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| Source: Internet |
I look at him wolfing down scoops after scoops of his favorite ice-cream while talking animatedly about his new found career.
He’s been chosen as one of the 10 engineers to be trained in Cochin for a year in the field of marine engineering, post which he will sail the world as an engineer.
I smile at him without listening to a thing.
The ice-cream treat is a token of appreciation for clearing his interview and achieving his dream job. But he doesn't know that this is also a parting away celebration – because in my mind I've already decided to end this.
I know this is bizarre – talking about ending relationship when this post is supposed to be about building relationship, growing & nurturing them, all while discovering your Platinum Day of Love
Why did I decide to end this relationship? For that we need to begin from the beginning, precisely one and a half month before the ice-cream party.
It’s a typical Gujarati pre-wedding Garba night in Navsari, a small town in Gujarat. Attending the wedding of a fellow colleague is a group of Mumbaikars, among them are the main protagonists of this story.
To discover love at somebody’s wedding is melodramatically Bollywood. But being a Shudh Desi Indian our romances are no less than a Bollywood screenplay and this is how the story begins.
The boy watching the girl dance, the girl scolding the boy for drinking too much, and so on and so forth. One thing led to another and by the end of the night the boy realized that he is irrevocably in love with the girl. He admits the same to the girl who brushes it aside assuming he is drunk, however not before planting the idea in her mind too.
They both retire to their respective rooms and begin the journey of realizing their hidden emotions. The late office hours, meeting up at the office pantry for steaming cup of coffees during breaks, debating and arguing over petty issues [both work related as well as general].
Was there always an underlying current or is it something that they learnt only now?
Amidst confusion yet with a clear mind, love blossomed between the hero and his lady. Was this their Platinum Day of Love? Not yet.
Merely a week into their relationship the boy revealed that he is applying at a marine engineering company which will give him the opportunity to be trained on the job in Cochin for a year after which he will be a professional sailor, meaning his job will require him to be away from home for 6 months at a stretch.
The girl simply nodded and went back to her coffee, thinking this is just a piece of news. Time flew and the day of the interview arrived. Knowing how much this job meant to the boy she helped him prepare for the interview all the while praying silently that he should not get the job.
This mixed emotion ascended from the fact that an occupation as a sailor would mean a long distance relationship and the girl was not prepared for the same.
The boy triumphed his interview and was elated above all else. When the girl got the news she was happy for the boy but sad for herself. She decided it was time to end, lest it gave heartbreak later on in their relationship it was better to end in the beginning.
Fast forwarding to the ice-cream parlor, I smiled teary eyed with a walk down the memory lane.
By now we are out of the parlor and are strolling down a lane. While he kept blabbering about his antics at the interview and other things, my mind kept repeating the lines I had to tell him.
“Let’s end this!” I whispered.
He looked at me with confused eyes.
I repeated myself, “Let’s end our relationship. I don’t think I’m ready for a long distance relationship. I don’t think this will work. Let’s end it!”
Silence
Followed by some more silence
Then, with a long breath and a deep sigh he turned towards me.
He took my hand in his, lifted up my chin, made me look into his shiny black eyes and slowly whispered in my ears – “I know this will work. I know we will make it work. I know I will make it work. You are the best thing that happened to me. You came into my life and I got my dream job. You are my lady luck. Even if you want to leave, I will never leave you. Not because you are lucky for me but because I feel lucky to be with you. When I got this job the first person that came to my mind was you. The thought of sharing this news with you doubled my happiness. Please be with me. Let me be selfish this one time and grant me your love. I promise I’ll let you be selfish throughout our relationship.”
Saying this he plucked a twig from a nearby tree and fashioned a ring out of it. Sliding it gently into my fingers he crooned a soft ‘I love you’.
With tears in my eyes and confidence in my relationship I hugged him dearly. This day and every day of my life hereafter is my ‘Platinum Day of Love’.
5 years into this relationship and we are still going strong. As for the ring he made from the twig, it is safely nestled amongst the many souvenirs of our love.
