The Wish – Love Short Story

“I guess this is it Aaradhna, this is where it all ends between us” lamented Agastya.

Aaradhna looked into Agastya’s agonizingly teary eyes with a hope that they might find some way, but all she could notice was a heartbroken NO. She tried to speak, she tried to let flow those emotions, but the anguish of her heart just overtook and annulled the signals of her brain.

“I wish we just had been one of those ‘Boy and a Girl’ friends who never had any relationship beyond that between them, but this love is something we couldn’t restrain and neither can anyone. If you love someone you just love them. I’m very sorry for all this honey, it’s all because of me. And because of me you have to suffer….”

“Please. Please Agastya, don’t say things like that. It’s not your fault, I loved you much before you confessed, I wish they understood what our love really meant to us” said Aaradhna, interrupting Agastya, and turned aside to stop her tears from rolling down onto her cheeks.

“Wishes are only for those who has that magical pot, rubbing which, a Genie would appear to make your wishes turn to reality” helpless Agastya showcased his feeling of utter desolation.

“Don’t talk like this honey, please. I just can’t imagine, me living without you.”

“Well, just take it day by day dear. Long-sightedness ain’t such good a thing. You were happy before you met me, so there’s no reason why you can’t make it again.” faked Agastya.

“Well, I dare say, my life is divided into two parts, the first ‘Before I met you’ and the other ‘After I met you’. The latter part is way happier than the earlier. And I know you far better to recognize what you really mean and what you don’t. I know, you too can’t live without me, I wonder why you guys don’t speak their heart out and give voice to those emotions”

“Well, dear nothing’s permanent. You will get over this. It’s just a matter of time. As I said you did live before you met me”

“You know what, the life which I lived before meeting you, had no life in it. It was you who gave life to my life and lit up my world.”

“Honey, I know it’s difficult to say goodbye, but there’s no other choice. If you have to see your Dad leave this world happily, you just have to do this. They have given you everything in this world, they have always stood beside you. My role in your life was just a brief one and I’m thankful to the heavens that they provided me with such a role. Sadly I’m not your hero, that guy is” replied Agastya with all dolefulness.

Aaradhna hugged Agastya on listening to this and sobbed saying,

“I’m sorry Agastya, I really am. I wish my father had knew what you meant to me. He has always provided me with things even before asking them, how good it would have been if he had understood what you meant to me and supported our love!” Agastya consoled Aaradhna and wiped her tears,

“Look, there are people who see their loved ones die in front of their eyes. Thank god that you don’t have such a fate. Life’s given you such a good Mom and Dad, they know what’s good and what’s not. So, I guess you have to respect their decision.”

“I have no right to say this, but I’m afraid their decision is wrong this time around”

“Ah, forget it now. We are supposed to be saying goodbye and not staying around chit chatting this non-sense.” Agastya said attempting to shift Aaradhna’s focus.

“Oh come on honey, you are too bad at acting. Don’t try to act.”

“Well, I know, but that is all I can do right now. Anyway, let’s end it now. Goodbye, have a beautiful life ahead.” Agastya said and started to move away by taking backward steps.

Aaradhna kept looking into Agastya’s eyes as he bent his head down and turned backwards. Aaradhna ran to him and hugged him tightly saying,

“Don’t leave me Agastya, don’t. Please don’t leave me.”

“Well, don’t worry honey, we will spend our life together in our next life, this reincarnation is specially made for people like us” said Agastya withdrawing his body from her arms.

“Hmmm.. Well, hope this life would have been that.”

“Well, life will always have it’s say be we have to accept it whether we agree to it or no. I would like to thank you for giving me all those good moments and spending that precious time of yours with me, and making my life a loved one. Hope your Hero will fill the void left by me, if any, and give you much more happiness than I managed to, and
let you forget me forever. I would like to wish All the very best for your future. Hope we don’t meet again until our next life, but yeah do take very good care of yourself. Finally, Always Be Happy, because you deserve it” said hopeful Agastya and stepped into his car and moved away.

Aaradhna moved back to her home with a heavy heart, with a feeling of happiness that she managed to keep her father’s faith, and a feeling of dolefulness that it was the end of her relationship with the love of her life Agastya.

“Hey Aaradhna, I by mistake had kept my pen in your purse, can I have that back?” requested Aaradhna’s dad.

Aaradhna without any expression on her face, opened her purse and handed her dad’s pen to him and moved to her room.

 

***

A week passed by with no contact whatsoever between Aaradhna and Agastya, Aaradhna hardly moved out of her room, she would sit alone, all day in her room. She would hardly provide her stomach with anything to make it happy.

Suddenly Aaradhna’s aunt started knocking the door of her room quite fiercely yelling, “Aaradhna. Hey Aaradhna, your dad’s suffered from another cardiac arrest, and your brother has taken him to the hospital. He had called now and asked me to inform this to you, and also asked me to tell that your dad wants to see you now, so…”

Aaradhna opened the door and with no second thoughts, she rushed to the hospital, “How fool am I? Why the hell did I switch my phone off? How in the world can I not know what’s happening in my house? I’m such a fool. I’m such a fool. Aaradhna you are such a fool” cursing herself.

 

***
Aaradhna entered the room where her father was admitted and knelt down in front of her father’s bed apologizing, “Oh I’m such a fool dad, sorry for all this. It’s all because of me. I’m so sorry, don’t you ever worry. I won’t talk to him no more. Sorry dad, I’m extremely sorry, I will marry the guy suggested by you.”

“Is it so?” questioned her father with a low pitched voice.

“Yes dad, I’m so sorry for all this, I should have agreed to you earlier, I should have known, whatever my dad decides will be for the benefit of my life” said Aaradhna without hesitation, but she did hesitate while saying the latter part.

“I knew my darling would accept this one request of mine, see I told you” said her father looking at his son and wife.

As they smiled, Aaradhna’s father said, “You know what honey!” Aaradhna raised her eyebrows and shook her head, as her father continued, “Your would be husband was here sometime back, and he’s so generous and warm hearted, that he stopped your brother from going out to get those medicines which would make me stay alive, at least to have the pleasure of seeing my daughter’s marriage, which will be two days
from now”

Aaradhna was not at all happy to hear this, but it was her father’s only request to her throughout his lifetime. He had never asked her for anything, he had fulfilled all her wishes. She thought now it’s her turn to do something for her father.

“Please dad. Don’t speak about leaving me, please. I know my dad has still a lot of time written in him.”

He just smiled and asked, “Do you want to see him?”

Aaradhna raised her eyebrows again as if to ask about whom her dad was talking. “Honey just turn back and see yourself.”

Aaradhna turned back saying “Who..” and stopped as soon as she saw Agastya.

She was over the moon, she was literally on the cloud number nine, but she just wanted to confirm, if Agastya is that guy who her dad was talking about, “Is.. Is .. he.. I mean..” stuttering Aaradhna asked pointing to Agastya, as her father interrupted her saying, “Yes honey, he is the guy, I couldn’t have found a better guy for you. I’m proud to say that he’s my daughter’s husband. He’s such a good heart” confessed her father.

“But..how.. I mean..”

“I apologize for this honey, but that pen which I had kept in your purse, not so mistakenly, is a spy device, to be precise it’s a voice recorder” briefed her father.
Aaradhna hugged her dad and started crying and shedding happy tears, as her father said, “How could I have not fulfilled my last wish, which was to marry you to a guy, who will take care of you more than himself, and you know what I failed to find him, but you didn’t fail, you just made my task hell lot easier” He turned his eyes towards Agastya and signaled him to come towards him, as Agastya came to him, he took his hand and clutched it to Aaradhna’s hand and said,

“My last wish is fulfilled. Be happy always. Take very good care of my daughter, son. She’s a very..” were the last words that one could hear from Aaradhna’s dad.

__END__