Breakup - a love story

. 6 .

After Ram went, Tanya spent most of the evening on a couch, reading a romantic novel. They always reminded her of the college days when her life was full of romance. Anurag was madly in love with her and she reciprocated every inch of that feeling too. Those days were perfect. Maybe a bit over perfect than what was needed because since then, she started to expect a lot from life.

Life had never been so generous, had it? A year after college when Anurag got an offer to work abroad, he accepted it with a smile. He didn't even wait to discuss it with her. Here she was dreaming about marriage, settling on, and he just flew away. Anurag always told her that nothing would change among them, and he indeed remained faithful from his side. However, the concept of long distance relationship didn't work well with Tanya. They talked just as before, yet, there was a gap between them. Those talks didn't feel the same. Day by day, their relationship slipped into an illusion. And as Ram said, relationships don't survive on an illusion. Before they could think of a way around it, Tanya called it an end.

The word romance never entered her life after that. That didn't stop her from reading the romantic novels though. Those books held that dreamy world where her heart fell in love once again. She may have given up on the heart-to-heart relationships, but she just couldn't part with such a beautiful emotion as love.

Time flew whenever she entered the world of novels.

When she finally decided to call it a night, it was already past midnight. Before going to bed, she peeked into Ram's room, empty. It was almost six hours since he left and he still wasn't back. She chuckled remembering how he was complaining about silence seeping into his relationship with Riya just this evening. And now, he was out for ours with the girl. Guess they want to make up for all the silence in a single night.

She thought of calling him just to check, but decided against it. She never liked anyone disturbing her time with Anurag, there's no reason why her brother would enjoy it. Anurag..., just a thought of him made her heart jump. It wouldn't have reacted like this a month ago. She had worked so hard to make her heart forget about him. He was the main reason of her leaving this city. It held too many memories of them and she couldn't roam around it without thinking about him.

She had made every effort she could to make her heart forget him. But as they say, you never forget your first love. And Anurag wasn't just her first love, he was her only love. He always remained in some secluded corner of her heart. And last month, he leapt out of it when she saw him once again. Life, being the evil thing it is, decided to bring him back to India and as if that wasn't enough, he got a job at her company too. For a moment she thought that he might have done it intentionally. But that was just not possible. There was no way of him knowing where she was. It just sheer luck. Maybe love wanted to give them another chance.

When he bumped into her, they just stood there staring into each other's eyes. Even after all those years of being apart, both the hearts skipped a beat. Still, the distance between them had grown far too wide to be bridged in an instant. She had lost her trust in love and she didn't have the courage to let her heart fall for that emotion again. At first, she thought she could control how she felt for him, but watching him everyday didn't help her resolve at all.

She was falling in love once again, and she didn't know what to do about it. So she did the best thing her mind could come up with, took a leave and came back home; away from him.

Her eyes become wet thinking of him.

He was still the same perfect man she had fell in love with. He never cheated on her. He never betrayed her love. She could still see it in his eyes. She knew it wasn't his fault. All he ever did was chase a better life. Everyone had that right. And yet, she was afraid to take a second chance. The boat of her heart was ready to set sail once again, but the tornadoes in her mind weren't allowing it to. She didn't know whether it was right or wrong, but she was the way she was. There was no changing that. She had to live with it, and so did the people around her.

By the time Tanya reached her bed, sleep had left her. That's how her nights had become these days, sleepless and full of tears. However, she wouldn't have slept even if she was sleepy, because, just as she unfolded her blanket, she heard the door lock being turned.

Ram was home.

She wanted to know it all that transpired through the night, but one look at Ram and she knew it wasn't the right time. His eyes were red, face sad and body completely slumped. He darted straight for his room, trying to create a facade of anger, trying to hide his state from her. His efforts were useless. Tanya knew that look perfectly well. He had been crying. She thought it best to leave him alone for now. Explanations can wait till morning.

***

"Time and distance are those ingredients that can change the taste of relationships when added a bit more."

Now that valentine's day is almost here, let's talk about love.

So, have you experienced this feeling called love?

I have.

And if you say you haven't, then I'd just you are lying.

Because in my opinion, we are always in love with someone or the other. 

But then, the problem is not of falling in love, the problem is of staying in love. And as Tanya would tell you, it's the most difficult thing to do.

Now that we're talking about Tanya, what do you think of her?

Will her story have a happy ending?