Valentines Day

Valentines Day, the day of love as the world knows it. I celebrated this day, after what seems like ages, being single. I must say it pretty much sucks. You can't go to watch a movie because the halls are thronged with couples all wanting to grab the elusive corner seats. And on top of that if you have seen every movie released this week and the only movie left is "No Strings Attached", then I must sat you are in deep shit. You pretty much have nowhere to go. The restaurants are overflowing, the streets are jam packed, the theaters are absolutely out-of-limits, which leaves what? The pubs!
So me and a couple of my friends decide to hit a nearby beer bar to spend valentines day getting sloshed listening to some great music. But apparently even these places are not spared. We had to wait for like 20 minutes before we could enter the place and that too on a Monday. I mean what the hell. Not only that, almost every table inside was full of people either drinking with their loved ones, in memory of their loved ones or to forget the same. You know you are in the wrong place when you have people toasting death to girls right next to your table.
I mean its not that I'm anti valentines day or anything but my recent break up had a lot to do with my decision to booze. But after spending some time in there I realized that there is no point hating what had happened and cursing the whole female race for that. I mean yes some of us have had their hearts broken (and broken a few ourselves) but thats no reason to curse the whole race. I mean given a few months ago, these same people must have been the ones snuggling up to their better halves as docile as lapdogs.
And then it dawned on me (or it could have been the beer), that we as humans are a very jealous race. We cannot withstand anyone else's happiness let alone be a part of it. Your best friend just got committed..."lucky ba***rd", someone got a more awesome cell that you do..."spoilt brat", a great girl walking with a not so great (read pretty lame) guy..."wtf". I mean what in the world is wrong with us? If he's got a better girl, then there is a reason for it. Sure in a lot of cases it is money but there you go. No point feeling jealous of it and getting sloshed in the pub. You want it, go get it.
Everyone of us falls in love. And by god it hurts when it ends. But then again there is a reason why everything happens. May be you'll find a much better girl and fall in love again, or may be someone from the past will turn out to be much more than a friend. The possibilities are endless. But the moment you stop to vent your anger and frustration, you are left with nothing more than a bad headache in the morning. So always celebrate this day (and booze) in happiness, if not for your then for those whom you really care about. After all Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji.

This is dedicated to all my friends who have found , are in the process of finding or waiting to find their one true soulmate, their one true Valentine. Cheers!

That Night

The silent click of her computer mouse was the only sound in the entire room. Her roommate had gone out to get groceries. Wiling away time on the internet was getting pretty boring for her now. Just as she stretched out to shut the laptop out of sheer boredom, a ping sounded on her desktop. Bedrudgingly she opened the window and read the notification. An instant smile spread actoss her face. It was a mail from the boy she loved. He was currently posted on a ship, miles away from civilization, and this was their only means of communication now. Fleeting memories of laughter, long walks and cozy moments buzzed her brain as she cursed the speed of the net. She would change it first thing in the morning. Finally the mail finished loading. His ever smiling face was now fixated in her head reading out every single word as she went through them. She really loved him a lot and she knew that he loved her too. 
But with the next line her world came crashing down upon her. Suddenly his smiling face turned into a surreal grimacing figure she had seen so a many times. Long walks gave way to longer fights and cozy moments turned into the one singular instance that had shattered her entire existence only a few weeks ago. Like a broken record playing in a horror movie, his last words were echoing in her head. He had broken up with her. And in this mail, he wanted to iterate upon the various reasons he did so. This was not the first of its kind, there had been a few before, all having the same end result, pain, cold numb and brutal pain. She read through the lines, the keyboard now dotted with tears, her demeanour no longer jovial but with a heart trying to pick up whatever was left after that incident. She had failed to give him the time that he deserved. She had hurt him beyond measure and he wanted her to know that. Every line was like a gash on her broken heart. It was the exact same thing that had happened the last time. Was she not made for a relationship? What on earth was wrong witn her? Why was she the only person who was failimg again and again at love? 'Love' and 'Relationship', these words seemed so not made for her. For the second time in her life some one had broken her heart but it was all her fault. 
But was it really? What of all the times she had cried herself to sleep because he was the one who had hurt her. What of all the pain and heartache that she had gone through and was still enduring with a smile on her face. No one ever knew about that except for one of her best friends. And she was not the one reminding him of the great screw ups that happened in the relationship. 
No she was not the weak link in the relationship, he was. Yes they both loved each other, true but she loved him no less than he loved her. And that she would have him know, ship or no ship. With a sharp click, the browser collapsed. She would not tolerate this any more. It was about time that she actually started living her life like she wanted to and not like the way he and others before him wanted her to. So if some one wanted her, she would be her true self from now on. A take it or leave it offer. With a snap, she shut off the laptop and lied down on her bed. She could hear her roommate now comimg up the stairs. 'Life is good' she told herself and wiping away the sole tear on her cheek, she turned away and drifted off. 
The silent sob was the last sound heard in the room that night.

Do you believe in miracles?

“Do you believe in miracles?”

With the wind whistling in my ears as I rode the bike back, I glanced around at the teary eyed face of my pillion.

“So, do you believe in miracles?” She asked again.

“NO!” I said and raced towards the fly over that read ‘Pune: 9 km’…

It feels so weird when you see someone after that long a time. Speechless describes it best. And boy had she changed. I had totally forgotten what she looked like, but we met as if we had met just yesterday. Soon we met others, people forgotten in the sands of time who were nothing like what they used to be. We remembered all the little things we had left behind in the race to grow up, small little things that defined us in the past.

Her voice brought me back from my flashback.

“Why?”

My speedometer was clocking a constant 70. I glanced down at it and then back on the road. It was pretty much empty with the occasional car speeding past.

“No idea…never happened to me” I shrugged.

True love is so hard to find. A single thing can break your heart even after 4 years of togetherness. What does one do then? How does one move on? How do you get over that person who had been your entire existence? Answers to the above questions I don’t have and neither do I know anyone who does.

You are lucky if you can turn you back on what was and embrace what could be. Most people can’t but some can. And what would you give to just meet the one person who held your side all along?

Thoughts clouded my mind. The reason I was driving back from a near remote location located on the outskirts of the city were unknown to even me. All I knew was that I was doing it. I had just helped two people in love meet. Was this a miracle? No idea never happened to me.

The parking lot loomed into view. I got her back home. As she got down from the bike, I knew what she wanted to say. She gave me a hug and said thanks. Was the trip a miracle for her? Or was it the chance meeting of the two, I would never find out but all I knew was that something had happened today to turn her into this. Wondrous how a small thing can turn someone from an atheist to a believer in miracles. She had witnessed one today.

So do I believe in miracles? No clue never happened to me. If miracles were real, I would have gotten what I had asked for. Will I get it, I don’t know but I guess I can wait…

To be continued…