Shreya Rao, a 25-year-old Kindergarten Teacher from Mumbai, India is a passionate lovatic. A kindergarten teacher by the day and a passionate singer and musician by the night, her voice and music skills are confined within the four walls of her stud...
As the days passed by, my anxiety and excitement grew by the moment. Soon enough, it was the day before my scheduled flight and I was busy packing my stuff for the journey. I neatly packed my clothes in the suitcase, keeping in mind that cold can be harsh in the United States.
It was time to put the most necessary stuff into my backpack, along with a set of emergency clothes. As I neatly folded the clothes and put them into the backpack, I found my journal inside it. I picked it up and flipped through the pages that were filled with my collage of thoughts.
As I looked at the pages, a particular entry caught my eye.
The entry read:
"Do you know what it's like to fall so deeply in love with someone? Oh, diary of mine, you are just paper; meant to hold people's emotions, and so here I am, writing, or as you can say, pouring my heart out to you.
I can't stop thinking about Olivia. We've been talking almost every day, and she's quickly become one of the most important people in my life. It's funny how someone you've never met in person can understand you so deeply, can make you feel seen and heard in ways you never thought possible.
Every time we chat, I feel this warm, comforting presence, like she's right here with me. I think... no, I know that I'm falling for her. But I'm terrified. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if admitting my feelings ruins everything we have?
I can still remember the first time we talked about our favourite music. She introduced me to some of her favourite songs, and I played a few of mine on the guitar for her over a video call. She said my voice was beautiful, and that compliment has stuck with me ever since.
I've never been good at expressing my feelings, especially when it comes to love. But with Olivia, it's different. I want to tell her everything. I want to share my dreams, my fears, my heart. But what if she doesn't feel the same way? What if I scare her off?
I don't know what to do. For now, I'll keep this to myself, locked away in these pages. Maybe one day I'll find the courage to tell her. Until then, I'll cherish every moment we share and hope that she feels even a fraction of what I feel for her."
I smiled as I read the entry, but my vision was blurred by tears. This entry was written exactly the day before Olivia decided to confess her own feelings to me.
Shutting the journal and keeping it aside, I turned towards my guitar and my Keyboard. I couldn't take either of them with me on this journey and it pained me.
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After some thinking, I covered the guitar up and sat at the keyboard. I played the notes ever so softly as I started to sing:
"I can't sleep tonight Wide awake and so confused Everything's in line But I am bruised
I need a voice to echo I need a light to take me home I kinda need a hero Is it you?"
As I sang, I closed my eyes and tried to envision Demi's smiling face like I always do while singing this song. But, instead of that, another face started to take its form in front of me and once I recognized the familiar features, tears trickled down my cheeks.
"I don't know what I'd do without you Your words are like a whisper, come through As long as you're with me here tonight I'm good
Can you be my nightingale?"
My voice cracked during singing the bridge and I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face. As I played the final notes, I let out a shaky breath and uttered the words I should have said a long time ago.
"I'm sorry, Liv."
(Olivia's P.O.V.)
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I like to travel light, no matter how long the journey or stay is. I started packing my things at 10p.m. and before 10.15p.m., I was done. I ate my dinner, said goodnight to my parents and went inside my room. My guitar wasn't packed yet and I wanted to jam a little before finally packing it and going to bed. I picked up my guitar, sat by the window and started strumming:
"Oh, her eyes, her eyes Make the stars look like they're not shinin' Her hair, her hair Falls perfectly without her tryin' She's so beautiful and I tell her everyday Yeah, I know, I know When I compliment her, she won't believe me And it's so, it's so Sad to think that she don't see what I see But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?" I say
When I see your face There's not a thing that I would change 'Cause you're amazing Just the way you are And when you smile The whole world stops and stares for a while 'Cause girl, you're amazing Just the way you are..."
As I sang, Shreya's pure, innocent face took its form in front of my eyes. I smiled, as if she could see me and would respond. As the song came to an end, I set my guitar aside and addressed her, while looking out at the night sky:
"I love you so much, you'll never know. It's okay, even if you don't feel the same way, you will always be there in my heart."
