A Small Love Story, San J [best fiction books of all time .txt] 📗

“Maa, I am leaving.” shouted young Tarunesh from the courtyard of two storeys home.

“Are you finished with your breakfast?”

“Yes, Maa”. Answered Tarunesh and went out of the gate.

“Take care and have your lunch on time. You are getting weaker day by day.”

“He has already left. And he is not getting any weaker.” Said father who was sitting in the yard reading newspaper along with a cup of coffee.

“You just sit there reading your paper. You don’t know how a mother feels”.

This was the story of daily at Niwas. This is two storeys house and it is clearly visible that the house belongs to a wealthy family. The owner Mr Narain is a famous lawyer of the town. Though his father and grandfather were also respected personalities of the town but what Mr Narain is today is due to his own hardships. His wife Sumitra is very simple and kind hearted lady. This is the talk of town that if someone requires Mr Narain’s help, he only has to go to Sumitra and tell her his emotional story. That person will get his job done.

Due to this, sometimes Mr Narain got angry with Sumitra but this was also the fact that he could not put a step further without her help. It was little difficult to tell whether Mr Narain respects Sumitra more or love her more.

This couple has two sons: Elder Arunesh and younger Tarunesh. Elder is married and has one child of 5 years. Younger is still in college. Both brothers are as simple as their parents. Appearance wise they have the looks of their mother and physique of their father. Arunesh’s wife is the daughter of Mr Narain’s old friend. Their marriage was fixed by both fathers in the filmy style. One day both friends met after many years. One was searching for his son’s wife and other for his daughter’s husband. Suddenly they decided to convert their friendship into relationship. The elder bahu of family, Sunaina is well educated girl. In last 6 years, the whole home has become dependent on her. Even two servants of the house cannot do anything without her help. Sumitra and Mr Narain are very happy. Traunesh respect her bhabhi very much. Sunaina also treats him like her younger brother and saved him on a number of occasions from the wrath of Babu ji (Mr Narain).

Tarunesh was in the final year of the college. He was studying law and wanted to be as famous and respected as his father. He possessed a good personality and was little introvert. Normally, he does not want to share his feelings with others. But Sunaina is the only person with whom he can share everything.

Daily, he catches a bus at around 8:00 AM for his college. After about half an hour in the bus, he reaches college. Today also, he was in the bus going to his college. The bus was little overcrowded today and passengers were like falling over one another. Due to this, even though this was the month of October, all were perspiring. Tarunesh was finding it difficult to stand on his both legs and waiting for his college to come quickly.

Bus stopped at a stop. Some more passengers boarded inside it. Tarunesh felt very irritating and a thought of anger came into his mind for both bus driver and newly boarded passengers.

“Can’t this driver see that the bus is overcrowded and yet he is allowing more passengers to board and can’t these passengers see that there is no space inside the bus? These fellows cannot wait for another bus!” he said to himself.

“One ticket to college road, please.” Suddenly Tarunesh heard a voice coming from the side where newly boarded passengers were waiting. He felt that the voice was very soft. He wanted the see the originator of the voice but due to crowd he cannot see beyond the person standing next to him.

“One ticket to college road, please.” Again same voice fell into his ears. This time the pitch of voice was little higher but the softness within the voice was same. He became too eager to see who is originating this voice. He has never felt this kind of urge to search or follow something or somebody. And when he tried, he could not succeed.

Standing there in the bus he was thinking whether the voice got her ticket. She might have got otherwise the voice might have come again demanding the ticket to college road. But his mind was saying that she did not get as the conductor was busy with other passengers and he might got the chance to hear the voice again. If this happens, he would for sure find out the person who is originating the voice which has disturbed his mind. In the next five to ten minutes he heard many voices but not that soft voice. “She might have got her ticket.” He thought. But one part of his mind was not ready to accept that. He was sure that he would heard again “one ticket to college road, please.”

Tarunesh looked that group through the corner of his eyes. He felt a kind of pleasure in his heart. Suddenly the shout of conductor caught his attention and he noticed that his stop had come. He again looked at the group of girls which was still there. Tarunesh did not want to get off the bus before those girls and he in a way tried to be there but the crowd behind him did not allow him to stand there and pushed him out of the door. Outside the bus he was standing with a mixed feeling of anger and frustration and threw a bitter look on the crowd who had pushed him out of the bus just a few moments ago.

“Excuse me, please” with this his attention diverted in the direction from where voice was coming and he felt that this is the same pure and divine voice. He at once turned at looked in that direction. The same group was coming out of the bus. The girl leading the group again told the person to give the way.

 “So, she is that girl whom I was looking for the whole way.”

Now he could look the girl clearly. She was wearing a neatly ironed green dress and her waist length hairs were untied and were waving in the air around her shoulders. She cannot be called a very tall girl but she was the tallest in her group. The skin complexion was near to fair and the face was round. The eyes were black in colour and she was wearing very little makeup. Overall she was simple yet elegant and graceful. She brought a wave of freshness along with her.

Tarunesh immediately fell for her. This was the first time he had this kind of feeling. He wanted to ask her name. He wanted to talk to her the whole day so that he could hear her soft and divine voice. But instead he stood there watching her going with her friends. He was hoping that all her friend left her alone so that he could go to her and talk to her. But she and her friends vanished from his view. Her face was still appearing before his eyes and he was still looking at the way she vanished. He was standing there when his friends arrived. Only then he came back to his senses.

That day, Tarunesh could not concentrate on his studies. He was thinking of that girl only the whole day. While coming back to home through bus, a thought came into his mind. “This is the time when almost everybody leaves the college for home. Might be she also would be coming.” The bus started but there was no sign of her. He felt a little disappointed and at the same time a sense of irritation flew for him for over expecting.

At the home also, he went back straight to his room. The other days, he either called his mother or Sunaina. This was little bit strange for Sunaina but she thought he might be tired. At dinner, Tarunesh tried his best not to show anybody the anxiety which was running inside him.

Next day morning, after finishing his breakfast, he left for the college, in fact a little bit earlier so that he could not miss yesterday’s bus. The bus arrived on time. When the stop where that girls group had boarded the bus the last day arrived, he tried to look for his girl. But she was not there. For once, he felt an urge to go to her friends and ask them for their missing friend. But he somehow he stopped himself. He tried to console himself that she might be busy today or she might not be feeling well. As soon as this thought came to his mind, he immediately shrugged that off. “She might be busy today. She will be coming tomorrow definitely.”

He spent the whole day waiting for next day. But next day also, she did not come. “What has happened to her? Has she left the college or the city itself? May be she is coming early or late!!”

Next day he left the home earlier than his usual time and reached that girls stop and waited there. He was feeling very awkward on this action of his and he immediately left the place as soon as next bus to college arrived. He decided that he would not repeat this type of stupid thing ever. “Why was he eagerly waiting for a girl whom he even does not know the name? I am not going to wait for that girl anymore.” He decided sitting in the bus.

But the very next day he found himself waiting for that girl in the bus. When five days passed, he left the hope.

Next day when he was standing in the bus, the same voice fell in his ears.

“One ticket to college road please.”

He immediately turned and saw the same girl standing right there asking for the ticket. Suddenly a sense of joy stormed into his vibes. He was waiting for the conductor to move so that he could have a clear view of that girl.

“What an innocent voice and face she is having!!”

Suddenly he became conscious that he might be caught by others looking at the girl in this manner. So he tried to look behind as though he was searching for somebody.

Their destination arrived. But he was still standing there waiting for the girl to step down first so that he can have a closer look of her. He came out of the bus behind her. At this a sense of victory came to his mind.

Now this became his daily routine. A few days later he started standing at the rear of the bus so that he could place himself as near to her as possible. On few of the occasions, the girl gave a look on him. At that time, he immediately tried to look at other directions.

“Has she found that I am looking at her? What is this she talking to her friends? Is she telling to her friends about me? If not then why they started laughing immediately after looking at my direction?” This type of thought came into his mind every time she looked in his direction. Every time he decided that he would stop gazing at her but it was near to impossible for him to resist himself.

This way more than one month passed. Every day he waited for her stop, stood behind her, came out of the bus just behind her and waited at the college stop until she vanished off his sight.

“Her name is Tarusha. She is studying literature at girl’s college.” One day his friend Vijay told him when