Love and Loss

Priya reached for her glasses as she silenced the alarm. She really didn't need the alarm to wake her up. Her body clock was attuned to waking up at the same time from years. She woke up with a smile. The first day of the school term never failed to excite her.

Priya worked as the headmistress in a reputed boarding school in Ooty. She had joined the school 15 years ago as a junior teacher when she was 25. She had been heartbroken and desperately needed a change of scene. She wanted to be away from the city which carried memories of Prashant, her first and only love. She had chosen to move to Ooty. It had given her the anonymity and solace which her heart so much desired.

Prashant had been her senior in college. A chance meeting had to led to friendship. Their common love for books had brought them together. They could spend hours drinking coffee and discussing a book animatedly. The more they saw each other, the more they liked each other. Soon love blossomed and they became inseparable.

Prashant had to move to another city for a good job and had promised to come back within a year and ask her parents for her hand in marriage. Priya too would have finished her MA by then.

Prashant never came back and her parents started pressurising her to get married. But Priya could never imagine sharing her life with anyone else. She had decided to devote her life to teaching and books and had moved to Ooty. She was a passionate teacher and was well loved by her students and colleagues alike. Over the period she had risen to become the headmistress.

Priya who let her mind wander in the past chided herself for still thinking about Prashant. She quickly got dressed, had her breakfast and went around the school. The anxious parents and children definitely needed some reassurance. It was then she saw a father consoling a little girl who looked totally scared and lost. The man was on his knees and hugging her. When he turned, Priya immediately recognised him to be Prashant. Priya realised that seeing him after all these years didn't send her heart racing. It was obvious that he was married and the little girl was his daughter. It was the closure her heart desired.

She walked purposefully towards her office feeling lighter then she had in years when her heart told

I lost someone who didn't actually love me but you lost someone who truly loved you.

Meanwhile Prashant got into his car and sighed deeply. He had just dropped his orphaned niece as he could not take care of her alone. If only he had married Priya. He had got to know through sources that Priya had moved to Ooty. He crossed his fingers hoping he would meet her one day and she would give me a chance to explain.

Not everyone is lucky in love. It is better to have loved and lost rather than never to have loved at all.