A Story from Disturbed Conversation

On 30 April, while travelling from my workplace to City, in the bus i overheard a conversation which disturbed me to great extent. While returning back, i somehow met the same individual, and this time, i shared my expression of disturbance on the conversation. Foes intially, he told me he is into short story writing, and would mail me them.
I knew i would never read them, but i proved myself wrong, i did read it and feel like sharing with you,
Source: http://ndtv.com/ent/foodfictionstory.asp?id=945

The Rose

by: Vijayendra Haryal

Each morning as I took a walk to reach my office which was a ten minute walk from my home, I saw young men lined up in front of a shop. "Fresh Roses Sold Here " –The board read. I could see the anxiety on their faces as they stood there in a long line. I was surprised to see the ones coming out of the shop with roses in their hands had a glitter on their faces as if they are in a state of eternal bliss. I wondered why is this? What is so special about getting a rose? One day I decided to ask one of the guys standing in the long queue .I asked him why the guys waited for a long time to get the roses. I pointed out that there are other shops too in the city.The boy gave me a look which made me feel like a moron .I later got to know from the same guy that this shop was the best in the town .

The roses are the freshest and also carried the reputation of being lucky, hence making the demand excessive."What superstition!" I wondered .I felt a pity for these guys who stood there in a long line, only to gift the best for someone they love. "Love –What A foolish Emotion!" I thought .I laughed at the poor fellows who waited in a long queue as I took a walk to my office.Life was going on as usual .I was doing well at my job and was living a decent life. Sometimes though I felt quiet lonely. As if I was in need of a companion, someone more than a friend. And then it happened. One day she walked into my life and took me by surprise.I couldn't get my eyes off her. When I began talking to her, I talked for hours. Yes this was the companion I was searching for .

She had large, beautiful eyes, a charming personality and above all ,she got along very well with me. Life was never more colorful. We had a great time when we were together. Friendship led to love gradually. I realized that the companion more than a friend is a soul mate. The cupid had struck. And then one morning, while taking a walk to my office, I found myself standing in the long queue ,which I once mocked at.I could feel the anxiety as my turn came .I selected the best rose .It was scarlet and very fresh. It had an amazing aroma. I still remember that morning .She was wearing a pink dress. I walked to her with my heart pounding and the heartbeat increasing with each step, I took towards her.

I hesitated and perspired as I walked towards her.I gathered all the courage in the world as I held her hand and uttered the three magical words and she was all smiles. She was anticipating this for a long time, she told me afterwards. I could not believe my luck. The rose worked for me! Yes there had to be something supernatural about these roses. I was on cloud nine. Some of the best days of my life begun. We were so happy together. A year passed without notice. It was too early for both of us to get married; we decided. She wanted to spend more time building a good career. I agreed. Things were going on pretty well between the two of us and we were the perfect couple.

She was an ambitious girl, something which I actually really liked about her. I never liked the company of people who seldom talked sense. She always discussed about her plans to take the next leap in her career whenever we were together. And then it happened. One Saturday morning her call woke me up. She was very excited .I. She told me that she had got her dream job and would be relocating to a place, which was a day's journey from here. It took some time for me to digest this piece of information. I was happy for her for sure. But then, the pain of parting was too much for me to take. The week before she moved out was very painful.I remember being in tears .

She was the one consoling me all the time, telling me to be brave and assuring me that it is just a matter of time, when we will be together again." How can I be so emotional? ", I thought. I owed it all to the extent I loved her. She always seemed to put up a brave face, but I knew that she would also be going through the same emotions as I am. I was happy to have a partner, who can take the tough situations in life in her own stride.She departed after a week .I called her up everyday henceforth. Sometimes I think I overdid it .She also gave me frequent calls. I prayed for her happiness. The work never allowed me to leave the city and visit her. The same was the case with her. But never did it appear to me that we were far from each other.It went on very well for four months.

Slowly the calls started drying up from her end. Whenever I inquired, why was it so, she said that she was deeply buried in her work, and also insisted me to call less. The warmth and cheer in her voice was diminishing and the "chemistry " seemed to be not working all right. I just wished that this phase would get over soon. I had full faith that together we will be able to successfully come out of this.I still remember that Sunday morning .I had just woken up, after a long night at the office. She called me up and her voice sounded grave. I can still remember the words that tore me apart. "Honey! You have been a great companion to me, but then its time to be practical .I do not think that we will be able to pull on the relationship any further."I do not remember exactly when I came out from the shock. It was like someone whispering in my ears that today was the last day of my life.

There was emptiness .I do not know how many times I was dropped home from the bar totally drunk. It took some time for me to accept that she was no longer mine. Later I came to know that she had started dating a colleague of hers, which did not help my cause any further. The aroma of the rose had given way to suffocation. Then somehow I stabilized .All credit goes to my best friend who took me out of the situation I was in .I decided to resume the normal life and go to office again. As I was taking the mundane walk to the office the "Rose Shop "came. It filled me with anger and I had to vent it out. I found myself standing in the queue again. This time it was anger rather than anxiety.

I bought the rose. I came out of the shop and crushed the rose under my feet. I thought this would relieve me of pain. But as I watched the rose, which lay on the road badly crushed, I found myself losing control. Tears rushed from my eyes .I remembered all the sweet times that I had spent with her. Her smile on receiving the rose from me on the day when I proposed her flashbacked in front of my eyes. I picked up the rose, I crushed and kissed it and kept it in my pocket and stood there thinking that why she still mattered a lot to me, when for her I meant nothing..