Them.

Her smile.... She could melt anyone’s heart with her irresistible smile and twinkling brown eyes.

He...He couldn’t believe his luck, that he could be so near to her and get to love her.

The day he proposed to her, and she accepted, was the happiest he had been in a long while. He loved everything about her. Her jolly nature, her bright smile, the way she mocked him, cared for him, their witty battles and how she outsmarted him most of the times, never ready to accept defeat.

For her part, she never thought she could ever love someone the way she had loved him ever again. She had initially dismissed her feelings as infatuation, cautious of making another mistake. But when she realized his feelings for her, she decided to risk it all and love him anyway because the pain of losing him forever would have been far greater.

And thus they were together.

Some said they looked good together, some envious of him, some wondered how long would they last and some were least bothered. They were happy together and didn’t have care in the world.

She felt she had let go off her past heartbreak and the pain… But did she?

All went great for a while but the other people she had trusted revealed her inner insecurities. No matter how strong she appeared to be, deep inside was a girl who had her heartbroken and had wept inconsolably for a year. And a girl who could cry over thethought of enduring it all again.

Misunderstandings, complications and double layers were created between them. And their insecurities heightened them to the point where they had to separate.

Being apart she realized she was surrounded by knaves not knights. The initial happiness of being saved from a heartbreak was replaced by uncontrollable thoughts, plights of self-criticism, self-blaming and fault finding. Every day was a struggle as she fought to live everyday holding her head high and smiling, and crying the whole night over and over again. She saw him get better (or so she thought) and hated him for her misery.

Letting her go, was one of the most difficult decisions he had ever made. No, it was the toughest. He wept bitterly for three days. But he knew it was for their own good. She would’ve hated him at least this way he would still be in her heart or memories. He hoped she would move on, forget him start all over. But the day she would be with someone else, he knew,  would be doomsday for him. He put up a strong face each day, acting all cool and keeping his head high just fleeting the days left in the term.

After long contemplation, she knew it. It was him. He was the reason behind her misery, the one who held her heart. How could she even dream to move on, when the one who ate it, also nourished it.

Studying in the same college, living in the same hostel, you are most likely to cross paths again.

After a long vacation, in which they seldom heard from each other, they did break the ice with a lot of discomfort. They both spoke for a day or two, felt their feelings rising again and they stopped. This continued for a while.

One day, when they sat for a long while, he longed to ask about the things that worried her. He saw that the carefree girl he knew was lost. In that moment he knew there was nothing in the world he would not give to have that smile back. He finally did ask her. She knew exactly what he meant but pretended to know nothing. He frowned, bit his lip and revealed what he meant. He assured her he would always stand by her no matter what and whatever be the consequence.

She had watery eyes as she looked at this boy in front of her who loved her immensely, probably more than she ever could. She hugged him tight. He was more than happy …as the girl’s hostel bell rang and it was time for her to leave.