7 Steps of Love

Step - 7.2: Reminders

Yousef was upset that he had lost one best thing that ever happened to him, he sat on his couch cuddling Dollar and Muffin as a tear rolled down his cheek, he knew it was over. But he wasn't much upset about it either, it was a strange feeling, all the women he had been with, or even slept with never made him feel that way. It was Lilly, he made her feel a special type of way. She was different, and she was definitely not like other women he had met.

Lilly on the other hand reached her apartment, she sat down on the floor as tears rolled down her eyes. But she had decided not to be dependent on any guy, which was the reason she ended her past relationships, she just didn't want any guy to take over her life. But Yousef.... No he wasn't like other guys... He wasn't like them at all. He made her feel some type of way, the way she never felt for anyone else.

They both cried themselves to sleep, Yousef decided to carry on his life like nothing ever happened between the two of them, and Lilly soldiered on as well, it was very difficult for Yousef at first, he was so used to her and her calls, but for Lilly it seemed like a bad dream that she had woken up from, a dream you instantly forget after waking up, a dream that is no more a part of your memory. Yousef called Simmi over to his house, she was his best friend, he knew, she of all people, would never judge him for who he was.

"Yousef... Is this about Lilly?" Simmi asked.

"Yes, it is" Yousef answered.

"Did you two have a fight?" she asked.

"No... It's... It's just very difficult for me to explain" Yousef replied.

"Did you two call it off or something? Listen, you can share anything you want to with me Yousef, and I can assure you there are going to be no judgements coming from my side" Simmi said.

"I know Simmi and that's why I called you here, you are my best friend, and you have always stood by my side... We didn't break up either, I proposed we move in together. But I guess she didn't like the idea of it, I guess she called it off... But maybe I couldn't that's why I am in a denial of it" Yousef said.

"You got to understand that she has been an independent girl all her life, Yousef, moving in with someone is a huge step, especially for a girl who has lived all her life in an Indian culture, I can relate to it too. And it's not only her culture, it's her independence that's coming in between the two of you. But if you are sure that she has called it off then you surely need to move on" Simmi explained.

"My life is pretty much the same Simmi, I come from a Middle-Eastern family as well, and I know how hard it is to decide to move in with someone... But I felt like she was the one... She definitely broke up with me" Yousef said.

Lilly was happy and satisfied with her decision, it was as if she got rid of a burden off her shoulders, she worked even harder and made her work appreciated and recognized. She went to see her family in Canada to spend some time with her parents and her friends. She went out with Chase and Annoshinie to watch movie and enjoyed every second of the time she spent with them. She was genuinely very happy.

Yousef also hung out with Alex, Lauren and Aaron and enjoyed with his friends, he wanted to brush off the memories his past brought with him, he wasn't even sure what he was to do, he had no idea what Lilly actually wanted, it was as if she left him on a cliffhanger. He tried to forget about all of that and decided to enjoy his night.

Both of them were happy with their friends, they were so indulged in the moment that none of them even thought the other existed. It was an entirely different emotion that they both experienced.

The next morning, Lilly woke up to sun shining on her face, and she felt relieved, she felt calm and happy with herself. Humble asked her to come over his house where all of their old friends had gathered, including Aman, she knew she couldn't ignore Aman forever, since he was a mutual friend of her friends. Aman had come from UK for his exhibition and was staying at Humble's place. Lilly knew it would be an awkward encounter but she didn't want it to make her hesitant either. She went to Humble's place where all her old friends Chase, Nanu, Sandy and Nandini had gathered.

She greeted all her friends and was very happy to be around them, a part of her always regretted moving to L.A, a part of her always regretted breaking ties with her friends. She just never expressed it to anyone, never showed that side of her to anyone. She was talking to Nandini and Nanu when she heard a man coming downstairs talking in his British accent. It was Aman, he looked handsome as always, and her eyes glittered seeing him, it was as if she looked at him for the first time in so many years, and she realized that a part of her also regretted breaking up with him.

She greeted him and asked him about his exhibition, they talked for a bit, and started interacting with other friends. Lilly felt like she was running away with everyone and everything she loved cause of wanting to achieve something in life, cause of wanting to be something in life. She realized she was missing on so many things, so many emotions. Life in L.A no longer seemed to fascinate her. She then went outside and breathed the air in, and sat on the curb, she closed her eyes for a while.

"Isn't it a lil cold out here?" she heard a man saying this to her. It was Aman.

"Yeah, it is, I am not a big fan of the cold, but I like it today" she said.

"Yeah looks like you do" Aman said.

"Look Aman..." she was about to say something as Aman interrupted her "I understand it Lilly, we're not a thing anymore, but we surely can be friends no?"

"Yeah sure" she said.

"How's Yousef?" Aman asked.

"How's Yousef?" that's what she had been asking herself the entire evening, that's what she wondered, how actually was he? Was he OK? Was he the right kind of man? Was he really someone she desperately wanted? Was he... Someone she loves? She didn't find any answers to any of these questions.

"Lilly? You OK?" Aman asked.

"Yes... I am OK... And so is Yousef" she said.

A wave of sadness surrounded Aman after hearing this, and Lilly noticed it.

"Are you still not over me?" she joked.

"What if I said no?" Aman said.

They shared a glance and broke the eye contact instantly, Lilly didn't even know what she was doing, and she was indeed very vulnerable she wanted someone to hold her and to tell her everything was fine.

"Hey would you like to come to my exhibition tomorrow?" Aman asked.

"Sure, I would love to" Lilly said.

Lilly went to his exhibition the next day, it broke her down to see one of his portraits, it was a lion. There were some quotes that read

"I am drifting away from everything I loved" something hit her hard, she knew what it was. Yousef's voice echoed in her ears "I have nothing to offer to you except for me" "I lie here, on my bed, feeling I will die without you" "It is a house that I am going to get built"

All of this made her realize what she was actually missing on, all of it made her realize the she actually missed on that one last thing that perfectly made sense to her, the one thing that kept her going in L.A and the one thing that kept her sane throughout her time in L.A. It was Yousef. It was his existence and it was his honesty and his love. She missed him, and it made her vulnerable. She decided to go back to L.A as soon as she could.