Love, Then and Now - My entry for the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

Having grown up on a diet of SRK movies, at 15, Aabha thought love was all about having romantic candle light dinners and whispering sweet nothings. Falling in love in her class 10 best friend, Arjun, she had a love affair that made her friends green with envy. But now, at 25, when she is no longer a love-struck teenager and a long distance relationship with Arjun leaves her with huge pangs of loneliness and makes her think about love, marriage, life and beyond.

At an age where you step into a world where a superstar among friends in college is a nobody in the real world and everything you knew about yourself and life no longer holds true, an age when you want a guy to be there holding you when you fall, Aabha finds herself completely alone.

Another corporate world nobody, Vikrant, Aabha’s colleague, can’t wait to get away from her lonely pangs and mushy talks about her boyfriend. After a couple of late nights at work in office and dropping home trips, the definition of love changes for Aabha. Is it candle light dinners? A habit? An infatuation with a person you’ve just met because you’re bored? Or is it friendship at a level where the line between love and friendship diminishes?

Extract from the story:

After an exceptionally early, yet tiring day, Vikrant and I decided to take a detour for a coffee at CCD Carter Road, but the sea looked more inviting than coffee, so I dragged Vikrant along with me for a stroll by the sea. It was quiet walk. Our hands touched a couple of times and my heart ached for him to hold my hand.

I wanted someone to hold my hand. It had been long since Arjun held my hand. There’s something about a guy holding your hand which says that everything is alright in the world and even if it isn’t, I’ll make it alright. I craved for human touch. I craved for someone to talk to me, to listen to me, but Arjun was too busy. In complete silence, we walked for 20 minutes. My mind wandered aimlessly about Arjun’s memories. Vikrant was quiet too, maybe he was thinking of someone too.

It was the quietest evening I’ve had in a long time, yet I felt I had the best conversations of my life. Sometimes, a little solitude, someone to walk with and a vast ocean is all we need.

We were silent in his car too when he came to drop me home. As he braked in front of my building, I thanked him for a wonderful evening. He came forward and smiled. I smiled and open the door to step out.

“Aabha”, Vikrant called out. I turned back to look at him and he came forward, confidently this time to kiss me on my forehead and said “Whatever it is, it’ll be alright”.

And with that, my well controlled flow of tears gave way and I hugged him.

Endnote: This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

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