LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING! #WRITEAPAGEADAY #BLOGCHATTER
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Dinesh looked at the approaching bike that was eating up
the miles. He frowned at the two figures, both helmeted and apparently enjoying
the ride. His heart skipped a beat when a bus suddenly swerved, almost knocking
the bike over. Luckily, the rider had quick instincts and stepped on his brakes
hard, almost losing his balance as the girl sitting behind him shrieked in
alarm.
Dinesh rushed towards them, trepidation in his eyes.
“What on earth do you think you are doing, Aman?” he
demanded, a tremble in his voice. His gaze was on the pretty girl who had
removed her helmet, shaking her lustrous hair that quickly bounced back into
shape.
“Sunayana, I don’t think you should go with this speed
monster on his bike anymore,” he remarked. “That bus could have mowed you both
down.”
Sunayana smiled at Dinesh, linking her slender arm
through his.
“Stop being an old fogey, Dinu,” she remarked playfully. “Aman knows what he is doing.” She smiled dazzlingly at both the boys.
Dinesh and Sunayana had been friends since school. She
had always had an elfin quality about her and there were many boys who had
found that charming. Now they were in college, and everyone knew that they were
still good friends. Except that Dinesh had been in love with her for years.
Sunayana had no idea about it. In fact, she would ask Dinesh for love advice
and every Valentine’s Day found her with a new boy whom her susceptible heart
had tripped over.
It was only when Aman joined college in the second year
that Sunayana suddenly realised that all the boys she had found attractive
earlier had paled in comparison. Here was a dashing young man with a twinkle in
his eyes who had no problems talking to all the girls in his class, including
Sunayana. The first time he met her and learnt her name, his comment was
typical.
“Sunayana – the one with beautiful eyes! Your parents
named you well!”
She had blushed and smiled at him, losing her heart to
him in that very instant.
When Dinesh saw her rapt face, his heart, in turn,
skipped a beat. Never had he seen her look at anyone in the way she did now. As
the days went by, he waited for her to lose interest in Aman the way she had
always done. However, this seemed to be the real thing – true love! She clung
on to his every word and behaved like the besotted teenager she was.
Valentine’s Day was round the corner and all the boys in
college were ready to woo their lady loves. Aman had invited Sunayana for a
romantic lunch at one of the posh restaurants around. Dinesh heard him invite
her and his heart sank. How could Aman afford such a place?
The day before Valentine’s, Dinesh went up to Sunayana.
She was standing on the college verandah, looking rather serious.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he smiled at her.
Sunayana had a strange look in her eyes. She shook her
head and only smiled at Dinesh.
“Are you going out with Aman tomorrow?” he asked her
quietly. She nodded, but the strange look was still in her eyes.
“All fine, Sunayana?” Hearing the concern in his voice,
Sunayana’s eyes filled with tears. Dinesh had to stop himself from taking her
into his arms. Instead, he offered her a handkerchief, with which she mopped
her eyes. He waited, aware that she would open up to him, if she wanted to.
“Dinesh, I am thoroughly confused. I love Aman but I feel
that I am losing myself, my personality.” She paused and then began again. “I
turn into a doormat when I am with him. I do not want to hurt him in any way.
So, I listen to everything he says to me, and obey him even if I don’t want to.”
Dinesh listened to her in silence. He knew exactly what
she meant. In fact, he had often stopped himself from pointing this out to her.
It was time he did so.
“Sunayana, sit
down on that bench. We need to talk.” He gently nudged her onto the nearest
bench in the garden.
“What you just said is true, Sunayana. You have turned
into a doormat.” He watched her face flushing with irritation, as he continued.
“You only do what Aman wants you to do, like a little puppy wagging its tail.
Do you realise that soon you will have no opinion on any subject? It is always
Aman this and Aman that when you strike up a conversation with anyone. Why do
you think your friends have begun to avoid you? No one has the patience to hear
about Aman all the time. You realise that, don’t you?”
Sunayana was very hurt, but she knew that he was telling
the truth.
Dinesh continued, determined to prove his point further.
“Your friends went for a movie last weekend, and then for
dinner. Did they bother to invite you? No, because you were too busy kowtowing
to Aman. Did Sheela invite you for her birthday party? No, because she knew
that Aman would tag along, and she cannot stand the sight of him.” Dinesh
sighed. He hated doing this to his friend, but she needed to know where she
stood at the moment.
“Come, I’ll walk you home,” he ended, pulling her to her
feet.
At that very moment, Aman appeared round the corner. His
eyes narrowed as he glimpsed Dinesh pulling Sunayana to her feet.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, dude?” he asked
rudely. “That’s my girlfriend that you are manhandling, you know?”
As Sunayana gazed at him, he beckoned to her. “Come here,
my dear. Why are you so friendly with this chappie? Can’t you see he’s in love
with you?” He pulled her into his arms, a sneer on his face as he gazed at
Dinesh who had gone red in the face.
Sunayana froze at his words. She looked at the sneer on
Aman’s face. All the charm seemed to have disappeared from his normally
pleasant expression. All she could think of was the downcast look on Dinesh’s
face, her friend’s face! And the ugly sneer on Aman’s face. How could she have
been so blind? Her imaginary blinkers fell off and she knew the blinding truth.
Dinesh was in love with her, had been so for many years now. He had not told
her because he felt that she was far above him.
Aman was looking at her now. “Come on, baby. Let’s go for
a cup of coffee. Leave this loser behind!” He pointed to Dinesh who glared at
him, but said nothing. When Sunayana did not move, a note of impatience entered
his voice.
“Come on, Sunayana. Why are you standing there like a
dumb doll. Hurry up.” His voice was peremptory, and it was almost an order. He
placed a proprietary hand on her shoulder.
That was the last straw for Sunayana. In one afternoon,
she had fallen out of love with Aman who was now showing his true colours. She shrugged
his hand off, and moved towards Dinesh who was gazing at her in adoration.
Once she was next to him, she turned to Aman and smiled
at him.
“Aman, I do not think I care to be spoken to in that
manner. I am not a slave whom you can take for granted. Thank God I realised
that when Dinesh pointed it out to me.”
Aman’s eyes turned stormy as his face turned ruddy.
“What are you talking about, Sunayana? You’re my
girlfriend. How can you take Dinesh’s side? He is a moron!”
“Don’t you dare say anything about Dinesh!” It came out
like a gunshot and people around turned to look at her. Aman could not believe
his eyes and ears. Was this the same Sunayana who had followed him around
adoringly, willing to follow his every order? He tried to placate her with
platitudes, but Sunayana had already moved away with Dinesh, leaving Aman
fuming.
And that is
exactly how Sunayana and Dinesh came to spend Valentine’s Day together!
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