(View recap here)

Time for a University Degree…

After their school got finished, she went to New Delhi for her higher studies and he went to a university close to his home town. She used to get vacations twice in a year – one after her university exams during June-July and next during Christmas holidays. When she’s on vacation, he used to call her on the phone – there used to be only two conversations in a year, sometimes through phone or sometimes directly. He didn’t get in touch with her during his first year at college.

When he was in second year of his graduation and when she came back for vacation during Christmas, he called her and had some ‘formal’ talk first. Then he asked,

“Could you please give me your hostel address?”

She asked, “Why? What are you going to do with that? Why do you need it?”

He said thinking that she will give him, “I need it to send you cards on your birthday”.

But she refused to give it. He was really disappointed and it was really hard for him to accept that she doesn’t even like him.. But he searched in the internet and found out her hostel address. When she came in vacation after her next university exams, he called her up and told that he got the address from internet; just her room no. alone is needed. But again she refused to give. He was really very much disappointed after her response, but he didn’t give up. He asked her whether she has any email-id. She replied that she had one, but she does not check it regularly and it might have been deleted. Yet he needed her id and asked her again and again. Finally she gave it to him. He asked her to note down his id so that she can mail him.

She asked, “Why should I note down your id? There is no need for that”

But he kept insisting on her.. Finally she agreed to hear the id, but said she wouldn’t note it down. Anyway he told his email id and after one week, she went back to her college. From that day, he used to send mail to her email id every week, but was returning back saying that the email id has expired. But he didn’t give up. Every week he used to send her e-mail and it got returned back. On one of the week-ends, he was not able to go home because he had to prepare for his seminar in the college. And on the next week-end, when he checked his mail box he was surprised!!! It was a mail from her new email id. He was really, really happy seeing her mail, thinking that she had created a new id for him!!! He replied her back, frankly telling about his happiness. And after two weeks, he got a reply from her. He used to send 2-3 pages of email and she used to reply in 1-2 paragraphs!! He simply opens up his thoughts, the happenings around him, about his friends and his college. One day he asked her whether she’s in any relationship in her college. And she replied that she had have a very good friend, who is a journalist in New Delhi and they met in a bus. She had said that he used to call her regularly and her friends were saying that he was in love with her. She had told that she too liked him very much and don’t know whether her feelings for the journalist friend was love or not.

Seeing her reply, his heart sank into the depths of ocean.. He felt that a huge stone is placed above his heart. His entire one week had wasted thinking about it. During that time, he was doing his semester’s project. He was not able to concentrate on his project works and everything was being done by his project mate. Finally he replied her –

“I think the journalist guy really loves you and that is why he calls you often. You too love him a lot and that is why you are feeling difficulty in recognizing it. Go ahead dear, you are definitely in Love!!” – with a sunken heart.

Two weeks later he got her reply saying that she was just kidding, just making him a fool. Seeing this, his heart was again filled with joy and he replied her about all the feelings which he had felt during those two weeks…

They continued their e-mail conversations until something happened in between them.

During the end of his final year, he took a new mobile connection and he mentioned his number in one of his replies to her, saying that she can call him, at least give him a missed call, if she wants. But she didn’t reply anything regarding it. On their Harvesting Festival he got an SMS from an anonymous number. He replied asking whose number is that, but didn’t get any reply. But he had saved that number, thinking that he can catch the owner later. But he never had clue!!!

Another one more year passed by and he had completed his graduation and got placed in a reputed IT firm. She was still in her final year during that time. His company was outside the state and after he joined that company, he took a new mobile connection. After the new connection was activated, he sent text messages to all of his contacts, informing them about his new number. He purposefully included the unknown number too while sending messages. After sometime, he got a reply from that number saying, “Hey, how did u get my number?” Seeing this, he got a clue that it could be her number. But to clarify his doubt, he replied, “I got your number by using the same technique as I got your hostel address!”

Another reply came, “Oh, so from when did they start to put mobile numbers in the Internet?” Seeing this reply, he confirmed that it’s her number. He was very much happy and called her back. He told her that, when he got her first reply, he wasn’t sure. And for clarifying his doubt, he replied like that. And their conversation went on and on and on up to about one and a half hours.

After that day on-wards, he used to send her text messages every day, either as a Good Morning message or as a Good Night message or both. She too replied him similarly. And he used to call her at least once in a week. Gradually he started telling her everything that has happened in his day-to-day life, about his new friends in the company, about his best friend from college life, about his infatuation story in the college and how it broke-up and finally those moments that he spent with her in their Sunday classes (He purposefully omitted the incident of his proposal to her, thinking that she might have forgotten). She used to listen him and used to tell him all the news and updates related to her, starting from her life at the college, about the posting to a remote location, journey to that place and living in that remote location, the movies they (she & her best friends) watched, the fun & laughs and the sentimental moments during the last month of her final year.. She also reminded him that he had proposed her too during their Sunday classes. At that moment, he came to knew that she hadn’t forgot any of that incident.

Both of them used to send fun-filled-teasing text messages which sometimes says that one loves another, but will end it making the other a fool. He was about to tell his love right after first month of their phone-conversation. But he controlled himself (he believes that God gave him control that time, otherwise that would be another big blunder!) and hadn’t mentioned even a single word about that.

Months passed by and its almost 7 months that they’ve been continuing their phone conversation. That was her farewell time too, as she was going to complete her graduation in Medical Field. Hers and her friends’ mind was filled with the thoughts of their good-old college days which made them paining inside their heart, as they’re bidding their farewell.. She shared all these moments & feelings with him. Their farewell party (by their juniors) was excellent. Next, they were having their final year exams and it went through fine. And after their exams, everyone had planned to stay back in the hostel for about one more month. Her birthday falls during that time.

He had been planning to tell her about his love towards her on her birthday itself. Her birthday is on 16th of that month. Three days before that day, his best friend had sent him an e-mail forward, which struck him deep inside his heart…. The content of the e-mail was that, one person had left from another’s life because he didn’t ask her to stay back. If he had asked her to stay back, she would’ve been with him forever..(see it here) This had increased his thought of proposing her on her birthday itself. And he was mentally preparing for that big day.. He had thought to make it flawless. He really wanted to say about his love only when the right time arrives and he would accept her reply, even if it is a “NO”, because he had always thought that he should not regret later in his life for not telling his love. If she says NO, that’s her choice, and at least he can relax in his mind that he had tried everything he could do.

Three days later, 15th – He called her around mid-night to wish her birthday. She was really waiting for his call, because he’s now her one of the dearest friends. He wished her Happy Birthday and asked whether her friends had given her “bums” or not, and continued their usual talks. But inside his mind, he had been thinking that if he told her then and if her answer was a “no”, then her special day may end as a bad day. So he decided to tell her the next night. He called her in the night, after coming back from office. She became a kind-of surprised and asked, “Hey, how come you called again?”

He answered, “Just for knowing about the celebrations that you had today.” She said that she was just came from her friend’s room after the chit-chats of the celebrations and it was pretty good. He was thinking in mind that, how would he tell her, how would he start telling it and so on… But, actually, he was really feeling sleepy and his voice clearly told her that he was tired and he needs a good sleep. She asked him whether he was feeling sleepy or not and he answered, “Yes”. He then thought that, if he tells her that time, she would take it as a joke since he’s in a sleeping mood. He then postponed it to next day and hung-up the phone.