“Na pyaar dekha, na pyaar jaana
Suni thi lekin kahaaniyaan
Jo khwaab raaton me bhi na aaya
Wo mujhko din me dikha diya”
– Kisine Apna Banake
(Nor had I seen love, nor had I known love
But I had heard the stories
A dream I didn’t even get at nights
It showed me in bright daylight)
_________________________________________
It’s been a week since we started talking. I'm getting used to it. Used to being his girlfriend! Dangerous.
“I still couldn’t move even my toe, baby”, he complained. Again.
“It’s okay Chase. It’s not magic. It’ll take time. Don’t lose hope, okay?”, I encouraged, though Ray had told me that the doctors don’t think that way. It’s scary, to think that he may never be able to walk again. He must be feeling so much pressure.
“Hmm…”
“Babe, your birthday is nearing and I had promised you that I’ll get you a diamond ring. But-” This Man, I swear.
And diamond ring?! I want to punch Tina. “Chase”, I dragged comfortingly, “Don’t worry about it. You just focus on getting better, okay?”
“Babe… you never compromised with such things before. Why are you not even asking me if I could fit in the money somehow? You are pitying me, a-aren’t you?”
WHAT?!! “Chase! No! I'm not pitying you. And why would I? You’re so strong. You are working hard every single day, not losing hope, though I'm not even there to support you... I feel so guilty.”
“You have nothing to be guilty about. And who told you that you aren’t supporting me? You ARE my strength, my support. The fact that you are still by my side, even though I'm no longer the same man you fell in love with-”
“Chase”, I scolded, “Stop spouting such nonsense. What’s wrong with you? The man I fell in love with has a warm heart, loves to paint, who gave it his all and got a silver medal in Engineering and loves me a lot. Isn’t that you? Chase, you are still the same man, with the same thoughts and same values. This is just… a small hurdle. It’ll pass by and everything will get better. Trust me, after 5 years, you’ll ask yourself why you were stressing out so much about this.”
He chuckled. “You’ve changed, Tina. Is it because we are going through tough times?”, his voice held so much love that I forgot to panic at his words of Tina having changed.
“Why are you saying that?”
“You were never one to shout at me to comfort me”, he replied. Simple words. But it made me feel so much joy.
I. Comforted him.
I did not know that loving someone could bring so much joy. People always yearn to be loved and forget the joy of loving. I was the same too.
“I'm glad you feel better now”, I slightly teased, trying hard to not to forget that I wasn’t supposed to speak in my own voice.
It was a constant reminder that I wasn’t being loved for being me, I was being loved for being someone I'm not. It’s sad.
I don’t understand why people fake their character for popularity. Do they ever actually feel loved? I wonder if they even love themselves. Then they wouldn’t fake what they are. Surely not for popularity.
“Babe, I know I keep asking you this but I really miss you. A lot. Maybe I can come to visit you there?”
“Don’t even think about it. I'm trying and I’ll come there as soon as I can.”
“You don’t want to see me like this, don’t you?” I caught the light tremble in his mere whisper, as he spoke in a slow pace.
“Don’t misunderstand this, Chase. It’s nothing like that.”
“No, I really do understand. Who would want to see me like this? Everyone’s slowly losing hope, baby. I can see it on their faces. In a way, I'm glad you aren’t here. I don’t want to see that look on your face too. Your hope is what keeps me trying. I feel so useless. I’ve become a burden to my brother. I'm supposed to be the one to take care of him. I'm. the elder one, but he does Everything with a smile on his face. I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to repay him.”
“You don’t, repay love, Chase. You never can. You can only love them back and I'm sure you do.”
He laughed, “Tina, these days I feel like I didn’t even know you before. You are so much more mature than I thought.”
“Did you just say that I was being childish before?” Of course, she isn’t mature. I suppressed a scoff.
He chuckled, “Sorry, baby. Don’t be offended.” I'm sure he’s pouting right now.
“Okay”, I pouted, and we both laughed, but he suddenly became silent.
“…I'm. starting to lose hope too. What… do I do, babe?”
“Don’t say that. Keep trying, for me? No one can predict the future, Chase. What if we stop trying, only to realize later that we were so close to our goal? It will take time. You need to be patient. You need to be strong. And I know you can.”
“How can you be so confident?”
I'm not. “Cause’ I know that with faith, our prayers may be answered but without faith, we will surely fail. Who, in their right mind, will chose to fail knowingly?” He chuckled as I continued, “I know that sometimes it’s better to give up but not when we can be strong. Chase, always remember, you fail and you can try again but you give up and no one can help you.”
“I won’t give up. I won’t give up, Tina. You’re right. I'll give it my best. For you. For me. For Ray.”
I grinned. “Hmm. You do that. Do just that.”
YOU ARE READING
To Take Away Your Pain ✓
Short StoryAn artist who could mimic just anyone's voice. A man who loved the wrong girl. An accident. A guy who just wants his brother back. A mission to help. Pain... exchanged! What will happen in the end?
