She sat on the beach staring at the setting sun. She was probably lost in her own thoughts, in her own world. She looked breathtakingly beautiful from here.
I actually held my breath to realize that time had flown by so fast. It was only yesterday that she was born in my arms. And in no time she had stepped into the merrier years of teenage.
We had never shared the typical relationship of a father and a daughter. We were always friends. So, I knew everything about her life and she knew everything about mine. We sometimes used to bitch about her mother too. :P
And somehow I knew she needed her friend today.
So, I silently went near her and sat beside her as I covered her with my jacket.
“Aren’t you feeling cold, kid?” I asked her with a smile.
“Maybe not on my skin but maybe from within.” She replied with a straight face.
I smiled. She was almost like me. That’s how I talked during my teenage years. That’s how I had begun writing.
“Oh! Is it? Let’s warm you up a bit then.” I spoke as I offered her my beer.
I smiled. She was almost like me. That’s how I talked during my teenage years. That’s how I had begun writing.
“Oh! Is it? Let’s warm you up a bit then.” I spoke as I offered her my beer.
“I am not legally eligible for that, Mr. Sharma.” She scolded me a bit.
“Oops! Sorry, Ms. Sharma. Let’s use the best alternative then. Let’s talk.” I pursued her.
“I don’t know what to talk about. I am confused.” She began.
“I have started getting feelings for this guy in school. And I think everything about him is right. His smile, his character, his mannerisms, his dimple, his jawline…uff! And most interestingly, he has a thing for me too. For the first time in 16 years, a guy is making me go speechless. A guy is being on my mind even when I shove him away every time. And I hate this. I kinda have this love/hate thing for love.” She blabbered.
I flashed a wide grin and then rested my arm on her shoulders.
“So, what’s wrong with this?” I asked her. “This is perfectly normal. You are having your first chances with love, baby girl. And this is something that happens to everyone. My sweetheart is finally feeling love. I am excited.”
She smiled at me as if I was acting silly and then the seriousness returned to her face.
I raised my brows in question and then she uttered her real concern.
“You know, I have seen my friends falling in love. And then I have seen them falling out of love too. And I have read the stories you’ve written. And there’s only one thing I have found common amongst all of them – Pain.” She looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.
“I feel all this nonsense should be stopped right away. Why go through so much hassle in return of nothing? You’ll definitely find the right guy for me one day and I’ll deal with that when it comes. Why does this feeling have to come to me now?” Her eyes filled up to the brim.
I smiled at her…and then I took a huge gulp of my beer as I started explaining her.
“See, Anch, your pain is necessary. It is this pain that’ll give you experiences to cherish for life.
“Oops! Sorry, Ms. Sharma. Let’s use the best alternative then. Let’s talk.” I pursued her.
“I don’t know what to talk about. I am confused.” She began.
“I have started getting feelings for this guy in school. And I think everything about him is right. His smile, his character, his mannerisms, his dimple, his jawline…uff! And most interestingly, he has a thing for me too. For the first time in 16 years, a guy is making me go speechless. A guy is being on my mind even when I shove him away every time. And I hate this. I kinda have this love/hate thing for love.” She blabbered.
I flashed a wide grin and then rested my arm on her shoulders.
“So, what’s wrong with this?” I asked her. “This is perfectly normal. You are having your first chances with love, baby girl. And this is something that happens to everyone. My sweetheart is finally feeling love. I am excited.”
She smiled at me as if I was acting silly and then the seriousness returned to her face.
I raised my brows in question and then she uttered her real concern.
“You know, I have seen my friends falling in love. And then I have seen them falling out of love too. And I have read the stories you’ve written. And there’s only one thing I have found common amongst all of them – Pain.” She looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.
“I feel all this nonsense should be stopped right away. Why go through so much hassle in return of nothing? You’ll definitely find the right guy for me one day and I’ll deal with that when it comes. Why does this feeling have to come to me now?” Her eyes filled up to the brim.
I smiled at her…and then I took a huge gulp of my beer as I started explaining her.
“See, Anch, your pain is necessary. It is this pain that’ll give you experiences to cherish for life.
You see, we ruin our life by desensitizing ourselves way too much. And off late, I have noticed that this is the in thing for people.
I see that people today are afraid to say too much, afraid to let others know what we actually feel about them...afraid to feel something way too deeply.
You see, feeling is not something crazy. And feeling something so deep that it drives you insane is also not crazy. Maybe the world thinks of it that way but trust me they are really fucked up if they think so.
And so, I’d advise you to fall in love. I’d advise you to fall in love as fiercely as possible. And I’d advise you to follow your heart blindly. I’d advise you to shut the doors of this world, the practicality it binds you to and express yourself in your own form.
Yes, expressing will make you vulnerable. Letting yourself free to feel anything and everything will give you pain with happiness. It will give you tears with joy. But then, it’s important to feel both.
You know, there’s something divine about the magic that occurs in those moments when you strip down and are honest in front of someone who is important to you and vice versa.
Yes, it may not end the way you want it to be. And you might end up crying, regretting about every single moment you’ve spent with that person. But trust me, when you are at my age and you look back at all those divine moments, you’ll smile. And you’ll know that you had set yourself free at a very early age. You’d know that to feel anything and everything is the prime purpose of this life.
This is what I have done till date. Every day all I am trying to do is taste a different feeling. All I am trying to do is explore my heart. All this mankind needs is to be as real as it gets. And trust me every such feeling has a great story inscribed in itself.” I finished as I looked into her eyes.
She had tears resting on her cheeks and a happy smile on her face.
I hugged her tight and slowly whispered in her ears, “And in the end, you’ll always have me. Don’t you worry, child. Go, follow your heart.”
She chuckled at that as we walked back to her mother.
Such was our relationship. Such was our love !
