Romantic Short Story

A Frustrating Day

On a fine dusky evening, Nikash decided to take a walk along the beach after a long, frustrating day at his bank. All he wanted was to clear his head and get some fresh air. It was an odd day—there were just a few people on the beach, as it was off-season for tourists. Nikash stopped at a far end, away from those enjoying the eye feast of the sunset and the oozing cold wind. He dropped his side bag, loosened his tie, sat down, stretched his legs, and stared at the setting sun with a puzzled face.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in his head, and a king-size smile spread across his face….

He enjoyed a similar moment a few years back in Mumbai, when he was a college student, with the love of his life, Vidha. But that smile didn’t last for too long—it was like a momentary buffer of happiness while watching a sad film. A few weeks ago, Vidha had parted ways with Nikash. A few months before that, Nikash was promoted as a branch manager and transferred to Shrivardhan, a picturesque small town in Konkan. As he was new to the place, he didn’t have any friends to share his feelings with. Hence, he tried to intoxicate himself with booze, which used to work until the influence of alcohol wore off. So here he was, trying something new: solitude….

Waves, Memories and a Proposal

After a minute of extreme sorrow, he removed his shoes, folded up his pants, and walked to the edge of the sea to experience the cold waves. After a few waves, a shell washed up next to his feet. He grabbed it, took a few steps back, and started writing on the sand: “VIDHA”….

Each wave washed away her name. At last, he gave up. With a lot of anger, he threw the shell back into the sea, but after a few waves, it washed up again in front of him. He ignored the shell…

He sat down, just next to where the waves ended their ascent. All he could think about was VIDHA. He said, looking toward the sea in a shallow voice,

“We crossed eyes on the first day of college. Later that day, I sent her a friend request on Facebook. She accepted it. We started chatting, meeting in the cafeteria, spending more time after classes. In a few months, we were in love. Those were the days of adrenaline rush—everything was shiny, everything was picture-perfect…”

“Days passed, but our love and affection grew more and more. We both started our jobs at different banks. We both were located in Mumbai…”

“Just a few months before getting promoted and transferred here, I proposed to her, and she accepted!”

“Gadda Da Vida—Novotel, Juhu, a wonderful sea-facing restaurant. I asked them to make some special arrangements. There was a pink lily flower with a lush green leaf in a plain white vase, on an off-white tablecloth.…”

“I was early, waiting for her. I was very nervous, continuously drinking water. And then she came, and my heart was pumping like never before. But after a few minutes of casual talk, I calmed down.…”

“I kneeled down with all my courage. She knew what was going to happen—she was amazed and surprised. Then, what I said was the stupidest thing I had said in my entire life. I said, ‘Vidha, would you like to share your toothbrush with me for the rest of your life?'”

“In my mind, I shouted, ‘Somebody please shoot me….’ Till today, I don’t know why I said such a pathetic thing!”

“But the next moment was something I didn’t expect at all. She said, ‘Ewww, no not at all, but I am ready to share my toothpaste with you for the rest of my life, if you don’t mind…'”

“That laughing face of hers—I will never forget it. She was laughing like a kid. I was very embarrassed but very happy…”

“Oh! Crap, what the hell? If I would have been that girl, I would have drowned you into the sea…” in a loud, grumpy voice!

Nikash looked everywhere, but he saw no one near him who could be audible so loud and clear. He got scared and started running but got hit by a huge wave!

A Mysterious Awakening

A few minutes later, Nikash started coming back to his senses!

With a slowly decimating constant noise of a long beep, he listened to a conversation going on between that grumpy voice and another sweet voice of a lady…

Sweet Lady: “I think he is awake!”

Grumpy: “Let us drown him before he totally gets awake…”

Sweet Lady: “Stop terrorizing him!”

Grumpy: “Am I? Who said toothbrush?”

Nikash got up. He was scared like never before and was badly shivering. He shook his head all around, but all he could see was some coconut trees and a few other things shining in the full moonlight. Then he turned toward the sea, but all he could see was the waves sparkling in the moonlight. He looked everywhere, but no one was there. In a tormented tone, he asked, “Who’s there? Hello… Anyone?”

Sweet lady: “Hi, Nikash!”

Surprised and scared, Nikash murmured, “Who… Who is this?”

Sweet lady: “Don’t be scared! Oh! Look, he is shivering like a twig. Look what you have done to him. Let me take care of it!”

Wind whirled around Nikash and dried him out!

Sweet lady: “Hi! I am air…”

Surprised like never before, Nikash exclaimed, “Air! I mean, really air? Am I dead? How can you talk?”

Air: “No, you are not dead, and yes, I am real air. This has happened with me on a few occasions in the past, but I don’t know how this talking thing works!”

Curious and surprised, Nikash asked, “If you are air, then who is the cruel one who wants to drown me?”

Sea growled: “You call me cruel! You pathetic creature, I am not just going to drown you but also the land you are standing on!”

“Dude, why are you dragging me into this? Chill, get some air!” , said the land!

Nikash looked down in the direction of the voice: “Woah! Is this land now?”

Land: “Yes and ignore the sea. He is a lunatic. These are just hollow threats and theatrics. He is just in a bad mood!”

Nikash: “Why does he want to grow more?”

Sea: “I don’t need your stupid opinion, neither am I interested in your running commentary. All I am looking forward to is drowning you and killing you. If you want it to be slow, shut your mouth!”

Air: “Take it easy, cut off the threats, and calm down. He has already been through a lot!”

Air: “Nikash, actually he is pissed at the moon! Because of the high and low tides!”

Sea, with a lot of anger: “One day I am going to drown that bastard!”

“Keep dreaming, loser, keep dreaming!” (smirky laugh). Nikash stared up with amazed eyes as the bold voice descended from above. He understood it was none other than the moon itself!

Land: “Dude, stop being childish. You know it’s never going to happen!”

Sea: “Well I bet on odds….”

(Everyone laughs)

Nikash: “What problems can a mighty sea like you have? You are gifted with immense power?”

Sea: “It’s not that simple, kid. Immense strength comes tagged along with immense responsibility!”

“It’s not the strength that makes us strong, but the ability to channelize it and keep it in check that does make us strong….”

“And there is always someone more powerful than everyone—oceans are more powerful than me, the land that holds us, the sun, the galactic centre, and so on…”

“From billions of years, we have been keeping each other’s strengths in check, so that we can impart some order in this universal chaos.…”

Air: “Sea, sea, give it a break. He has fallen asleep!”

Land: “Dude, you bored him.”

Sea: “As if he understands wisdom. He can’t even think beyond his stupid broken heart!”

Meanwhile, a fresh splash of air struck Nikash’s face….

Nikash: “Oh, I am really sorry! What were you telling?”

Sea: “Get lost!”

Air: “Oh, that’s fine, Nikash.”

Nikash: “This reminds me of a similar incident!”

Sea: “I am sleeping!”

Air: “Oh please, go ahead and share!”

Nikash: “Are you sure?”

Air and Land: “Of course, you are a storyteller!”

Nikash: “Okay…”

A Day of Love

After we both got placed in our respective jobs, it was getting very difficult for us to hang out with each other, so we decided to spend an entire day of the next weekend together. I picked her up early in the morning, we had breakfast, then we went to Siddhivinayak. Later, she did some shopping, we watched a movie, and I guess it was around 11:00 or 11:30 when we decided to visit Marine Drive. As we reached there, we got a spot, as there was quite a rush. As we sat staring at the sea and talking about stuff, she wrapped my hand with both her hands and leaned her head on my shoulder. I was talking and talking—I don’t remember what—and I realized suddenly that she had fallen asleep! As I looked down, her face had a cute and calm smile.

So, I decided not to disturb her. I gently moved a little aside to create room so that she could sleep more comfortably by resting her head on my thigh. As I did so, a few of her hairs came between my eyes and her beautiful smile. I moved them using my fingers, and they felt very soft. So, I kept looking at her smile and gently running my fingers through her hairs.

The next thing I remember is, someone was poking a stick in my back and saying, “Ye Romeo, chal uth, subaha hogaya, ab aapni Juliet ko leke ghar ko janeka!” It was a police constable…

Then we both got up, and she asked me while yawning, “Why were we sleeping here? What happened?”

I said, “I don’t know? Let’s go!”

And we drove back!

Land: “Dude, you should post this story on the internet!”

Nikash: “No, I am not interested in publicity. Let it remain in my loving memory. But thanks. I guess this all happens because of love! What do you think, air?”

Air: “Might be, but as far as I have experienced, love is more about need than anything else. Tell me, how do you feel about a breeze of cold air during winter?”

Nikash: “I would definitely not like it!”

Air: “What about in summer?”

Nikash: “I would love it!”

Air: “But do you see that it’s the same breeze of air? The only thing that has changed was your need, which is reasonable.”

Reflections on Love

Nikash: “Might be a case, but when it comes to my relationship with Vidha, it was not my need. Her presence around me, her texts, her calls, the time we spent together—even her memories—all of it cheered me up and still cheers me up. That feeling of being with her brought a kind of joy and enthusiasm. It is something hard to explain; the feeling of being with her is beyond words. Even if these are small things to one, but even a smile of Vidha could blow away the stress of my entire day. All those memories are priceless to me. All these small things meant a lot to me. It may sound old school, but I believe love can be experienced rather than explained!”

Air: “Oh, that’s more humane. I guess what I told you was a bit materialistic and goes with the current age and time, where monotony rules and has been normalized!”

Air: “Nikash, your relationship sounded quite intense, and you really are devoted to it. Hope things will pan out in a nicer way for you…”

Nikash: “But I alone cannot make it work all along the way. Now I fear whether she still feels the same way for me, like I do for her. All these days, I spent trying to figure out what went south. But I came up with nothing. The harder I tried, the more I was troubled.”

Air: “Exactly, look at yourself—or all the other lifeforms. Our relationship made it possible. Me, the land, the sea, the moon, the sun, the earth—we all work in synchronization. We cover for each other’s shortcomings. We balance each other by making up for our vulnerabilities. At the end, we together nurture one of the universe’s most beautiful things: ‘life.’ A wonderful relationship doesn’t just thrive on similarities but also because it accepts adversaries and works on them. It is all about balancing your pros and cons.”

Nikash: “Sounds wonderful, but actually it is very difficult to work on it. Anyway, ‘balancing’ reminds me of an incident which I had treasured for so long!”

Air: “We would love to listen!”

A Trekking Adventure

Nikash: “When we both were in our final year, one day we decided to go on a trek. Of all the listed treks around Sanjay Gandhi National Park, I selected Shidhola trek—a peaceful trail that starts along the plains just before the scenic Kanheri foothills and winds gently into a good long hike heading northwards. It was once the home of a tribal settlement that has now moved away; nature has completely reclaimed this territory. And she was very excited, as this was her first time going out in a jungle. For her, it was quite adventurous. As it was a pre-planned program, a week before going on the actual trek, I had to go on a shopping trek with her—that was quite an adventure for me, as the shopping trek lasted for a week, starting every evening and lasting till the shops and malls closed…

I can’t be sure, but I guess we went shopping through all the malls and alleys of Mumbai…

All I enjoyed was her chatter, her never-ending negotiations. Also, I learned a lot of new colors—Razzmic Berry—and the funny thing is, I just remember the name and not the color! Throughout the shopping, I was very happy because I got to spend a lot of time with her. We had tons of moments and lots of fun; every day was like a picnic. And finally, the actual day came! We drove super early in the morning so that we could enjoy the cool morning breeze while trekking. We reached there around 7:30 AM; the weather was very nice. As we started our ascent through dense green foliage and sun rays passing through tall trees, the scene was picture-perfect. We both were having a wonderful time—I mean, I was in such a majestic place with my favorite person on earth.

The feeling of her being with me was so calming and joyous; it’s simply beyond words. After walking for about 5-6 km, we stopped for breakfast. And just a few steps later, I sprained my ankle. She suddenly started panicking and became sad with a cute frowny face, unable to understand what to do.

But then, after a minute or two, she said, ‘Let me support you till we get back to our car.’ To walk while supporting me was very difficult for her—it was evident from her face that she was pretty uncomfortable—but she didn’t give up. And that made me realize how much she really loves me. Throughout our return journey, I was smiling because I was so proud of her. It made me realize how important we are to each other. After taking a few breaks in between, we finally reached our car. While we were sitting on a stone ledge nearby, I told her I was faking it all the time! She got so furious, hurled a few abuses, and pushed me away with all her strength for making her suffer all the way long. And I was laughing and laughing. After a moment, she calmed a little, and I told her that I was joking, and I am really injured! She smiled and said, ‘Whatever—at least now I know that I am very strong!’”

Nikash: “Oh! Those were days. I never thought and would have never imagined something like this could happen to us or our relation!”

Air: “You really had wonderful moments, and I hope there are many to come!”

Sea: “It was a nice story. I enjoyed it, kid. All I can tell you is one thing: it’s not just the problem that makes us suffer but also the way we deal with it!”

A Dream or Reality

After a while, at dawn, because of the sunshine, Nikash woke up at the beach. As he tried to recall the events of last night, he said, “Hello!” and looked toward the sea and air, but no one responded. He started to think: was it a dream or was it real? With all of the amusement, he collected his shoes in one hand and his bag in the other. With a yawn and a stretch, he started walking away from the beach, feeling the cold and soft sand and thinking about everything he assumed had happened last night and his relationship…

PHONE VIBRATES

And a million-dollar smile ran across his face!

As he received a text:

“Gm, it’s not just the problem that makes us suffer but also the way we deal with it!

Miss you!

-Vidha”

He immediately replied and stared toward the sea with jubilant eyes and a speechless expression:

“Miss you too!”

THE END

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