But, anyway... Moving on. Her 1st pic... I still have that in my cell. In fact, I have every single pic in my cell, that she sent me over these 3 years. Lucky that I get to see her now n then. Then there is the 3rd Anniversary of being a couple, officially. 'Officially' - 'coz we were already a couple, much before 26th May 2008. We were already calling each other Hubby n wifey. :-3 But we truly confessed on 26th. So, that's our love anniversary. That morning, she woke me up with a kiss. Over the phone, of-course.

This weekend I planned to write a 3 episode blog-book on my relation with her. 3 episodes encompassing 3 stages of our relation. Even took out pen paper to start the 1st episode. But realized that I don't have enough research material to draw the picture perfectly. All those were in my computer, of which, I have the Hard-drive left. So, I guess I'll have to wait till I buy that Laptop. Watch this space. Till then, you can read my last blog-book - "Marriage NOT made in heaven".

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This post is about my guy. No, I'm not gonna write on how we met and stuff. I'll write a mixture of everything.

The last series which Vicky has written is dedicated to me. [ Blush Blush :$ ] After reading the first part, I was like 'awwwww soooo sweet'. Strangely, we were not seeing each other when he started this series. He had told me that very shortly he'd write something for me. When he posted the 1st Episode, I had an inking that this is me. Later on, he would discuss every minute detail with me, on everything about me. As the series progressed, our love was also moving, actually jumping steps ahead. :)

There are certain things which happen in every love story, which is happening with us too. We fight like hell, well not everyday but yes may be every 15 days :P . Whenever we fight, I always decide on not receiving his call, come what may! But, the moment I see his name flashing on my cell's screen, I'm like - "Ooohhhhh… I can't live without talking to my baby". There's silence for at least 5-7 minutes after receiving the call. Then again fighting, which follows by 'coochi cooing'.

Know what baby? I really don't like some habits of yours. Like, I keep talking until my throat pains and you quietly and patiently listen to me. It so irritates me. But then, I like the way you say "Aisaaaa, Achaaaa, Hmmmmm, Uummmmm, Fir Fir" and so much more which obviously I don't want to mention here. ;) And of-course, I LOVE the way you care for me. It happens in every relationship but still. The way you take care of me when I'm unwell; the way you make me laugh when I'm sad or in bad mood; the way you make me understand when I'm confused; the way you make me feel extremely special; the way you wake me up from sleep; the way we call each other by those shweet shweet names. Every breathe you take makes me feel that it's for me and me only. And, how could I forget to mention that we love pulling each others legs. :D The first thing I want in the morning after I wake up is you. I go to bed thinking about you. In my dreams I see you and you only. Every fraction of second has your memory and love in it. When I eat your favorite food, I feel so elated as if you have cooked, specially for me.

I guess there's only one similarity between us but many dissimilarities. The similarity is that both of us are introverts but when it comes to you, I'm a complete extrovert. I'm always in a hurry about everything but you take your own sweet time no matter what the conditions are :@ . I'm very impatient and you're the opposite of it. I'm quiet short tempered and you are the calmer one. I'm the talkative one (with you only) but you hardly talk. The list is endless. But, as we all know, opposites attract. May be that's the reason of us being so much in love.

After all the love and praise, I want to tell you something and that is, tell me things directly rather than indirectly at times. I don't understand, you see. Or rather, I want to hear directly from you. But anyways, I love you a lot, no matter what.

LOVE YOU LOTS … MMMMMMWWWAHHHH.. [ HEART ] .

We went to Brigade Road for dinner that night. After dinner, roaming on Brigade felt like a dream. The crowd was very less. I was feeling like prince, strolling with my princess - hands in hands. Back home, just before entering home, she gave me a long tight hug at the porch. It felt like eternity. We walked into our room in each others embrace and collapsed on the bed. She looked into my eyes for sometime and then closed her eyes. My angel was in my arms. I gently kissed her on forehead, eyelids, nose-tip, cheeks, lips. After each kiss, she held me even tighter. Then she started with kissing my chin. Within half hour, she had covered every inch of my face with her love. I held her in my arms as my baby drifted into sleep later on.

Next morning, while still half asleep, I felt hot air blowing on my face. But there was something unusual. This hot air had this nice aroma which felt sooo soothing. It was she breathing on my face, whispering in my ears - "Wake up baby. Good Morning". I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me - all smiling. As my eyes met her, I saw the glint of morning sun in her sparkling eyes. I received a wet kiss on my cheeks as morning breakfast. She giggled and was about to leave my bed side when I pulled her back in and wrapped her in my arms. She started tickling me and so did I. Best way to wake up. :)

I skipped office that day. Next few days as well, for that matter. Spent every moment with her, helped her tiding up the house, played with her, cooked with her and everything. Next week onwards, I had to go to office anyway, even though I wasn't feeling like going. She hugged me at the door and kissed me 'bye-bye' and 'come back soon'. On the way to office, I was missing her already. I could still feel her tight embrace, her body pressed against mine, her breath on my cheeks, her wet lips on mine. I kept calling her from office every now n then. And seems she was seating beside the phone all day, as she was picking up the phone on 1st ring itself. My manager wasn't happy though. Apparently I spent more than half the time in office on phone and on top of that, left office earlier than usual. :P

I picked up some flowers for her on my way back home. Couldn't wait to get back home. This was happening for the 1st time. Usually I was among the last person to leave office. But now things had changed. I had someone to come home to. Damn this traffic, the cab was moving so slowly. The 10 minute drive to home took like forever. When I reached home, a surprise was waiting for me. She opened the gate for me and Wow!!! She was standing there like a seductress, oozing a lot of oomph. She welcomed me inside the house, made me seat on the couch and gave me a juice. Then she told me take a shower. I couldn't disobey this diva. I was spell bound. So, I was in the bathroom, standing under the shower. I thought she was in the kitchen, fixing me dinner. But suddenly I felt her behind me and then I felt her fingers on my bare back. She was running her palms on my back. I was shivering under the hot shower. She came more close, kissed me on back of neck and hugged me from behind, her hands on my chest. A current ran through my body. I turned around, cupped her face and kissed her wet trembling lips. We kissed madly, like never before until we both were breathless. Her cloths were all soaked in water and her body felt great against mine. Then she started kissing me all over my body. The touch of her lips on my skin was driving me crazy. I was loosing control of myself.

I pulled her close to me, wrapped my hands around her waist and started kissing her all over. We both were kissing every inch we could place our lips on. My kisses on her neck were sensuous for both of us. I carried her into our bedroom, she clinging onto me with her legs and hands, we both kissing all the way. I collapsed with her on the bed, which got wet from all the water. She got rid of her wet cloths. She was looking smokin hot and yet soooo beautiful. And she was blushing now. At first she pulled the sheets to cover herself, but then she came rushing and hugged me tight, her body pressed against mine. I made her lie on her back and kissed all over her body for the first time. I wanted her badly. We made love that night, for the first time. It was heavenly experience for me. As she slept in my arms that night, I felt like the most blessed guy on earth.

Days passed by and before we knew it, we were celebrating our 6th 'manniversary'. That's a term we coined. See, 26th May was the day that we had confessed our love for each other. Since that day, we celebrate on 26th of every month. Come'on. Wait for anniversary is very long. So, we celebrate manniversary every month. It is our own valentines day which comes every month. :) But from the day after the 3rd maaniversary, I noticed that she wasn't her usual chirpy bubbly self. Something was amiss and she wouldn't tell me what. On my prodding, she'd tell me that she was just a bit tired. But wouldn't let me skip office to stay with her. This continued for couple of days. Then I refused to go office one day and stayed with her. We spent all day in our bedroom. She rested beside me, her head on my shoulder and hand on my chest. I held her close to me. I felt her quivering. I pulled her up and looked at her. Her eyes were moist. She tried to hide it and buried her head in my chest. I just held her and caressed her. I knew anything else wont do any good to her. Finally she whispered in a chocked voice - "I miss mom and dad".

We both had wished for a happy life of togetherness. We had wished that we'll get married with our parents' blessings. But since that hadn't happened, we were just living together. Everything was there between us. All the love, happiness and understanding. Everything that a couple wishes for. I knew if I asked her to marry me, she'd accept it. But she'll always feel the absence of her parents' blessings and that's something that'll keep her sad maybe deep somewhere within. So, I never raised the question. But now it was time. But just as she, just as we had wished for. I have to make it happen. We were going back to where we eloped from. Her city, her parents.

She was reluctant to go back there. She was afraid that her parents will take her away from me. But I gave her strength and assured her that I won't let anything bad happen. When I stepped into her parents' house, holding her hands - it was a scene from some Karan Johar flick. Total chaos prevailed for quite some time. But long story short, her parents were happy to see her again. Apparently, they had imagined that I'm a bad guy who had bewitched their daughter and won't let them see her again. But when they saw that she was happy with me and I'm not really a bad guy, they accepted 'Us'. Maybe the fact that we stayed together for 6 months influenced the acceptance. :P I called my parents there as well. Now, the two sets of parents had their formal meeting. Well, that was really just a formality as they knew they'll have to accept the marriage now. When they came out from their meeting room, her dad welcomed me with open arms and so did my parents for her. Just then, I went down on my knees, held her hands, looked her in the eyes and proposed "Would you spend the rest of your life with me?"

Epilogue :

26th December - the day we got married - on our 7th Manniversary. This marriage was definitely 'not made in heaven'. We had many turbulence and roadblocks. At times, it seemed that god himself is dealing cards against us. But we never gave in. We fought against all adversaries and finally made it work. We got married. But this didn't end there. Our married life faced hardship as well. Couple of times, it was on the verge of break-up. But, we survived everything. But that's another story I'll tell you some other day. For now, let me wake my angel up and wish her happy 50th marriage anniversary and 607th Manniversary.

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Read all the Episodes - one by one - Here. And wait for the upcoming PDF book. I'll mention the names of those who participated in the Survey for Episode 6 there.

It's been half hour since we reached MP. She was asleep with her head resting on my shoulder. I didn't want to wake up my sleeping beauty. she was sleeping like a baby.I ran my fingers through her hairs and was looking at her closed eyes. I had this urge to kiss her eyelids. But then she opened her eyes very slowly and our eyes met. The tiny hint of a smile on her lips was looking so cute. 'Good Morning, sunshine'. Kissed her on cheeks instead. :) After she had freshen up, we alighted from the bus. Our 1st stop - MP.

We took our 1st lunch together at a local dhaba. Not a fancy restaurant and all that glitz. We sat on the 'charpayi' and had a normal meal, followed by a glassful of lassi that we shared. But still it was so romantic. Through out the course, we kept looking at each other, giggling. Often some food would spill out of my mouth due to the giggling and she'd smirk. Then she'd make me eat the next few times from her hands. That was very sweet. So, I'd deliberately spill food and make her do that again. She understood what I was doing but still fed me with her hands. Well, I fed her too and each time she'd brush her lips on my fingers. She even bit my fingers twice. Hmmm.

A caravan of farmers / traders was heading towards Amravati. We had better means to reach there but she chose to travel this way; as we'd get more 'fun time together'. We sat on a heap of hay in one of the tractors. As the caravan begun, we lay there next to each other and watched the white clouds falling behind. I shifted to my side, lifted my head and looked at her. She was looking so beautiful in the evening light. I was again running my fingers through her hairs, touching her ears, caressing her cheeks; all the while looking deep into her eyes. She was getting more n more silent, her skin getting warmer. Don't know if her eyes were attracting me or did she really pull me towards her, our faces were at a distance of few centimeters now.
I could feel her breath running down my face. Her body was shivering in my embrace. Her eyes were shining like a thousand stars. And her lips were quivering. I saw a few dew drops sparkling on her lips and felt bewitched. I touched her lips with my thumb. They were very very soft. Her whole body shivered. Then she lifted her head just a bit and I traversed rest of the distance. I gently touched her lips with mine and kissed her. She held my head with both her hands and pulled me deeper. We both kissed each other passionately for couple of minutes. Nothing else seemed to matter. When we let go to catch our breath, we looked into each others eyes like we've never seen before. I kissed her again - long, deep, wet n warm. Our 1st lip kiss. The best moment of my life so far.

I took her in my arms and she wrapped her arms around me. I kissed her forehead and she let out a soft moan. Every little noise that she made, drove me crazy and I held her even tighter. Everything in the way was so beautiful. The clear blue sky, the west-bound sun, the cool breeze, the mustard field, the river, kids playing on the village road, ladies carrying pots of water - everything was sooo soothing. This was our real India Tour. By dinner time, we had reached Amravati. We hit the local market soon, as suggested by our ride. We held hands and just roamed the market. I found a real cute n beautiful bracelet for her. It looked even better on her wrist. She liked it too and kept playing with the beads. And I got a peck on my cheek in return. It wasn't supposed to happen but my cheeks and nose-tip turned red. I was blushing...!! Gaus, where do I hide?

There was a bus leaving for Mumbai shortly. But we both decided that it's better to take rest for the night. We checked into a posh hotel. At the desk she registered herself as my wife, to avoid any suspicion & unwanted questions. When she pronounced her name with my surname, I felt this rush of emotions. I was happy beyond all measures. I couldn't hear what else she said at the desk. I wanted to hug her then n there. I barely managed to contain myself. But not for long. I just followed her into the room and as soon as the room-service left us, I instantly hugged her tight. Seems she also had this rush since the front-desk. She held me even tighter. And maybe we let out a tear-drop or two. 'Coz for a moment there, my vision went blurry. I made her sit on the couch, went down on my knees and rested my head in her lap. She played with my hairs very nicely, and kissed my temple. That felt very sweet. My future wife. My gaze went to the bed. Double-Bed. What....!! 'DOUBLE BED'. She had booked a double-bed room. Then my gaze came back to the couch. Damn. I'd have to sleep on the couch.

I prepared the bed for her and picked up my pillow & sheets for my night-out on couch. As I headed towards my 'couch-cum-bed', she gave me a puzzled 'what-on-earth-are-you-doing' look. I didn't know what to say. She took my stuff out of my hands, threw them on the bed, looked me in the eyes and said "I LOVE you, I trust you and I'm not afraid of you. You can sleep on the same bed. Don't behave like a stranger with me". After a little debate, I had to give in, as she threatened to sleep on couch. We ordered our dinner and had it delivered in the room. Another round of feeding each other followed. This time it was more spontaneous and intimate. The touch of her lips on my fingers felt so sensuous. After dinner, we sat on the bed, my back against the wall and she in my arms. We looked back at the past two days. All the lovely moments that we spent together, hand in hand. We talked till late night. She needed to sleep now. My angel was tired.

We lay next to each other for the second time that day, this time on a proper bed and just two of us. I was wondering if she did this just out of courtesy or to show her trust in me or something else. She was just looking at my face, eyes half closed, as if drifting into sleep. I was trying to read her face. But I couldn't find anything. Instead she read my thoughts. She flashed another magnificent smile, placed her palm on my cheek, kissed the other cheek and then kissed me very softly on my lips. Wow, I was also drifting into sleep. Was I already dreaming? I kissed her back. 'Good night. Sleep well, Darling' - she said to me and slept in my arms. I kept looking at her. The most beautiful angel was sleeping so peacefully in my embrace. All my dreams had come true. Slowly, I was also asleep. After all-day-fun, the body needed some rest.

Next morning, when I woke up, she wasn't there beside me. And, where am I anyway? For a minute there, I couldn't remember what has happened in the past couple days. Was it all a dream? It can't be. Can it? Then she walked into the room, with a tea-tray in hand, which she placed on the bed-side table and sat next to me. She kissed me again [guess where] 'Good Morning, baby'. Wow. The best way to wake up every morning. I took her in my arms and pulled her onto the bed. She lay below me and was trying to get free. As I brought my face closer to her to kiss, she gasped and pushed me away. 'Ish. Go brush first. Dirty Boy'. I made a sad face and descended from the bed. Just then she hugged me from behind and kissed my neck. For a moment there, I felt lightning bolt running through my whole body. I turned around and hugged her tight.

We came to Mumbai on the next bus. After taking rest for an hour, we went to Marine Drive, Chaupati, Gateway of India etc. Saw the Arabian Sea (any sea for that matter) for the 1st time. I was amazed at the vastness of the water-body and was thinking about typical hindi love songs. Like - 'Sagar ki gehrayi se gehra hai apna pyar' [my love has more depth than sea]. I was wondering how can something be deeper than this vast ocean? I guess I wanted to ask her this. But when I looked at her, I knew those lyricist aren't totally mad. Walking on the beach at sunset with her hands in mine was great. The brick-red sky, mild roar of the ocean, the waves lapping up our feet - everything was soooo romantic. We vowed to be together for the 'rest of our lives' in front of the setting sun.

We took the night train from VT Station for Bangalore; our Final destination. As usual, we talked till late night. This time, we didn't need to share bed [berth, actually] as a single berth wasn't enough for two people. ;) So, Good Night kiss, Mmwwaah Hug and two berths facing each other. That was the night on train. Next morning we both were excited like anything. After all, by that evening we were going to be at home. OUR home. We both were smiling, giggling n stuff. After freshening up, she took out a bag of Lays chips for break-fast. That's her one childish habit which I really don't like. She eats junk-food for breakfast. I mean, come'on. Eat something healthy, baby. I took away that bag and offered a bread-butter toast instead. She made this innocent kid face who is forced to do something that she doesn't wanna do. Huh. I'm not falling for this. You got to eat healthy. She didn't say anything and finished her toast. After we were finished with the breakfast, she said - 'Now, my turn'. This time she took out a cake box, picked one cake slice, put half in her mouth and offered me the second half. Though the curtains were drawn, I checked to make sure no one was snooping. Then I came close to her, took a quarter portion in my mouth and begun chewing my way in. In some time, I had claimed my half of the cake and my lips were caressing her lips. At the end, donno who got which half of the cake but we ended up kissing each other madly. The chocolate cake added to the flavor. Not a big difference though. Her lips are anyway always delicious. :) The best dessert in the world, patented for me.

Towards the eve when we were about to reach Bangalore, I was standing near the gate to watch the fields and stuff. But she won't let me stand 'so dangerously' near the open gate. No matter how much I cajoled her, she kept pulling me into the coupe. Finally I had to give in. I was slightly irritated as I didn't get to see the scenery. But then I felt really good too, that she was actually worried about me and was taking care of me. Anyway, we finally reached Bangalore around 7PM. She was excited like a baby. She was talking and chirping and laughing and everything. I got off the train first, unloaded the baggage and .... when she was getting down, took her right hand in mine and helped her alight the train. Felt like receiving my princess in my kingdom. :) Welcome, my princess.

Took a cab from the station and reached my home directly. On the way, she was constantly looking out of the cab window, taking in the view of the new city. She was here for the 1st time in her life. And, I was just looking at her excited n happy face. We both were lost in this activity and lost account of when we reached our home. The driver had to call out 'Sir, we've reached' twice to get our attention. Ohhhh. Finally. I unloaded the baggage once again, took her bags myself, [ no mistake this time. :P ] took her out of the cab and headed towards OUR home. And Opened the main entrance. We both stood there, perplexed, for quite some time. It was a big moment for both of us. The she said "Let's get in. I'll take right foot-step first to make this moment auspicious". I looked into her eyes with all the love in the world and said - "There's better way of doing this". She gave me another puzzled 'like-what?' look. I placed my right hand on her waist as if to hug her. Then with my other hand, swept her off her feet. She was frightened for a moment but then was very thrilled. She placed her arms around my neck and held me tight. And I carried my princess in my arms into OUR HOME.

[ To Be Continued ... ]

Previously in the Series :

• Episode 1 : Jab We Met [Online]
• Episode 2 : Be my (L / W) ife
• Episode 3 : The Rendezvous
• Episode 4 : Arranged Love

We are supposed to marry a total stranger and still spend the rest of our life with him / her - 'happily ever after'.

Well, that's the general scene in India; where love marriage is still a taboo. We [me n my love] decided to take the plunge. When our love was rejected by parents even after lots of cajoling, praying, crying - we decided to elope. Thankfully, we weren't totally alone. We found a friend [F] in her cousin who supported us secretly. After she was virtually locked up in her room, F came to her rescue. F contacted me and told me all that was going on at the house. There was a chance of she being forcibly married off in a hurry. So, we had to think fast n clear. We devised a plan and acted on it. F helped her escape the house, not at mid of night, but broad daylight. That was pretty brave and brilliant. I still get goose bumps thinking 'Wow, we pulled that one off'. We met at the park again. F brought her to me, placed her hand in mine and said "Now she's yours. Take care of her. Don't ever make me regret what I just did". I hugged F instantly and assured that I won't let anything bad happen to her. F took off saying it's better if she doesn't know where n how we're escaping now on. Now it was just me and her, holding hands in the crowd, looking deep into each others eyes. There was lot of expectations, joy, excitement in those eyes. But more than anything, there was a hint of tear in the corner of her eyes. She was sad 'coz of the way she had to leave home n family. I felt sorry for her 'coz she had to do this for me. I gave her hug, kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear - "Everything will be ok. U sure U want to spend the rest of your life with me?". My heart skipped a bit when she quietly freed herself from my embrace and turned away. Ohhh, to pick up her bag. Then she faced me again, looked me in the eye and said "shall we begin the rest of OUR life?".

I felt like I had never felt before. I was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions. Now she was my responsibility, most precious part of my life. I'll guard this angel from all the evil of this world, care for her, love her, pamper her n always keep her happy. She'll have my babies some day, we'll be proud parents ourselves. "Shall Weee...?" Ohh, she was reading my thoughts.

Me  : Let's go.
She : Helloooo ..... Mr. Hubby to be .... am I supposed to carry my bag myself? :p
Me  : oooopss. [after taking the bag] Just the bag? I can sweep u off your feet and carry you as well in my arms.
She : Ohh yeah...?? Lemme see you try that.

As I made a move to hold her, she blushed away. "Have u gone crazy..!! Do that when we're alone at your home. Now let's move" And thus began the 'Rest of our life'.

[ To Be Continued ... ]

Previously in the Series :

• Episode 1 : Jab We Met [Online]
• Episode 2 : Be my (L / W) ife
• Episode 3 : The Rendezvous

Upon landing, finding her in the crowd of people waiting at the reception area was my 1st concern. How am I gonna find someone whom I've never seen. As a last resort, I can call her or maybe she's holding a placard like some others, which I find quite funny nd irritating sometimes. But nope, I didn't see any placard with my or her name on it. To get me more confused, there were atleast 30 - 40 girls my age there, quite a few of them eying me. Is she the one.....?? No, she thinks I'm lost. Her....?? Ohh, she's receiving her dad or uncle or whoever. Oh, I think that's her; the girl waving at me.. Hii....... iiiiisss. Com'on, how can I fall for this? She was waving at the guy just behind me. She ....? Her ....? That Gal ....? This .... That's her. Found her. The most beautiful girl among all of them.

Ok, that's an exaggeration. :D Still, for me, she was THE most beautiful girl there, as she was looking at me with all the love of the world in her eyes. I realized she was following me with her eyes all this time. I needed no introduction. The moment I saw her, I knew it was her. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I let go off my baggage and spread my hands, ready to embrace her. She walked towards me with increasing pace and suddenly broke into a short run and lunged at me. I held her in my arms and took a 360 spin. We both held each other in close embrace, looking deep into eyes, feeling the rush of the moment. Our first meet, first touch, first hug.

Later on that day, we were walking on the park side. She was walking by my side, clutching my hand, her head lightly resting on my shoulder. I wished that we could go on like that for ever. She hadn't talked much since my arrival. I knew she likes to let the 'eyes talk', but com'on yaar - say something to me. And she said "Take me away from here, far away - with you". I told her that I was gonna talk to her parents 1st and ask for their permission. She was dead against it from the start. But, at last she also believed that she must give them a chance. I told her how to break the story at home and what she needs to do. Gave her lotsa courage and never let her feel alone in all these. She never let go off my hand even for a second.

That night, she told her parents about me. They didn't take it so well. There was catastrophe. she was virtually held up in her room whole of next day. She persuaded them and gave them time to think. At last they agreed to meet me. She was happy, for the time being. 'Coz she never believed that her parents would even grant me a visit. She gave me a call, all excited, and asked me to come over the next day. She was giving a lotsa tips about what her parents like n dislike and such stuff. I heard some, missed many. I was just absorbing the excitement and happiness in her voice. Tomorrow was the big day - Meeting the parents.

I reached her home on time. I was drop-dead afraid, standing on her porch. I was sweating in winter. Her cousins took me to the living room. They all were askin me lotsa question - how we met, what we intend to do etc. They were all sport and helped me get at ease. But the moment her parents walked in, I was shaking in my shoes again. Her dad's killing stare or mom's despising gaze weren't helping either. But then I saw her behind the curtains, trying to give me confidence, even though she was afraid herself. There was this mix of excitement, expectation and fear on her face, all giving her a face pink tint. There were lots of hopes in her eyes and her lips were quivering. I knew I got to do this, got to win her. All my fears and inhibitions were gone and I faced her dad with determination.

But, let's just say - it didn't go that well. Long story short - they had agreed to meet me - just for the heck of it. To show her that they met her demand, saw me and didn't find me suitable. They had no intention of giving us a fair chance. When her dad finally said "Stay away from my daughter", she came out from behind the curtain and protested. There was this verbal brawl, which was terminated by her dad slapping her. She was in tears, tears of contempt, sadness, anger. That broke me. I knew I got to take her away from there. Our option A had failed. now it was time for option B. We paid they our respect by asking for their permission and blessings. Now it was our turn to make our own way. Our option B - Elope.

[ To Be continued ... ]

When I say we weren't meant to be together, I mean it literally. God played all the tricks in his sleeve to prevent us coming together and later, to separate us. I found her in the most unconventional way. It was the blogsphere where we met first, virtually. I just randomly landed on her blog, read a lovely poem and left a comment there. She thought it was someone she knew. So, she approved the comment, but still, to confirm his identity, she pinged me over the chat. Turns out, we were total strangers to each other. Still we exchanged our Orkut profile links. I found out that she was already talking about me with another friend of her. I checked both the scrapbooks to see what the conversation was. She got a hint of this snooping and confronted me. I defended myself as I didn't think that I did anything wrong. That's how it all started - with a fight.

Later on, we were chatting and mailing like anything. But our timings never accommodated that. Whenever she was online, I was off and vice versa. Still we made it point to reach out to each other every single day - by mail, orkut, blog comment et al. I'd stay back in office late-night so that I can meet her online and she would go online early mornings for the same. Yet we weren't a couple. In fact, we were madly trying not to fall in love. She won't give me her cell number, won't send any pic, would say how her parents can fix her marriage any day. I on my part, was trying to take my attention off her by concentrating on other girls here. Ohh, this HR is so cute, I can date her. Girl next door seems interested. We can go out. I tried to be an average spoilt guy - dating girls and not serious about a thing. But no matter what I did, at the end of day everyday, I thought about her only. Later on, she also started doing the same. She'd tell me about her latest crushes. I thought that she's just teasing me, which she loves to. But I used to get upset after such conversations. I got my unfair share of sleepless nights. All night I'd think what's happening to me. I can't be in love with her.... I haven't even seen her. One couldn't be in love with a person without seeing him / her. It must be jealousy. . Am I in love?

Then one fine day, she gave me her cell number - at last. She woke me up that morning with the sweetest 'hello'. Guess I was reborn that day. We were now talking, chatting and SMSing like anything. By this time, we were acting boyfriend - girlfriend, virtually. We would sing to each other. I loved to call her 'Shona'. So, 'Hey Shona' was our love song. I recorded this in my voice and mailed her. She used to listen to it all day. That very thought used to tickle me all day. She loved all the songs I loved. Every other day, I'd tell her how I'd like to spend the rest of my life with her. We'd talk about possibility of love brewing up between us, live-in, marriage, life after that, our kids et al. But everytime, at the end she'd say that she won't marry me. :( Broke my heart. All this under the wrap of 'casual kidding and teasing'. No one would actually say how much we loved each other. I wished we could really consider all these. At least, I wanted her to know that when I say that she's the best thing to ever have happened to me, I really mean it. But she didn't understand it then. We were merely playing hide n tease. Then one fine day, she called me up and said "My parents have fixed my marriage and I'm getting engaged next month".

[ To be Continued ... ]