The weakness

Meet Shyam and surbhi, two young lovers whom circumstances bring close and rip them apart in this emotional romantic

Love, when it happens, is an enchanting feeling. But, on the flip side, when a relationship falls through, nothing is more hurtful. It’s not without reason that heartbreak is called thus. Shyam could have never thought of these lines before he fell in the trap of the enchanting mistress called love.

 

It was well past midnight when Shyam finally decided that he should close his textbook of anatomy and enjoy some sleep before the exam next day. Just as he was lying down, his phone rang.

“Who is it?”

“Hey Shyam, you are so forgetful! Forgot your first crush in school?”

Everything became clear for Shyam. He remembered that lonely afternoon when he was chatting to suruchi, an orphan girl he liked in school, but could never muster courage to express his feelings to her. She had left the city and had gone to study engineering in Srinagar, a decision which baffled Shyam to no end. Chatting with her after such a long time brought back some of his memories of school. Suddenly, in a spur, he typed “Suruchi, I love you!”

She quit the chat room immediately. Hearing her talk at the other end was almost surreal.

“Hey suruchi! Of course I remember you! I was in half sleep so took some time. You know, it takes a while for the cognitive function of brain…”

“Shut up you nerd!” suruchi cut her off. “I called you up at this hour because my pesky roommates have just slept and I wanted to reply to that hare-brained proposal of yours. And my answer is that yes, I love you too!”

Shyam’s heart leapt into his mouth. He never expected that anyone leave alone a stunning girl as suruchi would love him, an obese nerd.

“Suruchi you made my day, or in fact”, he said checking his watch, “my night.”

“Good night my boyfriend!”

“Good night!”

That night Shyam didn’t sleep a wink. Next day, his test went horribly bad, but that was nothing unusual. He was used to failing in anatomy.

 

A routine was set for Shyam and suruchi. Every night Shyam would call her and they would talk for an hour, kissed each other good night (on the phones) and dreamt of each other at night. One night however, their conversation ended very unexpectedly.

“Shyam, if I asked you to do something for me, will you do it?”

“Yes, anything for you!”

To Shyam’s surprise, suruchi cut the phone. Shyam tried to dial again, but there was no response from suruchi. Shyam tried to call her the next day, but without success. It was as if suruchi had totally obliterated him from her life. He was not able to understand the reason for the same. After all, he had done nothing to deserve the treatment. He sent her an SMS, but got no reply. To him, his life was shattered. He was so close to suruchi, that when she tore herself away, she took a part of Shyam’s heart too, and that too without any apparent reason. One day however, a ray of hope came when he received a message from suruchi. But on reading the message it was clear that the ray of hope was as warming as the coolness of water in a mirage. It told him specifically to stay away from her; otherwise she would complain the police. Shyam was so shocked that he almost dropped his mobile on ground. The shock was too much for him to bear. He crept up in his bed and cried non stop for hours before collapsing to sleep.

 

Months passed, and the wonderful healer that time is, suruchi’s scars were slowly getting removed from Shyam’s heart. He had to focus more on the anatomy of human heart more than the state of his own heartbreak, which helped him forget her. Just when he thought he had removed her totally from his mind, he got a message from her mobile saying that she was sorry for her behavior and it was under forced circumstances. She wrote that she wanted to meet him, but it was not possible for her to come to his city, so could Shyam come to Srinagar instead? Again, suruchi had Shyam in daze. Didn’t even talk for a year, and now she expected him to come all the way from Ahmedabad to Srinagar just to know why she did so! It sounded crazy to Shyam and he was sure that living in such a volatile place might have addled her wits. He replied that he would not be able to come as he was having exams next month. It was a lie as he was enjoying his vacations, but he didn’t want to spoil his vacations for an ungrateful wretch that suruchi was. But, her next message startled Shyam, “Shyam, please come. It’s the matter of my life and death for me.” A loyal friend that he was, if not the best boyfriend, he could not stop himself from replying in affirmative, his previous experience with suruchi be damned! It was not that he believed such an action would help him win back suruchi, but it was only an act of friendship for someone with whom he felt the closest at one time. If he could save her life, as the message indicated, he would repay her in part for the wonderful moments he shared with her and for the sweet dreams he had of her. He took the next possible flight to Srinagar, telling his parents that he was going there to meet up with an old friend of his.

 

Once in Srinagar, it was not difficult for Shyam to locate the National Institute of Technology, where she studied and then to locate the girl’s hostel there. He was not allowed inside it, so he asked the security guard to call suruchi. He laughed at him and said “You are mistaken, my friend! Suruchi no longer stays here.” Shyam anxiously dialed her number, but nobody responded. A text message from suruchi soon followed, “Come in the garden of the campus. I will be wearing red salwaar-kameez.” Shyam smiled to himself and muttered, “No need to tell me dress code. I remember you perfectly.” He reached the garden and looked for her, but she could not be seen anywhere. Then, a girl in red salwar-kameez tapped his shoulder.

“You are Shyam, right?”

“Yes. But who are you? And how do you know me?” he asked bewildered.

“I am suruchi’s friend, Shikha. It was me who used to send you those messages, not suruchi. I wanted to see who is so lucky to be loved so much by her”

The world was spinning very fast for Shyam now. He almost fainted.

“What the hell!” he shouted after regaining normalcy, “You send me messages in the pretext of my former girlfriend, call me all the way from Ahmedabad just to see me! You could have seen my photo which was with your friend! I thought only suruchi has been addled by Srinagar and its insecurities but seems like even her friends are not spared! Why? After all, why do you girls play such dirty tricks on me?”

Shikha just smiled at him and handed her a letter. “Perhaps it contains answer to your queries.” Shyam snatched the letter from Shikha in anger but failed to notice the tears in her eyes.

The letter shocked Shyam to no end. All his previous shocks and surprises paled before the words he was reading:

 

Dear Shyam,

Since this letter is in your hands, I can assure myself that you have indeed come to Srinagar, leaving the comforts of your home, to save the life of a girl whom you would remember for most of your life as an ungrateful wretch. I know you loved this expression in school and even had the audacity to use it in your answers.

 

I think I have harassed you enough in the last year, haven’t I? Now, coming to the question that might have been burning you for the past one year- reason of my behavior. Shyam, when you told me that you could do anything for me, I knew from your tone that you meant each and every word of it, and that if I were in any kind of trouble, you would come all the way to Srinagar to help me. It was almost as if I was your weakness. I didn’t want to be your weakness, a cause of destruction of your career as a great doctor. And our relation was doomed anyways. Your parents would have never accepted me. I decided to end the relation on my terms.

 

However, the times were troublesome here during the recent riots. During one day of relative peace, I dared to venture out in the streets and was hit by a stray bullet. Nobody knows who shot it, the army or the terrorists, but it punctured my lungs. In the few hours that I had to live, I made my last wish to Shikha that I wanted you to pour my ashes in the Sabarmati River, as I had nobody else to call family.

 

Shyam, if you are reading this letter, it means you have come to Srinagar, and have proved me right that I was indeed your weakness, that you could have rushed here the moment you would have heard of the riots and would have gladly taken that bullet instead of me. I am happy that I have been able to remove one more obstacle from your path to be a successful doctor, even if it meant sacrificing my love.

 

 

Shyam, I am very sorry for the way events have turned out. I guess life does not give us all we desire. I hope death gives me that comfort. Goodbye.

Yours,

Suruchi.

 

Shikha looked at Shyam with tears in her eyes, “Shyam, I thought you would not believe me if I told you the truth. So I hatched this whole plan to call you here. I am sorry if I’ve hurt you.” Shyam was speechless. He remained thus as he carried suruchi’s ashes. He could still smell her sweet fragrance arising from the ashes, her soft voice calling him, her playful eyes looking at him mischievously.