Meet You The Next Summer

   Finally, the summer vacation arrived. Neha returned to her grandmother's home. On her arrival, her eyes met those brown eyes looking at her in awe. She was about to approach that brown eyed boy but then her grandmother summoned her to have a look at the beautiful garden she has raised. 

  The boy sprinted back to his bedroom and stared at the ceiling fan, his thoughts running at the speed of light. He reminded himself, "Love doesn't exist." He opened up his phone and saw the picture of his ex-girlfriend and remembered how truly he loved her yet she chose to leave him just because of his appearance. He threw his phone on the pillow and jumped up to walk across the room. He walked past the mirror and stopped at a moment. He stood still and stared at his reflection. He could see a thin guy, with light moustache, face almost oval,simple t-shirt and loose trousers. He said to himself," You don't really look good like other cool teenagers at school." Almost about to cry, he muttered, "I don't deserve love." 

    Neha was very much curious about that boy. She was going to water the plants in the garden. Her grandmother warned her about the small patch she had dug to put the fallen leaves in. But Neha was engrossed in her thoughts and went ahead without paying attention to the warning. She started singing and watering the plants. The boy heard the sweet melody and came upto his window from where he could see the childish, innocent and playful nature of Neha.

He thought to himself, "She looks so delighted around trees, she might like to spend more time in nature." Then he saw her dance through the garden and suddenly she feel into the dig. She cried for help but her grandmother had already left to the market to buy apples for the pie. The boy rushed to the garden and pulled her out through the mud pool she accidentally created with water hose in her hand. She was so embarassed due to her messy behaviour. But the boy shyly asked her if he could help her to clean up with all the mess created. She gave a mischievous smile and accepted. She kept asking him the questions out of curiosity while they both were cleaning up. She asked his name, to which he slowly muttered, "Manish." She later acknowledged that he is the neighbour who frequently helps her grandmother. Grandmother was back to home and greeted Manish and Neha. They all laughed upon the story of mess that was there a few moments ago. Neha insisted Manish to take her to the nearby woods as she is 'dendrophile'. Manish questioned about its meaning, to which she replied, "A person who loves trees and forests". Manish agreed to take her out for a whole day tomorrow.

    Manish was a bit nervous about his meet with Neha. He spent a sleepless night. The next morning, he walked across the garden to the doorstep of Neha. She was already ready with her bag, totally excited. They both started the journey. 

    They walked across the trees of all sizes. She even hung on the branch of tall tree and Manish gave her a cute smile and clicked a picture and she just stopped for a second; she was appreciating his sweetness and gentle behaviour. Manish felt nervous about Neha's never ending stare. He started overthinking about his appearance again. She jumped down and the branch swung. She then asked him take a break from walking. They both settled near a pond. Water was still and a cuckoo from distant can be heard cooing. Neha looked at Manish and appreciated his beautiful nature. But then Manish got teary eyed and said,"I am unlovable." She gasped and then laughed, "You are not unlovable, because I love you." Manish was surprised and looked at her for few more moments and stated the fact about being bullied and dumped due to not being upto beauty standards preached by social media. Neha stated, "Can you hear cuckoo? Listen to the sweet melody. According to the false beauty standards, she is less beautiful than peacock. But does that matter when it joyfully chirps and makes the whole forest resonate with this beautiful sound? What matters is how pure feelings and thoughts the person has from inside. I think,

Everyone is beautiful just like this cuckoo who is singing, this pond who is still, the trees swaying. The sun is shining and overheating during summer but doesn't it feel good to be touched by the warm light rays?" Manish was so much in love with her words and sweet personality. He replied, "I love you too." She smiled and hugged him.

   They both returned back to home and wished each other, "Good night." 

   Next, day they played in the garden, saw a movie later. Manish took Neha in her arms and thanked Neha for coming in his life. Neha smiled but suddenly frowned. Manish got worried, he asked whether something was wrong. She said, "My summer vacation will end within this week. I will really miss you. Please stay in contact." Manish cheered her up and said, "Don't worry, distance doesn't matter, what matters is our strong connection. Give me your phone number." Neha took his phone from his hands and was surprised to see her photo of hanging from the tree branch as his wallpaper. She teased him and typed in the numbers. They decided to spent a memorable week together.

      Finally, the day came when she had to return to her parents' home. Her summer vacation ended. They both were almost teary but managed to see each other faces through pearly eyes. He gave her a tight hug. She wished him the luck and he did too. She whispered in his ears, "Meet you the next summer." He wrote it on paper and handed her. She sat in the bus and saw him through the window, waving at her. The two hearts were connected. The feelings were attached.