TRUE LOVE (PART 2)

PART 4

I was frustrated and one day I just gave up and stopped asking." She stopped; It felt like she was still frustrated.

I was quiet and was listening to her talking about him and his suffering. I felt bad and my eyes were burning. My voice was lost, and I just kept staring at the ceiling as she told me.
She continued.

"Then one day I found him crying alone at night around 03:30 a.m. holding his phone.

Looking at him like that so vulnerable and so broken it hurt me and sometimes still haunts me, I hurried towards him and tried to console him and he stopped as soon as he saw me. But I knew him by then that he stopped because he didn't want to show his weakness. So, I asked him again one last time, I knew he would not say anything but still, I hoped he would as I asked. And like always he didn't say anything, he was quiet, and I got up and started going to my room and it was then when he whispered your name. I stopped and at once I knew you, his dad had mentioned about you, he told me everything, there were photos of you in our house and that you were one and only best friend he had, but when he said your name, I knew instantly, he was in love with you. I sat beside him and took his hand and asked him about you.

Who is jasmin, and he clucked and started telling me all about you, Then I saw him smiling, I had never seen him smile so freely, but as he spoke about you, the more he smiled and for once he seemed more happy and human-like. That night we sat there talking about you, he told me everything about you, even the slightest shift of your eyes distracted him and how you made him smile and happy, how he followed you everywhere. jasmin I had never seen him so happy before, just your name was enough to make him a person that I had never seen before, even when he held Aditya for the first time I saw him smiling and was truly happy but that happiness was nothing compared to the smile he had that night when he was talking about you." She said sounding amazed and I was paralyzed listening to her.

She didn't wait for me to reply or to answer; she just kept going and going about him. Yet again she continued,
"You know, jasmin? That night even I cried with him when he said you never called him. It broke my heart too." She stopped and finally I said.

"What happened next?" I asked her and my voice cracked. I noticed tears were flowing.
I wiped it and waited for her to say, she was quiet but then continued.

"I was glad that finally, I understood his pain and his suffering but the next day he was back to being a Robert and continued his crazy routine yet again and it bugged
me. So, I asked him to talk to you once.

To call you but he refused. Then to my surprise, he got angry when I pushed him.
He said if I wanted to call her, I would have done that long back not waited for eight years, I don't want to call her because I can't.

We had a fight that day and I was upset with him and I stopped talking to him as if we were on talking terms." She clucked and continued.

"Later that night after he was done with his food, and after discussing with Aditya's real father, we decided to get married for our child. It was very hard for me to tell him this, but I knew it was my child's future and I had to tell him. So, I sat down when he was done and told him about the divorce and again to my surprise, he was cool about it. I felt bad and I was concerned, even if we were not friends or husband and a wife,
I felt bad because he had no one now, and I wanted him to be happy, happy as I was.

So, I asked him again to call you and then he explained to me about it," she stopped sounding tired.
"What did he say?" I whispered.

"He explained me about your family issues and how you always pretended to be happy.
I was confused but so was he. He only knew one thing to keep you happy. And as he wrote in that letter; if you didn't love him back don't call. And you didn't, so for your happiness, he never called you back. Because he thought he was not good enough to make you happy," She Paused.

"jasmin! Why didn't you call him back?" she asked me.
I closed my eyes, remembering his reaction for not reading his letter. I remembered my reaction when finally, he read the letter and I found out it was my mistake, and now even she thought it was my mistake. I had hurt her too. Tears were following yet again remembering my suffering, his suffering, and now Shilpa's too.

"Are you there?" she asked again, as I didn't answer.
"Yes," my voice broke, and I cleared my throat.
"Tell me please" she begged.
"Because I didn't read his letter," I said with a heavy heart.
"Why?" she asked shocked and sounded panicked.

"Because I thought it was his breakup letter, and I didn't want to lose his love too just like him." I breathe heavily, it was hard to admit it again.
She was quiet and so was I and the silence stretched.
"So, you loved him too?" she asked sounding shaken.

"I love him, I have always loved him and I can't even explain what I have gone through for past nine years, not even a day had passed where I didn't wish he would call.
And now after knowing that it was my fault that we both suffered and now I see that even you were affected by my decision. I feel bad and I just can't bear it." I said, rushing through the words as I said that.

"Hey, stop." She ordered.
"See jasmin, I don't know what you are going through. I only know that he needs you jasmin, please try. I will say to you the same thing I once told him. Please talk to him and tell him about what you feel, do not think about each other's happiness, because now it's clear, you both are each other's happiness and strength and you both can make each other happy. Don't wait anymore and don't let your past fear affect you now..

It has been long, so long being apart now it's time to stay together. Try being together not for you guys then at least for me. Please try to continue the second day of your relation" She paused..

"Remember that school day when he said I Love you, that was the first day of your relationship and it was paused and never got the chance of the second day, please try to continue." She stopped sounding low.

Listening to her words, I suddenly had hope, and I answered.
"Okay," I answer.
"Okay?" she repeated.

"Ok, I will try" I said with confidence and sat up.
I wiped my tears; suddenly feeling strong and I no longer felt sad.

"Promise?" she asked with the excitement and I smiled
"Yes," I replied, smiling.
"Okay, I will keep now. He is taking way too long for the shower, when he comes. Tell him to call me tomorrow," she asked me.
"Sure, I will. Thank You for sharing." I thanked her for it; truly thankful..

"No worried talk to me again," she said.
"Definitely" I answer and we hung up the call.
I signed and quickly got down of the bed and started phasing; back and forth the room, waiting for him to come out. It was hard to not think about what Shilpa said, but I did my best to keep the past behind, I didn't want to change the decision that I had taken and I knew if I thought about the past, I will change it again, so I kept phasing, thinking about the lyrics of the song I was trying to remember, keeping my brain busy.

After five minutes, Aly walked in, wiping his hairs, wearing a dark blue shirt and khaki shorts. His sleeves were unbuttoned and top three of his shirt too, and he was barefooted..

"Are you done?" He asked running his hand through his hair.
I paused where I was; I was at the end of the room. As I looked at him, my first instinct was to jump on him and grab him, but my mind was on the alert mood.
Behave' my subconscious order me. I signed and slowly walked towards him.

He looked at me from top to bottom and
smiled crookedly.
"Let's go," he said.
And I hugged him.