Love is Endurance; Love is Patience; Love is Strength; Love is Forgiveness; Love is Commitment; Love is Hope; Love is Life; Love is YOU sweetheart. A story to know love, to feel the pain, to have desire, undergo anguish, to keep one’s promise and finally deserving the ultimate happiness.

A boy named Rohan Malhotra who hardly knew what love is, fell in love with Sunaina Rathore when he was just thirteen. He went to a fair nearby his house along with his friends, when he first saw her crying hard to get her favorite cotton candy. He fell in love with her at the very first sight. Her innocence attracted him just like honey attract bees; her presence gave him a turbulent flow of emotions which he himself was unaware of, he kept on gazing at her till her mother dragged her to the car. “Wow, she is so pretty, why didn’t her mother let her buy a silly cotton candy?” he enquired to his best friend Subham. “Arrey yaar, choor naa, tu bhi kya larki ke peeche par gaya”, Subham replied.

“Areey no, she seemed to be very innocent”, Rohan replied.

“Forget it!” his friend dragged him to another stall. There were many things in the fair which can easily distract a twelve year old boy but it seemed that nothing excited him so much other than the girl whom he just saw crying for a silly thing. His eyes were searching for her though his heart knew that she already left the fair but still he was dying to have a glance of her.

When he reached home he kept on thinking about her, her face was very prominent when he closed his eyes, he thought that her red dress gave justice to her fair complexion, her lips were moist and pink in color, her eyes were full of tears and the eye-liner got messed up badly yet she looked so pretty. The urge to meet her got him on his nerve and he spoke to his best friend about the strange feeling bubbling in him. His friend laughed at him when he heard about it but when he saw Rohan was getting serious day by day; he was ready to help him to find out his crush. They searched every corner of their locality but they failed to find her location, she was out of their reach. Finally they gave up and Rohan somehow convinced himself that it was a mere crush and he would get out of it very soon but it was not that easy, her thought kept on pricking him inside and made him restless. Every year he used to visit the fair without fail, hoping that he can see her once again but destiny had another plan, she never visited the fair again. He got disappointment every time when he saw his desire not being fulfilled by the Almighty. As time passed by he realized that she was not just a memory anymore but something much more than a memory, she became Rohan’s weakness. Rohan was madly in love with her, but was that possible? He was hardly twelve when he first saw her; he didn't know where she lives? What’s her name? He kept on praying to God to show mercy on him and finally after five long years the Almighty waved his magic wand. He bunked his tuition along with his friends just to visit the fair as usual and waited near the same cotton candy stand. They waited for hours but she didn't show up and all his friends lost hope and asked him to let go. But he refused to give up and convinced them to wait for little longer time. The magic happened; he saw her approaching the same cotton candy stall. She was wearing a white salwar, with bangles on both hands. Her hair grew long and her locks were falling on her face as she tried hard to manage them. Her innocence shone the same way when Rohan had first seen her, she looked the same as before and she didn't change a little.

“Hi, my name is Rohan… Rohan Malhotra. What’s your name?” he enquired.

“Do I know you?” she replied.

“No... Actually I saw you five years back, you were wearing a pink dress and you looked awesome in that, you were standing right here”, he replied and kept on gawping at her.

“Excuse me, you saw me five years back and I was standing here!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, you were crying hard to get a cotton candy but your mom refused to buy one. If you don’t mind umm… can…umm…” he stammered.

“Can we be friends? Well I think no”, she replied and walked away. Within no time his endless waiting lost all its value; how can she be so rude. He visited the fair every year without any fail and when he saw her again after five long years, she rejected him.

“Hey, just friendship would be fine, I won’t disturb you, please”, he pleaded. She saw directly into his eyes, they were almost wet but still she made her way. He got upset seeing her go, but he could do nothing. He turned back and started walking towards his friends, his eyes were full of tears.

“Hi! My name is Sunaina… Sunaina Rathore”, a sweet voice spoke. He turned back and saw her smiling at him. “Mujhse Dosti Karoge?” she winked at him. He felt himself on cloud nine, his happiness knew no bounds. They shook their hands and went to same cotton candy parlour. They exchanged their email IDs before their leave-taking and decided to be in touch. Later he went to the church and thanked God thousands of time, he still couldn't believe his fate. After that incident he kept on blushing whenever he mentioned her name. They became best of buddies in no time; they preferred email and net chats over telephone and within a month or two they fell for each-other. Both were happy with each other as they found most of the things common in between them. They gave their boards together and decided to take admission in the same college. They kept on planning each thing, their ambition, career, work, home, marriage, children etc.

Everything was going perfect till the day when Sunaina’s father decided to immigrate abroad completely. Waves of agony and despair shook the young bud of love; Rohan couldn't digest the fact and they fought nearly every day over the same issue. Sunaina tried hard to convince her dad, she gave thousands of reason not to leave India but it was as if the Person reigning the heaven was failing every attempt of her.

Rohan-no u r not going anywhere.  Wat about us? Our relation? Don’t u luv me?

Sunaina- why r u behaving lyk this, I’m trying my best to convince dad but he is not listening. I luv u jaan, pls I need ur support at this moment, how can u fight wid me at this moment? Since a week u didn’t even care to ask how am I, instead u kept on fighting each day.

Rohan-I cant live widout u, m freaking out each moment when I realize I cant c u anymore. Wat about our plans? Plzz don’t go…

Sunaina-I too cant live widout u, but I’m helpless here. You knw mum always said that there comes a time when God puts every relationship into test to see how strong is the relation, He wants to see whether u kneel down before difficulties or u survive ur relation… Rohan, if our relation is strong no matter how far v stay, how less v talk, we can overcome everything, we can defeat our bad tym, but for this we need each other’s luv and support. Kya tum mera saath nahi doge jaanu?

Rohan-I luv u, I luv u sooo much baby. U r r8, m soo soorriee dat I behaved lyk dis. I promise I’ll never let our relationship break, I promise I’ll never let us fail in this test, I promise I will luv u forever.

Sunaina- I luv u too Rohan, I knw u’ll never let us lose the match, I trust u.. v’ll be in touch through mails and net chat and if possible v can do video conferencing… I luv u.. mmmuuaaahhh..

Rohan-mmmuuuaahhh on ur forhead, mmmuuaaahhh on ur cheeks, mmuuaahh on ur lips.. I promise my angel, I’ll mail u every day…

Sunaina- me 2 baby… but now I got to go, mum is calling… I cant cum on9 any more, my cousins r at home, if they sense this I’ll be in trouble… I luv u baby, bye..

Rohan-luv u 2 baby, takcre… chat wid u later…

Sunaina.Rathore@....... went offline…

After two weeks Sunaina and her family shifted to L.A. Both of them were shattered and devastated but they never showed their grief to each other instead they pretended to be strong enough; they behaved as if the long distance didn’t matter to them at all, but silently they missed each other infinitely. Due to the different time zone, they could hardly chat with each other but as per their promise they kept on mailing each other every day without fail. A year passed and everything was moving smoothly, they now chatted much often and they did video conferencing twice a week. They were happy with each other’s commitment and love was in the air; but then Destiny again planned something else for them. All of a sudden, that day Sunaina didn’t mail Rohan and that created concern in him, he thought numerous times what went wrong, why didn’t she mail him? After a while he convinced himself that she might be busy or her mom would be around her and many more excuses hit his head. As per his promise he mailed her and showed his concern and decided to wait for the next day. The following day came but she didn’t reply to his mail. “What’s wrong with her? Why didn’t she reply? What about the promise she gave? Is she ok? Yeah, definitely, she got to be ok”, he explained to himself. He once again convinced his heart and mailed her with a hope that she would reply her the following day. One more day passed  and she didn’t reply again, in fact days became weeks and weeks became months and then a year was about to get over but she didn’t reply to a single mail, he kept on mailing her convincing himself that she would mail him someday but that “someday” never came. Rohan tried hard to enjoy his college life but something hold him back; he could never get over Sunaina. Why she changed so much? She didn’t contact him since a year, he kept all his promises then why did SHE prefer silence? Each night he went under a trauma and kept himself aloof from every one. Subham was also studying in the same college, since a year he had observed the change in Rohan and he knew the reason too. He tried hard to make Rohan understand that may be Sunaina moved on in her life and he should also move on but Rohan never agreed to that, he replied every time, “Unless Sunaina gives a reply letting me know that she left me or she had another relation, I won’t agree that she moved on or she is dating another guy. I love her and trust her a lot and I know this is the time God is testing me and I promised her that I won’t let us fail the test.”

He always avoided social gatherings and preferred to be alone, he didn’t speak to anyone, he got very few friends in the college and every one in his group knew about him and Sunaina but they always gave him the required space. Out of all his friends, one was there who cared about Rohan a lot. She was the one who always cared for Rohan secretly, prayed for his happiness unpretentiously and loved him unconditionally. Her name was Diyana Sengupta. She was in the same department as that of Rohan. She was very different from the other girls in the college, she loved reading books in her leisure, she loved visiting orphanage and old age homes, she always lent a helping hand to others and the needy selflessly; she lead a very simple life. She fell in love with Rohan the very first day she noticed him and later when she learnt about Rohan’s commitment she nurtured no complaints and sorrow in her heart, she believed happiness can only be cherished if one went through agony; she believed: Love needs patience, Love gives strength, Love is to have Faith, Love is God’s elegance. For a moment she broke down thinking that someday Sunaina would come back and she would lose Rohan forever but the very next moment she realized that Rohan was never her’s, he always belonged to Sunaina; she got no right on Rohan and his love. She convinced herself each time she saw him but whereas Rohan, he was oblivious of Diyana’s feeling for him. One day, Subham told Rohan about Diyana and her feelings towards him, but it had no effect on Rohan. “I don’t care, indeed she is a good girl but I’m committed to Sunaina and I love her very much”, he replied firmly. After that day Rohan deliberately started avoiding Diyana, she got aware that Rohan understood what she felt for him and she thought of respecting his decision and never spoke to him unless it’s too urgent. Two year passed by and Sunaina didn’t reply but that never discouraged Rohan, he kept on mailing her every day as he promised his Love that he would not let their Love kneel down before Destiny.

It was Diyana’s birthday and she invited every friend of her’s including Rohan to her place. She never celebrated her birthday but that year she wanted Rohan to wish her. She thought that she might get an excuse to talk to Rohan. As expected Rohan refused to attend the birthday bash, he didn’t like partying anymore and moreover he would be going to the fair which was more important to him, so important that he can sacrifice anything. He never stopped visiting the fair, it was the only hope to see his love again. He left for the fair wishing Diyana on her birthday, Diyana didn’t coax Rohan to attend her party. As usual he waited near the cotton candy stall but she didn’t come, he was disappointed. His eyes were wet and he was about to leave the fair; all of a sudden he noticed Sunaina's parents. They were buying something, his eye scanned for her but he found her nowhere. He was very happy that finally he was about to meet her once again, he felt that his waiting might finally bear the fruits. He felt he was the winner, he overpowered their bad time and he kept his promise. He thought he would ask her, why didn’t she reply to his mail? Why didn’t she keep her promise? He approached to the stall where her parents were standing and then he touched their feet. They wondered from where a guy suddenly came and touched their feet, yet they smiled politely.

“Hello, I’m Rohan Malhotra, Sunaina’s friend. We studied in same class and same school”, he lied.

“Hello, beta”, her mom said and tried hard to smile.

“Actually aunty, after the boards she went to L.A. and she didn't contact us, so we all thought she might have forgotten us. Did she come along with you?” he enquired and waited impatiently for the answer. He was shocked to see the reaction, all of a sudden her mother started sobbing and her dad was about to cry as-well, but somehow he managed himself. Finally he said, “Sorry, betaji but actually the matter was she missed you all terribly, she never wanted to break the contact but…” A tear rolled down his cheeks and he swallowed a lump. “She is..umm… my daughter is … NOMORE, she DIED two years back. She met with a fatal road accident while returning from her friend’s house and we… couldn’t SAVE her…” he stammered and finally broke into tears. Rohan’s body went numb hearing that she is no more, a nerve wracking chill ran down his spine and he ran from there. He kept on running, as if he was running from his life, truth, happiness, sadness and finally dashed against a running car. He didn’t have a single scrape, when the people nearby tried to help him, he pushed them back and started running again. He knew not where he was going, he kept on babbling that she can’t leave him and go like that, how God can be so cruel to her, she was so young. Why did God punish their innocent love? What crime did they commit? He cried and shouted her name thousands of time hoping that she would reply, his voice echoed the empty streets but no one replied. He then walked straight to a beer bar and kept on drinking till the alcohol showed its effect tremendously. He got out of the bar and went straight to Diyana’s flat. He shouted her name like an illiterate drunkard and annoyed the nearby public. She came down running as soon as she heard Rohan's voice and she was shocked to see him in that mess.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you ok?” she showed concern.  Dhap! He slapped her tightly. She got dumbstruck, she didn’t realize what just happened, Rohan actually slapped her on her birthday. In the mean time Diyana’s roomie informed Subham immediately about the incident

“You, only you are responsible for everything. You might have prayed God to snatch her away from me and see SHE IS DEAD… SHE IS NOMORE. You bitch, I hate you and did you get that? I HATE YOU”, he shouted at the top of his voice. She was confused, shattered and dumbstruck. She never thought of winning Rohan's love, she had always respected his feeling for Sunaina.

“Rohan, I always respect your feelings for Sunaina and…”

Dhap! Dhap! Dhap! He slapped her thrice and said, “Shut up… just shut the fuck up, you bitch, you ruined my life and I’ll kill you”, he roared and stepped forward. Diyana got hurt very badly, blood oozed out from the corner of her lower lips and the finger prints on her cheeks could be seen prominently. She started sobbing badly and her white coloured face turned into scarlet red.

“Don’t show your false tears, I am not going to melt. I wished that we never met”, he snarled.

The next moment Subham arrived and dragged Rohan to his flat. The next day when Rohan got his senses back, Subham narrated the entire incident and enquired the reason behind his deeds. Rohan broke down into tears; he can’t endure the truth that Sunaina was no more. He would never be able to meet her, see her, hear her,touch or feel her, he lost her forever. He told Subham everything and hugged his kindergarten friend and kept on sobbing.

“Why did you slap her? She was not involved in any way. I know it is harsh to accept but she died two years back and more over Diyana was unaware of everything. She never proposed you and kept on loving you secretly and you slapped her for no reason”, Subham said.

“I don’t care about Diyana’s feeling, hell with her. I love Sunaina and will continue loving Sunaina”, Rohan replied.

“Sunaina is no more, she would never come back and she left you forever and Diyana, she always thought for your happiness, how can you be so rude?”

“Sunaina never wanted to leave me, she was snatched away from me, Destiny played its cruel game and she was compelled to leave, I know I shouldn’t have slapped Diyana but she can never be compared to Sunaina."

“I know that pretty well, I never asked you to love Diyana but at least you can behave well, and the foremost thing, you should apologize her for yesterday”, Subham ordered.

Rohan felt guilty but he got no guts to face Diyana so he tried hard to divert himself. When he went to college he saw the place empty where Diyana used to sit, his guilt knocked him down but the truth of Sunaina’s death shattered him even more. Consecutive three days, Diyana was absent; he got worried a little and decided to visit her place. That day he went to her flat once again, he was afraid to face her but somehow he convinced himself and pressed the doorbell. Diyana opened the door and for a while both of them were gazing each other. Diyana smiled at him and greeted him; he was dumbstruck by her behavior.

“Umm, I’m sorry for whatever I did”, Rohan finally broke the silence.

“It’s ok, I didn’t mind. How are you?” She replied politely. Subham rang her the very next day after the incident, Diyana was aware of Rohan’s situation so she didn’t even mind for a second.

“I’m fine, I am really astonished that how can you greet me smilingly, you are concerned about me after all that I did, why Diyana? Why?” Rohan enquired.

“I’m concerned because I’m worried about you and I’m worried about you because I love you”, she replied.

“Love me? You know that I love Sunaina so much and I can’t love you, not only you, but no one else…”

“I got no reasons to love you and I never demanded you to love me, all I want is you to be happy”, she said.

“Don’t love me; I am not the right guy for you, you deserve a much better guy than me, I’m sorry but I’v got nothing to give you”, Rohan replied.

“Yeah, you got one thing to give i.e. a chance to share your pain. No need to love me but just stay with me, no need to hold my hand while walking but walk with me, no need to say I LOVE YOU but just smile when I say that I LOVE YOU. Rohan, just give me a chance to share your pain not Sunaina’s love”, she held his hand tightly for the first time.

“Till now I mail her every day knowing that she will never be able to respond, I’m keeping my promise and I can never give her place to any girl.”

“Ya, absolutely you got every right to decide anything, you want to keep your promise you can go ahead, I’m talking about giving me one chance.”

“Umm… I don’t know, but if after few days or months I want to walk out then, will it be okay with you?” Rohan enquired.

“Yes, you can leave me whenever you want, you are not committed to me literally”, she replied.

“I need time to think”, he said and left. He went back to his home and locked himself in his room. He was thinking about Diyana’s proposal and admired her principles but when he closed his eyes he saw Sunaina’s smiling face. Finally he texted Diyana,

Ok,I will be wid u, keeping in mind all ur conditions and I hope you will never expect anything from me and u’ll never impose anything on me.

After texting her, he sensed the guilt bubbling in him, he couldn’t face himself and then he mailed Sunaina like any other day. A year passed away; still there was no charm in the relationship. They went for movies but never held each other’s hand, when he used to drop her home she always uttered those three magical words and bade him good bye but never did he, instead he mailed Sunaina every day and kept his promise. One day, out of frustration he confessed to Diyana that he still mailed Sunaina, he would never forget her and wanted to end whatever they shared between them. As usual Diyana agreed to him and respected his decision but before their final depart Diyana requested Rohan to accompany him to an orphanage. According to Rohan the request was very weird but for the last time he didn’t want to hurt her so he agreed to her request. As decided the next day they went to an orphanage and Rohan experienced that he was not the one who was deprived of love, there were numerous small flowers that die each moment realizing the fact that they will never get their parent’s affection. Those children will never experience the warmth of their mothers lap and support of their father but still they learn how to laugh, live and love everyone. They got no complaints against life instead they live life to the fullest. Suddenly a boy came running towards Rohan and Diyana and requested to play with them and they agreed. The boy tied a black cloth across Rohan’s eyes and confirmed whether Rohan could see or not. The day Sunaina left for L.A., insecurity and  fear took birth in Rohan’s mind. As soon as the boy tied the black cloth around his eyes he felt lonely for a moment and he couldn’t bear the darkness, he felt as if he was locked in a darkroom forever. Suddenly he heard Diyana screaming and for a moment he thought he lost something very special from his life forever once again. He opened the blind fold and rushed for help and when he reached the spot he found Diyana serving a girl who hurt herself while slicing an apple. For the first time Rohan held Diyana’s hand and pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly, tears rolled down his cheeks.

“I got so afraid; I thought I will lose you forever. I lost Sunaina and now I can’t afford to lose you”, Rohan whispered. Diyana never expected that someday Rohan would say something like that to her.

“It’s true that I still love Sunaina but I feel something for you too, it’s true that I will never forget Sunaina but at same time I’ll never be able to leave you, it’s true that I want to live my life with her but at the same time I can’t live without you. I need you throughout my life, I LOVE YOU”, Rohan finally said it. Diayana’s happiness knew no bounds; she finally heard those three magic words and her patience and endurance were finally rewarded.  Happiness finally knocked both Rohan’s and Diyana’s door rather love visited their broken castle. “I LOVE YOU TOO, ROHAN”, she sobbed and they hugged each other. Rohan knelt down and said, “Will you MARRY ME?” Within no minutes Diyana received the utmost happiness which she was longing since she fell in love with Rohan, her dream, her desire got fulfilled. She knelt down too and tried hard to smile and said, “Do you think I need to answer this or have you already read my eyes?” He knew the answer pretty well and then he pulled her close and kissed her. After few months both of them were graduates and joined their respective jobs and a year later they got married and lived happily ever after and till then also Rohan kept on mailing Sunaina and Diyana knew that pretty well. Rohan kept his each promise till the end.