1 YOU ARE ALWAYS MINE

Dear Readers,

I appreciate you for choosing this book. You won't be disappointed, I promise! I have put years of work into this to make it look perfect. Feel free to share your feedback and don't forget to vote if you want me to keep writing. The fact that I adore more than this writing is the smiles of my readers after reading it.

Whoever is reading this, may your parents live for a hundred years.

Whoever is reading this, may you find true love.

---------THE FIRST CHAPTER----------

With a smile, I caressed my sweat-soaked brown hair, feeling the sun. I looked at the sky, painted in shades of white believing that the good days come to those who wait. I rested my hefty shoulders, gently rocking to and fro on my rocker. The chair was nothing special. No polishing scale could hide the circular black burns on each arm, or pieces in the curved gliders, or scratches on the seat. But just sitting on the rocker would move me to vivid memories.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was those memories that started playing mind games. This roller coaster called my life surprises me at times or strikes me carelessly, without any warning. Yet I look forward to the thrilling events of life, waiting to unravel its deepest mysteries. I prefer to live life to the fullest and highlight all its features. Even if life teaches me things that I didn't wish to learn, it's a celebration of being alive.

Things change, people change. Life doesn't stop for anybody because it's a series of spontaneous changes. The only permanent thing is called change. Even grief doesn't change you, it only reveals the real you.

If all my thoughts were a book, you wouldn't get bored on the first page and throw it down. Although my thoughts surround themselves in a way that seems unimaginable, they always dance back to the way of life without harming the very people I love.

I started thinking about the girl who changed my life. She was just like the sun, lighting up every place she wanders. Her feelings were not easily hidden from her innocent face and it was her eyes that reflected her soul, a deep pool of restless gold, a sea of ​​despair.

My mind became cheerful, filled with her thoughts. It was then the warm breeze embraced my disemboweled self. The day I met her was the day I fell in love. It was so deep like I was falling into a bottomless pit. It was on 31 December 2020. I remember everything like it only happened yesterday. I was alone, wasn't into enjoying my solitude, strolling on the beach with my shoes, half-filled with sand. Everybody was celebrating the memorable New Year. That cold winter breeze was filled with promises and responsibilities.

There were strangers immersed in their phones, unaltered by the surroundings.

There were friends who barely noticed me.

There were some rash bikers doing a variety of stunts.

There were a lot of people, who never bothered me.

I wasn't happy until I saw her entertaining herself. She wasn't playing with the phone like the loners there. She was standing still, looking at her watch, probably waiting for someone. She was alone, talking to the moon. Perhaps she turned down the moon's proposal. I pitied the moon who often boasts of being handsome. The very next moment, she smiled for a second to make the moon hide behind the clouds. If anyone in sorrow looks at her smile, they'll lose their sadness. Her smile was as bright as the stars in the sky.

From the shadows of the clouds playing hide and seek with the moon, I saw her crystal-clear face with thick black hair running until her waist, untied. Her big beautiful eyes were not decorated with eyeliner but still looked like two powerful magnets that can attract even the strongest of hearts. She was struggling in the wind, trying to keep her hair behind the ears. Those ears carried earrings, which were unable to dominate her luminescence. My unpolished shoes smirked at me.

Her hair played Beethoven with the wind, twisting frequently like a restless child. I seemed out of place when I forgot my presence for a moment, like an astronaut mesmerized by a celestial beauty. I breathed softly when fireworks were lit. One spark split into thousand light particles, conquering the sky. I've always wanted to draw fireworks in the dark, holding pencils of pure light. Since a kid, I loved watching the fireworks. But this time it was different, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Her cuteness drove me crazy, triggering tunes on my heartstrings. I wanted to approach her right away before she notices me staring at her. But my legs hesitated to move forward. They were stuck in an imaginary quagmire. I followed my heart that started pounding louder than Adele's rolling. She was silent when she looked at the shiny sea. Her mind was in deep thought. She continued to check her watch, while I counted every minute.

The waves of the sea gushed to touch her encony feet. Waves were like wild horses, rising before hitting the sand with their white foam hooves. Before she made me feel like a zombie, I managed to speak something quite relevant.

"Hello! Happy new year".

"Same to you!".

She didn't even look at me. Many others must have already wished her. This wasn't a creative opening but at least it's better than silence. She continued to look at her watch, paying me no attention.

Who was she waiting for?

Was she waiting for her boyfriend?

Am I disturbing her train of thoughts?

The devil in me started making me upset. Her calmness made me worry even more. I cleaned my lips gently when I had no idea what to speak next. I felt weird and my confidence dropped low like my math grades. I was in terrible shape when my palms became cold like the winter snow. There was sweat all over the forehead and drops of salt attacked my eyes.

"This winter is really cold, especially today."

"Agreed", came her cute reply.

"Maybe words could bring more warmth than silence."

"Maybe."

"Tell me about yourself. What are your New Year plans?"

"My name's Ritisha. I'm done with my M.Tech. No plans. I hate my work."

"Plans are for dreamers. Hold fast to your dreams for if dreams get shattered, life is a broken bottle."

"English please!"

"Haha. If you set your goals, then your work is a joy. An athlete can win by choosing to train every day. A writer writes every day because there is the prosperity of the words that need to be born and live in the hearts of others to bring happiness. A builder or engineer plans to solve puzzles in a three-dimensional space, to provide a place to live, a place to call home. A mathematician plans to solve the problems, providing answers that inspire new technologies."

"Thanks for the theory of everything, Stephen Hawking."

"You are welcome!"

She faced the sea again. I didn't expect her to be funny. She must be popular among her friends. Did I seem like a philosophy professor?

The old man in eighties?

Or another stalker who is trying hard to impress? No one considers free suggestions from strangers. I only wanted to help her, not scare her.

There is nowhere a nerd gets a nice girl other than in movies. I'm like an alien, living somewhere on the dark side of the earth. My worst fears were back again. I noticed her being tortured by the cold wind. I removed my jerkin and held it in my hands. I looked at her politely with a smile.

"Do you need it? I think the wind is troublesome."

"No, it's okay."

"Please, I insist."

"Are you sure? That was nice of you!"

She took it from me and started wearing it. It fitted her with fidelity. The red jerkin made her look dangerous. A lot of passers kept looking at her like she is some rare item in the museum. I wanted to shove them away like ants on the sweet. I wanted to make them jealous when she hangs out with me in the future.

I wondered if she actually cared to know me. Is it okay to introduce myself before knowing about what's going on in her mind? I never dared to make a conversation. When I finally made one, there was too much philosophy and too little romance. I was in an eternal relationship with loneliness, which mocks me. It only guides me in embarrassing situations like this.

She may be calm but her presence made me exultant. I was breathing her perfume dissolved air. It was lavender in its finest form. The true power of scent is revealed when sprayed on its rightful owner. I was about to lose my senses when she finally asked me something.

"What do you do?"

That's the question, I've been waiting for. I let out a smile considering her eyes. I didn't feel uneasy to express myself. I believed that she wanted to know me too. I beamed with confidence for a little while.

"My name is Jaikar. I'm done with my MBA. It's a pleasure to meet you here."

"Nice to meet you too. What about your plans?"

She asked my question back. My plans weren't of any special version. I didn't plan anything yet. I wasn't sure about how to answer her. I don't want to be a laughing stock, right in our first conversation. I thought just for a second, but I finally replied to her very casually.

"I count stars dreaming to become one."

"It's like I'm talking to a drunken poet!"

"Oh No! Haha. It's like I'm talking to a famous comedian in her teens!"

"Teens? I'm 24! What a clever way to know my age!"

"Haha...I'm 25, in case you wanted to know."

She smiled looking at the stars, which are like holes in the umbrella of the dark sky, blessing us from above.

"I'm interested in taking up Civils. That's the hardest exam in the country. If I succeed, I can try to make this country a better place to live", I explained.

"All the best! I hope you succeed."

"Thank you very much."

She smiled at me when the whole world loved it. I keep falling in love with every moment I spend with her. I wanted to treasure such moments and put them in a book. I wanted to read it back to her, just to watch her smile more. I found her naughty smile spreading like viral in my heart. I stared into the depths of the dark sky that victory would be mine. I just wanted to know how she could gauge so much cuteness. She can easily win over every single star in the sky. I restricted myself from touching her hair. If she wasn't alone, I wouldn't have even tried speaking. My courage goes as far as singing in the dark, out of fear.

I'm like an underwater spirit, not the brave sun in the sky.

I'm like a fish in cool water, not the hawk that hunts over.

I'm like a spring breeze, not the raging storm.

Before I could prolong our conversation, she told me farewell and was about to leave. I still felt like listening to her beautiful voice. I still felt like a child, bubbling with curiosity to know more about her. I looked surprised but I still smiled.

"My jerkin..."

I cursed my tongue for being so loud. When I lend something, I don't always forget to take it back. By then, I already realized that I lent my heart to her. Let the jerkin be with her, I don't want her to suffer in the winter wind. Why did I remember this so urgently? The world won't fall apart if I don't get back my jerkin. I honestly don't want it back but she heard me clearly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, please take it."

"Err...it's okay, you can keep it. My body can handle this cold. Fact, it suited you very well."

"Thank you, but I'm not good at safekeeping."

Yeah, I definitely messed up. Now she doesn't want to meet me again to give back the jerkin. Maybe she had better things to do other than taking gifts from a stranger.

Maybe she was actually waiting for her boyfriend.

Maybe she wasn't really good at safekeeping. I smiled and accepted my jerkin back.

There wasn't anything else I could do. The jerkin seemed to be a bit warmer than usual. The fact that she was wearing it till then made my heart race. I felt honored to let her wear it. If fate is for real, we will meet again because I would love to have infinite conversations with her.

"Bye Jaikar."

"Goodnight! Sleep Tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"