In Heart And Soul

She had known him for almost one year now. They had the same group of friends. They planned their trips together. Whenever they used to be together and even on the long group calls and individual calls, she wondered should I tell him? Will this spoil my friendship. I didn't know, how he feels for me. Will this ruin my friendship. This kept her shut for the next few months and she continued enjoying a great bond.

With time, their bond became stronger, she began sharing her secrets, seeking his advice every now and then. It was a long time since they all met. So, they planned a group trip and she agreed. It was exactly after 54 days to go and she they were all very excited. Her excitement, of course, was more than others as she was going to see him after such a long time. For her, video calls were not enough.

The day came, they all met. It was a four-day-long trip. They planned it well, and they all had a wonderful time together. They all used to come back to the hotel by 9 PM, ate and drank together. They all used to talk a lot about their lives, offices work while drinking. One day, she got drunk and they were playing cards. She won all the rounds and became super excited. She asked everyone for a long drive. Her friend was asleep. Everyone else agreed. He didn't.

She thought, maybe he doesn't like her. Maybe he just treats her as a friend. Maybe she made the right choice of not telling him. Thinking all this, she slept on the way and came back after the drive.

Two days had already passed, two days were left. The next day, she decided not to spoil this friendship and got ready for the outing. They spent a great day together. During the day, she noticed that he was trying to look at her, be close to her, talk to her, share some life secrets, which he didn't tell others. But again, she thought maybe I am overthinking, and this can spoil our friendship, and chose to be quiet.

Day passed. They came back. Ate and drank. She was feeling blessed that at least she can sit next to him and enjoy this friendship.

The next morning, they all got ready, watched movies, had lunch, spent their day happily, and came back. That day they came back early as it was the last day to be together.

With the passing time, they all realized that they will have to return to their lone lives. To live these moments to the fullest, they drank, danced, laughed together. After some time, they all were drunk. She saw her friend, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to console her but couldn't stop herself from crying. Everyone tried to console them, but she went out on the balcony. He stopped the other boys and went to her. Trying to console her, he hugged her. She felt like being in heaven. This is what she was craving for, this is where her heart wanted to be. He said, "Let's go inside and sleep, everything will be fine, we will meet again". She said, "No, this is where I want to be, I don't want to go."

This is when he realized and thought, "If I don't express my feelings now, I won't be able to say it, ever", and asked, "Let's go for a drive." She nodded and they left.

He, being in his senses, took the steering, she agreed to be the navigator. He put some location on her phone and asked her to tell the way. She nodded. They started. She was drunk and asked him to drive slowly so that she could figure out the turns correctly. He followed.

That bond and understanding in them worked. They reached and google lady said, your destination is on your left. She screamed, I did it. He laughed. He got down from the car, had a word with the gatekeeper, and allowed them inside. She silently watching everything from the car window, shouted "Where are you taking me? Let's call others too." and laughed. He quickly came back while she tried to dial their friends. He took the phone and said, "Don't call anyone, this is only for you". She was surprised and could speak nothing but Okay.

She was nervous and didn't utter a word. He parked the car and got down, opened the door for her, held her hand, and asked her to come along. She followed.

She saw a huge ground in front of her. He held her hand, and said, "I don't know, how you feel for me and how to say this. I love you." She was shocked and thought how foolish she was.

She said, "Oh, no! You have got yourself stuck." He said, "It's your doing." She laughed.

They hugged, kissed, and hugged again. She said, "You are not allowed to go anywhere now." He smiled and said, "I don't want to." She was on top of the world, she smiled, had tears in her eyes, and hugged him. This is what she was dreaming of, for months. For her, it was a dream coming true.

He held her hand and walked to the car. They sat and he said, "You didn't answer me", with a shy smile she said, "Plan another trip for that!" and they both laughed.

With a commitment, smile, and lots of love, they drove back carrying a promise to be together always.

The next day, all of them had return flights. She couldn't stop smiling thinking about the last night and their future. When he landed, he switched on his phone, trying to dial her, received a notification. It was a poem that she had written. Smiling and blushing, he started reading:

In Heart and In Soul

What's there in the mind, what's there in the soul,

Pay attention and listen to get'em all.

What if, no mind, only the soul,

What if, all are in a swirl.

Oh…I forgot there was a heart so small,

The one that always dominates the call.

So the question had changed for all.

What's there in the heart, a creature so dwarf,

I guess it's you, roaming in engaged in morph.

Drinking, driving, and navigating like never heard before,

Then I could understand what were we therefor.

Engulfed with the love, filled with warmth.

The replies, the promises that were strongly set forth.

The moments, the happiness, the promises for us,

The plans with a person, I found, flawless.

Ah…that chocolate, the pizza, the diner at last.

Melts my heart, sets the mind to a blast.

Hey, heart and mind are in sync.

The soul was touched somewhere in a blink.

So what's there in the soul, heart, and mind?

You were the only answer of that kind.

With a wide smile, red cheeks, blushing even more, feeling blessed and in love, he called her to ask if she reached and ended up expressing his love once again…