Heart-strings

Chapter 16

I had an ugly morning. My nose was blocked and head ached badly. Although I did not want to come out of the blanket, I still did. I got up ready, came out of my home and locked the door. While I was climbing down the last staircase, I spotted a bike which stood near the main-gate; only its back was visible so I could not exactly understand whose it was but I felt it was of Darshan. I remembered that he possessed a similar one. I came out of the building and found him sitting over it. I tapped him on the shoulder and he looked sideways. "Oh, you came", he said with a grin on his face and I nodded. "Are you fine, now? Have you still got cold?", he asked me instantly and I shook my head. "Do you have fever?", he said touching my forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm fine", I said. "But your voice doesn't sound like you are fine. I knew you wouldn't tell me, even if you would fall sick so I brought this for you", he said extending a metal-water bottle towards me. "What is it?", I questioned holding the bottle. "Coffee. I made it", he replied. "Huh?", I could not believe on my ears. "You don't believe me!", he wrinkled his nose, shifting his gaze to the front. "Come on, I do", I said twitching his nose, making him giggle.

"But, what're you doing here?", I questioned. "Umm, I was just passing by here so I thought I would give you coffee and drop you to your office too", he said smirking and I looked at him smiling. "What? Sit!", he held the handles of his bike and pointed towards the backseat while I gazed at him. "Are you excited?", I asked when we had already covered half of the distance to office. "Umm, for what?", he said turning his face to the right. "Your new song, obviously", I exclaimed. He replied, "Ah yes, I'm hoping for the best. Fingers crossed". "Don't worry. People will like it", I said smiling and he nodded. "Mom said the same thing yesterday when I told her that I was nervous. She said that she personally loved the song and when it will reach out to people, they will love it too and you know Dad told me that even if I fail, I should not get disheartened. It's life, success and failure are the part of our journey. We must fail, so we can come back empowered. We must fail, so we don't forget our roots. We must fail, so we don't overvalue our own selves. We must fail, so we can stay grounded. See, confidence is good but overconfidence isn't. Are you listening?", he questioned. "Umm, yes", I replied lost in thoughts. His words were deep. He knew that reaching his goal wouldn't be easy but that did not mark the end of his determination. Not everyone could be as positive as Darshan Raval, a young boy yet so philosophical about life. Every word which left his mouth breathed life into my dead thoughts. He held magic within him and was well-acquainted with its use.

"Listen, are you free in the evening? I wanted to take you out somewhere", he said stopping the bike in front of the office gate. "But what about my dance class?", I asked him. "After your dance class, then. I will finish my practice and will pick you up, okay?", he told while I stepped down from the bike. "Okay and thanks for this coffee", I raised the bottle in my hand. He shook his head to his sides. Darshan spoke something to me, though I stood right next to him, I couldn't hear him because a procession was passing by clamoring loudly. "What?", I moved closer to him. "Nothing", he fumbled. "Come on, speak", I ordered moving my ear to his mouth. "I love you", the place was so noisy but his soft voice went through my ears and reached my heart, straight. I whispered in his ear with my lips stretched into a big smile, "I love you too". "Won't you introduce us to each other?", said Ruhi bumping into us. Shivers went down my spine forcing me to stand straight while Darshan still continued to smile playfully. "Come on, introduce me", she prodded my arm with her fingers. "Hi, I'm Darshan. Nandini's bo...", he could not complete. "He is my friend", I said interrupting him. "Come on, don't lie. You don't need to hide this from me. I know he is your boyfriend, Nandini. Don't you think of fooling me", said she and we burst out in laughter. "Hi, Ruhi", she said extending her right hand offering him a handshake. "Hello", he replied. "Let's go then otherwise boss will eat us up", I said looking at my wrist watch. Darshan waved his hand at us and left.

It was a tiring day but it was near to impossible to resist Darshan. He would feel so bad so I could not do that. I pushed the door of the dance class and came out while Darshan sat facing the backseat of the bike. As soon as I stepped out, a smile flashed on his face forcing me to grin wider. My stress vanished away on looking at his cute face with hair ruffled all over his head and eyes twinkling as bright as the stars.

They say 'nothing is perfect' but I wonder how God defined perfection by making him. I feel the best thing God ever created was him. He was perfect in such a way that describing him in words would always be imperfect no matter how much I try. He taught me to love, laugh and live. Whenever I stumbled, he gave me support. I never did anything for him while he never missed a chance to do something for me.

"Where are we going?", I said sitting on the backseat. "Nariman Point", he sounded too excited. I tapped his shoulder, "Whoa!! Let's go Mr. Raval". Fortunately Nariman point was not too crowded that day; I could spend my time with him, peacefully.

I extended my legs to the front and kept my hands behind my back on the concrete floor while Darshan sat beside me, pulling his knees to his chest. "Isn't this beautiful?", he asked looking at the sea waves. "Umm, the view, yes", I replied. He turned his face towards me and opened his lips to speak, "No, not the view. We are finally together, that's beautiful". That moment held some spark between us. We both looked at each other, smiling, for a brief time. Yes, it was beautiful. It was beautiful that finally I had him by my side. It was beautiful that we were watching the magnificent sea waves crashing, together.

After some time, people started leaving but we both still sat there. Darshan rested his head on my lap and crossed his hands. "Did someone ever tell you that your eyes are so beautiful that it becomes impossible to not look into them", he looked into my eyes. I instantly looked away smiling widely. "Ah, and this smile has the potential to breathe life into my dead tissues". My heart fluttered, it was the first time when a guy complimented me because the ones in my college were kind of scared of me. He knew how to steal my heart away, though I possessed only one. He owned it more than me. "You know what, if I would start complimenting you then this whole life would not be enough for it because you have qualities out of this world ", I lowered my head. "And you know what, I love you", he lifted his head a little and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. I had one heart and that too I lost to that man.

I looked at the sea caressing his hairs, "I want to be with you forever. I can't imagine my life without you. I know it would sound selfish but I need you to hold me when I fall weak, I need you to settle down the chaos inside me, I need you to stay alive, I need you. I don't know if I can ever give you something or not", my voice cracked. "You are giving me your love. What else do I need?", he sat straight. "I will be there with you. We both will stand by each other. Life will take our tests, it will challenge us but we will never let 'WE' become 'I and you'", he cupped my cheeks and took my face closer to his chest. I could feel his rhythmic heartbeat. Even the bonfire needs wood logs to give warmth but he doesn't require anything, he held the warmth and love within him. I wrapped my hand around him while he kept his hand on my head. I wish I had a gadget to stop time. Everything he would be around me, it would become impossible to see the seconds passing and the thought of separating with him stabbed me even harder. But I chose to live in present and the present said that we were together in each others' arms.