Untold…

It was the fifth shirt he had tried and rejected that morning. What was the so special about today you must be thinking? Well, today he was ready; he wasn’t for the past 3 years 8 months. He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, sometimes scared of what he would say. But today was different, he was ready to confess.

He was going to tell her that the only thing that gave life meaning was the way she smiled right after she tasted her favorite ice cream. He was going to tell her that if there was anything like love on this planet, it would definitely have her dark brown eyes. He wanted to tell her that all the words ever written won’t be able to express his feelings for her.

And he couldn’t do that looking shabby, so after six failed attempts he chose her favorite blue shirt and black chinos; the same shirt he wore when they met for the first time at a friends farewell party. He folded shirt sleeves, just how she liked it and for a change wore sneakers. She always hated that he wore crocs everywhere. For the umpteenth time, he fixed his hair to look just right for the love of her life.

As he was leaving the house, he saw his guitar lying in the living room. It reminded him how beautiful her voice was when she performed her favorite Eric Clapton song just to cheer him up. He had just lost his job and was moping around when she picked it up and started singing.

On the way, he stopped at the flower shop. He thought about how different she was from other girls he had met. Unlike them she hated red roses; she loved white lilies. He thought how subtly she had told him this, one night when he was walking her home. He was such a dork to not to get the hints she was giving him. He always waited for the right moment. He got a bunch of her favorite lilies and made his way to her.

He couldn’t wait to tell her that the best night of his life was when they spent it under the moonlit sky, stargazing all night; and how beautiful she looked when she closed her eyes and wished upon a broken star. All he could think was maybe the stars are wishing over the glimpse of her smile too.

On the way, he stopped at the candy store. She didn’t like chocolates, rather she loved bubblegum just like him. He always teased her about this, but today a smile found its way to his lips when he thought about it. He slowly got some change out and bought bubblegum.

He passed the hospital and images of her sitting by his bedside flashed in front of his eyes. How worried she was after he had fallen trying to help a cat off a tree. His mom told him later, she had stayed up all night waiting for him to get up. He regretted not kissing her right there, telling her how much she meant to him.

He drove past their favorite Chinese restaurant and he could remember the day both their fortune cookie read ‘You got your love right by you’. He thought about all the time he had wasted, all the heartbreaks she had to face waiting for him to realize, all the pain he went through when he saw her with other guys.

He had to tell her how much he loved her; he wanted to tell her that if someone ever asked what love was, all he would be able to say was her name. He parked his car and made his way with the lilies in his hand and the bubble gum in his pockets; wearing her favorite blue shirt and sneakers.

He stood there in front of her and said, “ Hey, I have missed you. Sorry, it took me so long to come here. I just wanted to tell you that I’m deeply in love with you. I have been from the day I saw you walk in that party and I will be till I close my eyes forever. You know what they say about love at first sight. It’s always too good to be true. But the day I saw you, It felt like I had been waiting for you since ages and when you walked in my life I was once again complete. Your smile taught me what magic felt like.”

“I have no idea why an angel like you would choose to hand around a fool like me, but you were; you were by my side in the best and the worst. You were always kinder than anyone else I know. You always saw the best in me when no one else could and I want to thank you for being so nice to me. I love you, I have in the past lives and I will in the lives to come.”

“The only thing I’ll regret is I never told you this, and now I will never be able to. When I heard that you were hit by a car while coming back from dinner with a friend, I ran to the hospital to see if you are okay. I waited by your side for three days as you fought with life and death and hoped that my love would be enough to bring you back. But I never told you, how much I love you darling and maybe that’s why you never came back. And now I have to live with all these words trapped in the catacombs of my heart. I miss you love, I will always miss you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to save you.”

He slowly pulled out the gum from his pocket and put her favorite lilies and gum on her grave. Sometimes the most painful love stories are the untold ones.

-Sagar Singh aka thewanderingwriter