Be My Light When The Path Is Dark

On the banks of river Ganga, in the city of Varanasi where no one could see them, sat a girl and a boy in late teens dressed in their school uniforms, with their bags placed beside them on the stone staircase. They sat in a desolate area which was a bit far from the hustle-bustle of the visitors and was covered with lush trees making it a perfect hiding spot. Ever since they started dating, it had been their favorite point to meet because no one would catch them here.

Both of them were quiet, with their gaze fixed on the river that flowed silently in front of them. The cool evening breeze blew in their hair, due to which the girl tucked the stray locks that had gotten out of her ponytail behind her ear every now and then.

"How did your exam go?" The girl finally broke the silence by asking the boy about his exam as today was the last day of their board[1] exams.

"It went fine. The rest depends on the result. What about you?" He asked looking at her.

The girl picked up a small pebble from near her foot and threw it into the river. With the splash of water, formed ripples in it that soon disappeared, and when it finally did, the girl spoke, "Not so good. The questions were tough."

The boy just nodded his head without saying anything. He knew she was upset but he didn't know what to say that would pep up her foul mood so he rather preferred to stay quiet.

He had just dropped the bomb on her an hour back by telling her that he along with his family was moving to London forever. He hadn't told her earlier as their exams were getting closer and he didn't want to upset her right before it. She had been shocked to hear it and had been utterly quiet after it. All she had asked after getting the news was that how did his exam go.

More than fifteen minutes passed and none of them spoke a word. The boy finally turned his face to look at the beautiful girl sitting beside him to only catch her silently wiping the tear that had rolled down her eyes.

"Hey don't cry, please." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him.

"No, I am not crying." The girl immediately wiped her tears and shook her head. After sniffing, as her nose would always get blocked whenever she cried, she forced out a small laugh to show the boy that she was genuinely fine. "See I am even laughing."

They had dated for almost four years now and before that had been friends since they were in kindergarten. He had known her for long enough to know that she was faking the laughter, but he still didn't expose her. He just smiled in return and pulled her even close before giving her arm a gentle squeeze. The girl placed her head against his shoulder and wrapped his arm around his belly.

"When are you leaving?" She cocked her neck to look at him.

"Tomorrow." He answered in a small voice. He felt her body getting stiff for a short while hearing his response before it relaxed again.

"So eager to leave the country, huh?" She asked with a dry chuckle.

"It's important. We would have left earlier but Dad was just waiting for me to finish my exams." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay." The girl nodded her head as if she understood his dilemma.

"Shivin..." she called out his name and then pulled back from his embrace to look at him in the eyes. The setting sun was casting its last golden rays for the day which fell on her smooth skin, adding a golden glow to her angelic face. Her big brown eyes clearly reflecting the love that she held for the boy sitting in front of her.

"Yes...?"

"... let's break up." She said with a small smile on her face.

The hand that was still on her back, became stiff. "Break up? Why?"

"I don't think long-distance would work." Her answer was simple and to the point.

"But if we try, we can work it out. Don't you think?"

"Shivin," she cupped his face gently, "it will be too tiring. Let's part on good terms so that at least we could cherish all the good memories that we have created together. And who knows, we might again cross paths in the future and if destiny has it for us, we might still end up together. Don't you think so?"

Shivin hugged her tightly, almost crushing her in his tight grip. "Alisha, be honest with me. You ain't doing this out of anger, are you?"

Alisha hugged him back tenderly while a small chuckle escaped her mouth. "You know I can never be angry with you, silly. I love you way too much to get angry enough to ask for a breakup."

"I love you too Alisha. I am sorry that I have to leave you so abruptly, but I have no other choice. I wanted to tell this to you long back, but I was worried you might screw up your exams." Finally, they couldn't hold it any longer and the dams of their emotion broke freely. They sobbed in each other's embrace for a long time before they reluctantly pulled back.

"Can you promise me something?' Shivin asked.

"Mm-hmm, what is it?"

"Promise me that if you ever, and by ever I mean even if your hair turns white and your teeth fall, if you ever need anything, you would not hesitate to ask me for it. Can you promise this to me?"

Alisha laughed hearing his words. "I promise, love."

And with that, both of them smiled and hugged each other. Shivin pulled back to place a small kiss on her ruby lips. It was a sweet kiss of love that bade his goodbye to her.

[1 Board exams are the exams held on a national level in every school in India for the students of class 10th and 12th.]