Love is forever...

Prologue

"Bhai, I am getting late. Please drive faster." Aditya was getting restless seeing how slow his brother was driving. "I knew I should have asked the driver. You are such a conformist, won't even speed on an empty road." His impatience was growing with every passing minute. That, however, did not move his brother even a bit who drove with a loving smile on his face.

"Come on, Ditty. Now you are just being rude." Aditya's elder brother responded calmly.

"Stop calling me Ditty. I am not little anymore and I hate that name. What kinda name is it anyways?" Aditya irritatingly clenched his fingers into a fist. He was not very fond of this nickname his brother had given him when he was little. After their mother's death, when Aditya was just 5 years old, the two brothers had grown close. Aditya relied heavily on his elder brother for emotional support. His elder brother had played his role well. He had ensured Aditya was well taken care of and always got what he wished for. Aditya was in fact, the apple of both his brother's and father's eyes.
But too much pampering had turned Aditya into a brat. Hoping to get him on track, his father had admitted him into a boarding school very early on, but unbeknownst to his father, it had somehow made things worst. Only his brother knew how his habits had changed and that worried him.

"Adi, you will always be my little brother. Don't ever forget that. And we need to talk before you leave for boarding school. It is high time you get serious. If you think I don't know what you are up to, you are wrong. You better mend your ways or else I will need to speak to Dad about all this." Aditya's elder brother gave him an injunction.
"Yeah, whatever!" Aditya retorted much like a typical teenager, while texting his girlfriend. His elder brother lovingly ran his fingers through Aditya's hair which irritated him further.
"Don't mess up my hair, Bhai." Aditya tried to move away from his brother's reach which made his brother laugh.

They had finally reached their destination. Aditya was due to meet his childhood friends, who were sons of his father's business associates. They had planned for an early morning breakfast followed by a road trip to Goa. Aditya got down and walked to the rear end of the car to get his bag, his elder brother followed. "Don't do anything rash. And you know what I mean by that." Aditya knew his brother meant well. He loved his brother.

"Of course, Bhai. We will not drink or drive. No smoking either. We will just have a good time by the sea. Now, is that fine or do you want to come along with us to keep an eye?" He made his typical puppy face to get out of the confrontation with his brother.

"Sure. I trust you." They hugged it out.

"Take care, Ditty. Have a good time. Get some Feni for me while you are there, will you?" His brother winked at him and went inside the car while Adi walked towards the entrance with his bag and a smile on his face. His friends were waiting for him. He entered the restaurant and found his way towards his friends.
Rohit and Sahil were his best friends. They were his age but were studying in Mumbai, with plans to go abroad for their graduation. Aditya was to join them. That was always their plan since childhood. Aditya was the only one with a girlfriend and she was going to join them in Goa. Rhea was the daughter of a diamond merchant and a pampered princess. She was studying with Aditya at the boarding school.

Just when the boys had greeted each other, Aditya received a call from Rhea. He excused himself from the table and found himself a spot by the glass walls of the restaurant that gave a view of the beach on the other side of the road. Aditya was busy discussing the plans with Rhea when the screeching sound of car brakes pierced his ears. It caught the attention of the few people who were there in the restaurant that early in the morning. He looked outside and a young girl dressed in a white salwar suit caught his attention. He couldn't believe his eyes so much so that he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

That girl stood on the road with her eyes shut tight, hands covering her ears, anticipating a hit by the car, but luckily the driver stopped in time. There were little homeless kids by the roadside who witnessed everything with horror in their eyes. One of them was about to get hit while carelessly crossing the road but was saved in time by the girl in white. Unfortunately for her, she could not get off the road. On realizing there was no accident, thanks to the car driver, she quickly turned towards the car, held her ears, made an apologetic face, and ran towards the children standing on the roadside. The children too ran towards her and she hugged that one kid she had just saved. Others rounded around her and hugged her. She scolded them lovingly. Her big black kohl-lined eyes did not show any trace of anger, but just concern. She stood up and asked them to wait at a side while she ran towards the other side of the road towards a Wada pav seller who was passing by. She got a few packed and again ran towards the children who excitedly welcomed her back, lining up to grab hold of a Wada pav for themselves. She was barefooted but still moving swiftly on her toes.

Aditya was lost in this girl who he thought he knew but had never observed so closely before. Her actions attracted him more towards her. Her long earrings were dangling against her slightly pink cheeks. Her silver bangles dangled up and down at the movements of her hands. Her waist-long hair flying in the air, the sweet smile on her lips, everything made his heart quiver and lips smile. Her eyes radiated her beauty all around. She had never looked this pretty before as far as he could remember or did he never take time to notice, he wondered.

The count of children increased and she realized she was out of money, but her sweet gesture was being rewarded by God himself. A couple of people came forward to pay for the food. She was smiling from ear to ear, making Aditya forget that he had put his girlfriend on hold. He was so lost in the scene outside that he did not realize when he stepped outside the restaurant. His heart was racing and all he wanted to do was speak to her. He was still holding his phone against his ear when it rang again.
"Adi, you there? Is everything alright?" Rhea sounded more irritated than worried.

"Amaya!" He blabbered, still lost in the girl in white.

"What? Who the hell is Amaya? Who are you with?" If not before, she was definitely irritated now.

"What? No. Nothing. I will call you later." Saying this, he cut the call and kept the cell in his pocket. He stood there for a while, deciding what he would say to Amaya. Never in his life was Aditya Singh Oberoi scared to approach a girl. The teenage heartthrob of his school, had girls rounded around him for his attention. But no one could ever make his heart flutter like how Amaya had just done. He could never have imagined himself struggling to find words to approach a girl, let alone a nerd from his school. Although, she for sure did not seem nerdy then. The girl in his school and the girl in front of his eyes were like two different avatars. When he finally found the courage to speak to Amaya, he saw her leave in a car with an elderly couple. But she did not leave empty-handed, she took his heart along.

From then on, Aditya's life changed. A change he had never anticipated.