I AM CHIRAG & THIS IS MY LOVE STORY

I belong to a middle-class family in Odisha, a state in India. There is one thing common in middle-class people like us, we have big dreams. Our society tend to teach us the same thing – if you make a lot of wealth and fame then you will be recognized as a successful person. The surrounding society instills a sense of competence and if we are not able to do so, then we will be counted as “losers”. But does this so-called success bring us the real happiness that we are all looking for?

Let us find it out…

My name is Chirag & I am narrating the story of my life that how this idea of success made me set the wrong goals and hence the wrong path. But I was fortunate enough to know the real goal of human life at a crucial point in my life when I was completely exhausted after chasing my false dreams. A special person came in for the rescue. He helped me to know about the real goal of life and a practical path to achieve that goal.

2013, LIFE TAKES A NEW TURN

I had already lived 14 years of my life and nothing interesting had happened in that duration. Then I stepped into high school in the year of 2013. This is the time when our lives take up a whole new direction due to the influence of adolescent hormones. Our interests and focus start to shift to different things. Some people get more serious about careers; some like to hang out with beautiful girls, and some develop addiction to alcohol and drugs. This is the time when most people get influenced by the strong gust of the adolescent wind. 

I was a pretty smart student, so I took studies for granted. I was popular in my school and especially in my class… My attention was grabbed by a beautiful girl in my class named Pranshi. I had heard that she had already a boyfriend, but still, I got attracted to her. I wanted her existing relationship to be broken, so she could be mine. 🙂

Whenever she would enter the class, I could smell the sweet fragrance of her beautiful long hair. I got so obsessed with her that all the time her face used to flash in my mind. Sometimes, I would become cautious as if she was watching me. Slowly these feelings made a strong base for my one-sided love story. It kept on growing. I could not keep these feelings inside me and started sharing my heart to my close friends.

Since I was good at studies and looks, almost all the teachers and students at my school knew me. I had a presumption that nobody could reject me, and my friends also had the same impression about me. So, my friends would encourage me to express my feelings to Pranshi. I had tried many times but whenever she would look at me, I felt nervous, and my heart would beat faster.

23RD SEPTEMBER 2013 – AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY OF MY LIFE

Six months passed like this, and I could not express my feelings to her. One day I shared this seriously with my close friends. When they observed my intense feelings, they got excited and started giving me ideas to me – on how to open my heart to her. After getting boosted, I gathered some so-called courage and I decided to tell Pranshi, about my feelings for her. So, one day I gathered all my courage and in a grave voice, I told her to meet me at the backside of our school. She was surprised to get such a strange request from me but since I had a good reputation she agreed to come. My school hour was over, and all the teachers and students had already left for their homes.

I was waiting for her with extreme nervousness. I was less afraid of being rejected than losing my reputation in school. And finally, I saw a pink ladybird cycle coming towards me. It was Pranshi who was riding the bicycle. Both of us were in school uniform so I first checked whether or not anyone was noticing us. She reached near me and stopped her bicycle. Looking at my face with curiosity she asked, “What happened? Why did you call me here?”

My heartbeat went up faster. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath. I gasped and said, “First promise me that you would not tell this to anyone.”

“Huh? What happened? Please tell me”, She said.

“First you promise me that you won’t tell this to anyone”, I insisted.

“Okay, I promise. Now tell me what happened”, she agreed and asked.

“I want to say that I love you. I know that you have a boyfriend. But still, I have developed deep feelings for you. Now it is up to you whether you want to accept my feelings or not”, I said.

After hearing this, she lowered her eye lids and smiled in shyness. “I have no boyfriend. We have broken off our relationship a long time ago”, she said.

“Really! Oh, so do I have a chance or not?”, I asked.

“Look, after six months we will pass out of this school, and we are not even sure whether or not we will meet. So, I do not want to stay in a relationship where I have no assurance”, she said.

I could sense some positivity and did not want to lose the opportunity. So, I told her, “What made you think – that we will not meet after passing out of school? I will stay in this town, and you will also stay here. So, what is the problem?”

“But you said that you would move to somewhere else after your schooling”, she asked.

“No, I will complete my higher secondary (Class 12) here.”, I assured her.

“I will tell you tomorrow. I cannot take such decisions immediately”, she said.

“Yes, you can take as much time as you want. I do not have any issue”, I said.

I came back home, but this time I felt everything different than they used to be. A mixed feeling of happiness and curiosity was tickling me from inside. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I was curious to know what decision she had made. Each minute passed like a year for me. I plucked in my headphones and started listening to some romantic songs. I told my friends that I had expressed my feelings to her. “Oh my God. What did she say? “Yes or no. She must have said yes”, my friends asked me in excitement.

“No man, she said neither Yes nor No. She will tell me tomorrow. But from her gestures I felt like she was interested in me… and the good part she is single”, I said.

“Oh, man! Do not worry, she will say yes. I am 100 percent confident that you will get a yes from her”, my friends started convincing me.

“Hopefully. But it is difficult to wait”, I said.

One of my friends said, “I can understand. I have gone through this feeling. But this is the amazement of “love” man. Just enjoy”.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT

The day was dusked, and we returned to our respective homes. Again, my mind got bombarded with her thoughts. I was so engrossed in her thoughts that neither hunger nor thirst bothered me that day. I had not felt like this before. I couldn’t sleep and I was just turning from one side to the other on the bed and dream up about her reply.

Somehow, I fell asleep and got up late the following day. So, I hurried to school. When I entered the class Pranshi was sitting with her close friend, Vini and talking to her. Both looked at me and her friend came up to me to say something. My heart started beating faster. Vini looked at me with a teasing smile and I knew that she was well aware about what happened the previous day between me and Pranshi. She was bringing Pranshi’s reply to me. I was only guessing about her reply and finally Vini said something.

What she said will be revealed in the next chapter. Stay tuned….