time with children.
Obviously Anjali wondered how Rahul was doing. She imagined that he had married Tina and both started a family; it was the most absolute shock for her to find out what happened to Tina. She felt her heart literally ache, she was a very young and good person. She had a daughter. A husband. A family. Life was very, very unfair. But it was also surprising...

When Rahul saw Anjali walking towards him, he felt blessed. Lucky. Complete. She was the best person he had ever known, and he would never forgive himself for not realizing what he actually felt for her for so long.

Love.

The last 8 years have been tough. Of course, little Anjali was his happiness, she was the reason for the laugh in that house. But these were lonely and depressing years, Rahul found himself alone for the first time.
He sent many letters for Anjali, but always received them back with no response. Rahul realized the address was probably wrong, so he even traveled several times to meet Rifat Bi, and begged her for his best friend's address, a telephone number, anything so he could contact her, but that was always denied.
Rahul decided to accept that he had lost his best friend.  Yet, Rahul saw Anjali in his daughter every day. The girl liked the same things as his best friend; the haircut, the songs, the TV shows and and they even had similar personalities. While this was comforting, it was also sad. It was sad to know that his wife and mother of little Anjali, Tina, would not see their beautiful kid growing up. He deeply misses her, it was a very tragic death and it changed his life drastically. But Tina looked for them from up there, and Rahul knew this more than ever.

When Anjali finally stood inches away from Rahul, the relief in their hearts was evident. And they knew one thing: everything would be fine.

In the first hug attempt, Rahul kissed Anjali's forehead, while they cried. Happily, happy tears rolled in their faces. When they looked at each other again, they smiled and hugged; It was a desperate hug, full of hope and dreams. Rahul couldn't stop smiling, he kissed Anjali's head and felt at home. She was his home. Anjali felt the tears going down on her face without stopping, it seemed impossible, she was pulling his blazer with all her strength, as if she never wanted to let go of him again.

When they parted from the hug, reluctantly, Rahul held Anjali's face with both his hands. Her eyes sparkled.

He kissed her forehead and her nose, and said:

"Anjali, we have so much to talk about. I want to talk to you now, but you need to understand first that I want you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I am so sorry for realizing it after so many years."

Anjali touched his face with an smile and felt his tears through her fingers. God knows how long she waited for this. He then looked at her mom, "Ma'am, I'd like to talk to you and then talk to your daughter. Please?"