That day is finally here.
Today is dedicated just for love! So on this occasion as we celebrate "Valentine's Day", a few writers have played cupid in giving fort their own love story. Love is around, and like every other place we must celebrate it here in or very own IPKKND..EBP forum.
So let's not delay this any further and get start on our Valentine Special. If you are multi-tasking then stop and grab your self something to drink and something to munch on because we are going to be on this for quite some time. This thread is lined up with some amazing one shot by this forum very own members who took the opportunity to give you a lovely valentine's with your favorites Aastha & Shlok.
With that said, if any questions the please post below.
A Valentine Love Story
Today is Valentine's day.The day of love.I will shower my love on my Sojal.I went to a textile shop.
I wanted to gift her the prettiest dress available in the shop.
"Wow!You both fell in love on the day of love itself?"
"Yes.But we were so shy to confess our love that we took one year to confess our love to each other.And guess what?It was on the next Valentine's day that we confessed our love to each other".
"Really?That's great yaar"I was surprised.
"It is not over yet.We dated for one year and got married on the next Valentine's day".
I was truly surprised.
"You both are made for each other.Now I feel that actually Valentine's day is meant for both of you ".
He smiled sweetly.
Again I refused politely,"No thanks.I don't want to trouble you".
But he did not leave me.
Shlok kissed the photograph.
I could feel my heart being torn by the shock he gave me.My eyes fell on the news paper cutting near by.I took it in my hands and read the news.
Business Tycoon Shlok Agnihotri's wife Aastha passes away'.
The photograph of her corpse gave me a strange feeling.Because her face was disfigured and it looked scary.In the accident her face had got crushed.I could feel Shlok's pain seeing his wife's pathetic lifeless body.
Tear drops made Shlok's eyes red.
"But still my Aastha is here with me.I can feel her presence.She can never leave me and go.She had promised me to be with me always.I always celebrate Valentine's day with her. For her,the most beautiful day of our love is Valentine's day.All the memorable moments of our love are associated with Valentine's day".
He looked at her deeply.
She blushed.He caressed her face.
"Aastha...as years pass you are becoming more and more beautiful"
"Shlok,once again I am giving my heart to you".
She fed him the cake in his imagination.He looked very happy.
He shared the cake with me.Though the cake tasted sweet,i felt the bitter taste of Shlok's tears.
It started raining.
He was excited like a mad man.
"Rainy Valentine's night".
He ran out forgetting everything else.He felt that he was holding Aastha's hand.He stretched out his hands to feel rain.He was not alone there.There was his Aastha's soul catching his arms.He swayed to the rhythm of rain imagining himself dancing with Aastha.
Khud magar nahi jaan sakaaI was numb for a moment.
Though my eyes saw only Shlok dancing alone in the rain,my heart saw Shlok being happy with his Aastha as my heart had already accepted them as a classic couple.
Unknowingly my eyes got teary. That moment I felt that I had witnessed the most beautiful and the most tragic love story.
I did not want to distract his imaginary rain dance with his lady love.Because these were the rare beautiful moments of his life.I walked out silently without biding him Good bye'.
Something stopped me there and made me turn back to look at Shlok again.I turned back.
Shlok's imagination was moving to the next level.
Shlok embraced his lady love passionately.
But within a few moments he felt his shirt being wet with her tears.He looked at her face.
Shlok could see tears flowing down from his Aastha's eyes.
"Aastha...why your eyes are hurt with tears?"
She sobbed,
"Shlok,it's time for me to go back".
He was shocked.
"How can you go back Aastha?This is Valentine's night.And we have always spent Valentine's days together".
"But the fact is that we got separated to be not together on any Valentine's day".
His heart was pricked by the truth she spoke.
"No Aastha...you can't go".
"Sorry Shlok.I could'nt keep my promise to be with you on all Valentine's days.I need to go back".
"Don't go Aastha.Pleaseee".He pleaded crying.
My heart wept seeing his condition.
Aastha's image got vanished.Shlok could feel emptiness everywhere.The rain drops poured upon us seemed to her tears shed from heaven.He could feel pain everywhere.The pain he could bear all these years were unbearable for him that moment.He cried out of pain.
He screamed in pain uttering only his lady love's name,
She walked in silence on a cool February evening. A light breeze ruffled her hair and a slight chill passed through her body. She crossed her arms across her chest and shivered slightly but continued walking. Something seemed to be bothering her. She hated the feeling.
After walking for what seemed an eternity, she turned left and entered a park. It was deserted as she had expected. That's how she had wanted it to be. A little of alone time was what she wanted. After sitting down, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.
There she was- far from the madding crowd of the city. The whole city had come alive with love. Yes, it was that time of the year. The day love was celebrated. It was Valentine's Day. She hated the day even more now. To see other couples getting cosy and indulging in all sorts of PDA made her even more aware of her loss. Tears started trickling down her cheeks. People were not unfair with her; life was. After losing her parents as a kid, Aastha lived with her grandmother. She did not have many friends in her school or college. Then, Nitin entered her life. And when she finally believed that she was living her life in true sense, came the blow. It was someone else he said. With that ended their three year old relationship.
Aastha was an artist's dream. She had chocolate brown eyes one could drown into. She wasn't unaware of her looks. She did have a few admirers in her colleagues and men often complimented her. But she did not care. If she wasn't beautiful for the person she loved, it was no use.
Her phone beeped. She looked at the screen and smiled.
"Hello, where are you Aastha? Why didn't you reply earlier?"
"Was caught up at work."
"Okay, where are you?"
"You know, right?"
"Aah yes I do. Where else could you be?" Shlok hung up.
She smiled slightly after the call. Shlok was a charmer and a ladies' man. He was the son of the rich businessman Niranjan Agnihotri. His riches and dashing looks drew women to him like magnets.
Shlok was one person she could give her life for. He had been there for her through all the ups and downs of her life. They had literally grown up together. People had come and gone. Life had changed but their bond refused to weaken. Despite the differences in their personality and financial status, they refused to let go of each other. Ironically, they did not start off nicely during their school days. But as they grew up, their friendship had only grown stronger than ever. They were inseparable.
After about half an hour, she turned to go when she felt a strong pair of arms around her waist.
"SHLOK! What are you doing here? I thought you were out with Shikha."
"Guess I'm not."
"That I can see. But why?"
"Because we broke up." Shlok said simply and shrugged his shoulders.
"What? When? Where? Why? How?" Aastha asked in a single breath. A part of her was happy but she cursed herself for being such a bad friend.
"It was someone else."
The words pierced her heart. Not only because they reminded her of her failed relationship but also because Shlok was in love-again.
"Who?"
"Chuck it Aastha. I don't wanna talk about it. So, what brought you here?" Shlok tried to change the topic.
"Dunno. Just wanted to be alone."
"Missing someone?"
"No. Why would I miss Nitin now? It has been more than 3 months since the breakup. What makes you think I'm still fixated on him?"
Shlok was quiet for a very long time. He stared deep into her eyes. Finally he said, "You were crying. Aastha, it has been 3 long months and you still pine for him. Accept it; you are still in love with him."
Tears formed in her eyes. Her lip quivered ever so slightly. She bit her lips to stop her tears from falling but failed. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm over him? I don't give a damn to him. Now if you are done, can we please leave? I'm beginning to feel cold."
Something shattered in Shlok when he saw her crying. Instinctively he put his arm over her shoulder and squeezed it. "It's okay. Hey, please don't cry."
Aastha nodded and wiped her tears. She moved forward and slid her arms around his waist. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in an affectionate embrace. The cool breeze made them tighten their grip on each other. Shlok inhaled deeply and took in her scent. He slowly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears. Finally he sighed.
Aastha always felt so secure in his arms. The raw power of his hands never ceased to amaze her. After a long time, she pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I really have moved on, whether you believe it or not. In fact I think I'm in love again. "
Shlok smiled. She did not like what she saw. She always had a huge crush on him. However he never thought of her more than a friend. There had been instances where he had been overly possessive of her during the time she was in a relationship but she could not draw out any conclusions from that. She stopped her efforts to make him fall for her and became content seeing him as a friend.
"I love you." He said simply and smiled again.
"Stop that. You know how miserable I'm right now. These are the last words I want to hear at the moment. And not from you at least."
"I mean each and every word I say. I love you. It was always you and never somebody else. Didn't it ever occur to you why my relationships didn't last? There was no love; absolutely none from my side. If there ever has been a person in my life who I have thought of ending up with, it is you. When I said someone else to Shikha, I meant you. Why else would I break up with her and directly come here to see you?" Shlok finished in a single breath.
Aastha was dumbstruck. She never thought it would come like this. She didn't know how to respond. She pinched herself to see if it was her dream. Surprisingly, it wasn't.
"Shlok, I-"
She was cut off by a powerful force that came like a storm. He pressed his lips roughly on her soft ones and released all the passion that had been bottled up inside him all these years. He was almost lifting her close to his body. She was completely turned on by his advances but responded shyly to his fierce passion. She felt new sensations rising and falling within her body. He slightly caressed her lips to soothe her pain. Suddenly, realisation struck him and he pulled back as if someone had electrocuted him.
"I'm so sorry Aastha. I just got carried away. It wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't even give you time to respond. I can understand how you feel right now. You can take your time and we can talk about this when you feel like it." Shlok said. Guilt was written all over his handsome face. He was too embarrassed to even look at her. "Come on. Let's get going."
Aastha was flabbergasted both by his kiss and sudden withdrawal. "Running away again, are we? Why don't you take responsibilities for your actions? Why can't you just stay and talk things out?" Aastha was as dazed as he was, if not more. The kiss was as unexpected as the confession. She gathered herself and finally managed to speak slowly. "Look Shlok, I...I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to shout like that. I don't know what came over me. I sometimes don't understand what I say or think. As far as my feelings are concerned, I have always thought of you as more than a friend. I have always had a huge crush on you. I still do too. But I doubt if these feelings can be classified as love. I just came out of a relationship. I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind at this moment. Can you give me some time?"
"Of course. I would give my life if you asked for it. I am ready to wait forever for your answer, though I know what it's going to be." Aastha chuckled at his reply. "Aastha, don't leave me ever. I promise I will never leave your side. We will go together when the time comes." Saying so, he quickly kissed her forehead. "Come, it's getting late. I'll drop you home."
Aastha smiled. She took his hand in hers. Slowly, they walked back home on that cool evening of February. Aastha was content. She felt completed. The vacuum in her life was filled. She was waiting for the day she would say a yes' again, the day for which Shlok was ready to wait as long as he lived because he knew they were meant to be.
THE END
Entry #5