Call It Love

"And the award for best story goes to...."
The chief guest Ashwin Tiwari called her name and everybody just gone mad. Listening to all the clapping, she went up on the stage to receive her prize. The principal invited her to say few words.

She thought for a moment and then hold the mic.
"I'm honoured to be awarded as a best writer. Standing here, as anybody else would do, I would like to thanks my parents and my friends without whom I'm nothing. There's one more person whom I would like to thank and he's Shad. Shad thanks for leaving me when I needed you."

Everyone was stunned by her words. She came back to her place. No one was Clapping now as if she has just dropped a bomb.

*............*
Her story was declared as a best story by the judges and now they all were celebrating it in the college canteen.

"Congratulations, What have you written beta?" Chacha, the canteen owner has asked her.
"I have written about my Theory of Ishq chacha." She replied.
"Your theory of Ishq" he repeated as if he is creating an image, "Sounds interesting", he took a pause, "tell me about it."

He seems really interested.
"My theory of Ishq or say my story of ishq. You're what you've experienced. I've had experienced a heart break and so I'm a broken heart."

Her words were still.
"Tell me more...." Chacha was deeply driven into her story.
She looked around. Everybody has left. She and Chacha was all alone in the canteen.
"Do you really want to hear it chacha? It might leave you disheartened."
She warned him.
"Yes, I really want to hear."
"Elif shafak in one of her books has said," she begins,"Where there is love, there is bound to be heartache" and I totally agrees to that. I just paraphrased her theory to create mine. Just like every other story, mine too had a hero, a heroine and a villian. The hero was Shad. I was the heroine. I met him in my senior years. You know chacha, 'Shad' means happy. He was a happy soul and I was happy with him. He loves me unconditionally. Whenever I was with him I used to be on the seventh sky. I loved him dearly and can go to any extent for him. If you're thinking that there's some sort of societal norms in our path or anything like that so let me tell you there was nothing like that. Society wasn't the villian there. We were happy and so were our parents. From the very first day they were aware of our relationship. They were happy that we are mature enough to handle a serious relationship and were planning for our wedding, even though they never talked to us about it.

But there's a conjecture called 'Fate' chacha. I think fate wasn't with us. All the elements of the universe conspired for our separation and Shad somehow get involved in another girl. She was his junior and I've heard that he was the one who has proposed her. I didn't believe my ears when I heard about it. I decided to confront him and to my bad luck, it was true. He said that he's no more in love with me and he wants to break up with me. Without even being sorry he left me with my three broken years chacha. He left me with lots and lots of questions which I used to ask myself. I couldn't believe that the guy who was my life once has left me life-less. I was depressed. I tried to commit suicide and here also I failed miserably. Luck has never been on my side. Then one day, I decided to take over my grief. I hold up a pen and has written this story which has won the first prize. Everybody says it's fate and luck but I know it's the pain of my heart which I spilled on paper and the judges felt it too. Chacha sometimes I think what if Shad hadn't fallen for that girl, would I then, be able to be at this place where I'm today? I'm happy today, I'm feeling honoured, I'm humbled and grateful and that's why I thanked Shad to make me what I am today. Everybody there in the auditorium thought that it was a taunt and sarcastic comment on him but I know that it was a genuine thank. I am thankful to him for leaving me when I needed him. I needed him every hour, I needed him every minute and he was nowhere. I'm sad that I'm alone today but I'm also happy that being alone is better than being with a person who doesn't deserve you."

She stood up and left the canteen but he can see the unshedded tears of hers.

The end.

Happy reading.