The plays in mud water,

The punishments of our mothers,

The swing in your garden,

Those beautiful roses and addicting smelling jasmines,

The nights at the rooftop,

The competitiveness in events,

Our fights and bickering,

Remembering that wonderful childhood we shared

You are a great friend

And, my heart chose you as my love

Is it because of feelings or hormones?

I was confused much more

Not able to see you with any men

While jealousness and possessiveness hovering around my mind

I was scared as well

Losing your friendship is a nightmare

I chose to stay silent

God blessed me

My feelings were exposed

I confessed to you

Its neither refusal nor acceptance

I got confused again

As days passed then weeks and years

You stayed beside me

Without telling about your feelings

Even after our marriage was fixed

I was in heaven virtually

With the sudden overflow of happiness

God may be thought to bless me with real heaven

He announced my travel date to heaven

Even made sure all the gates would never be closed

I have to go

Don't have a chance to refuse

Letting you go is hard

Asking you to let me go is painful

I can't see your pain

Whether its in this life or eternal

I chose to see your smile till the last moment

I was selfish but not cruel

I didn't want to destroy your life more

With my love

I preponed my travel date

I have to go

Not able to go as shackled by your love

Break the chains

And let me go, dear love

From your life

From your memories

Forever and ever!

The dim lights and romantic theme background together had given a perfect environment for the couple , Lakshya and Ragini. Those two were going to marry soon and got engaged a week before.

With his hand on her waist , her hand on his shoulder and other two hand fingers tangled together , they danced graciously while their Parents were admiring them from a short distance.

"I love you, Lakshya."Ragini confessed for the first time and hid her face on his broad chest.

Lakshya was surprised first then smiled. He pulled her chin with his finger and made her look at his eyes.

"You don't know how much I waited to hear this, Cutie."Lakshya said and continued with a grin , " I am happy that you finally confessed four years, 10 months, 3 days, and..."

"10 hours, 30 minutes and..."Lakshya looked at his watch meanwhile Ragini hit his chest in playful manner.

Lakshya held her hands and pulled her towards him.

"Do you like my arrangements?"Ragini asked while glancing her garden.

"I like it but now I am not in mood of noticing that. I just want to be beside you." Lakshya said while his eyes hovered around her lips and tried to control himself. The music and love inside him pulled him towards her yet he was hesitating meanwhile Ragini stood on her toes and kissed his lips softly. The soft touch of her lips broke the barriers inside him and he kissed her deeply but broke it in a minute and moved away.

Ragini held his hand and pulled him towards her. Not expecting her sudden pull, Lakshya dashed with her and held her protectively so that she won't fall. Both stared each other's eyes and fell deeply into each other eyes.

"Let's sit on the chair, Jaan."Ragini said and Lakshya obliged her words. Both sit on the chair and looked at the sky.

"Jaan, don't you think the sky is so beautiful today?"Ragini asked.

"Yeah, Cutie! It's so beautiful today like you."Lakshya said while looking at Ragini.

"Do you have to flirt with me even after engagement?"Ragini raised her eyes.

"I am not flirting, Cutie. I am just telling the truth."Lakshya's voice held seriousness but his eyes glittered in playfulness.

"We know each other who we are in real, Jaan. So, don't try to dupe your cutie."Ragini said in a fake strict tone but ended up smiling while seeing Lakshya's smile.

"What did happen to you, cutie? Seems like, you are in great mood today."Lakshya asked while Ragini put her hands on his shoulder.

"Nothing just thought about our journey."Ragini said while staring the sky.

"And, It made me happy enough to surprise you."Ragini continued.

Lakshya smiled as he was remembering a bit of parts of their childhood.

"Hey cutie! Don't run . You will fall down."Lakshya shrieked as Ragini was running fastly with her Prize on the Garden of her house.

"Arre Jaan! I got it in running race only."Ragini replied back while running but put a sudden break by seeing muddy water infront of her because of the rain at evening. Lakshya couldn't stop himself and he dashed with her. Both fell down in the mud.

"Yuck!!"Ragini pouted and then twisted her lips while looking at herself.

"See! I told you before to not run. Now, look at ourselves. We fell down that too in muddy water."Little Lakshya complained on her.

Ragini raised her eye brow and Lakshya looked around instantly.

"Jaan!"Ragini gave pressure on her words and Lakshya looked at her hesitantly and she splashed the muddy water on his face. Lakshya turned his face but subconsciously splashed water on her face. Soon, they turned that as a game.

"Janvi!!"Sujata, Lakshya's mother, shrieked while looking at the kids from the roof top of her house while taking dried clothes.

Janvi, who was in her adjacent house and collecting dried clothes, looked at the point where Sujata looked. She gasped and then both the mothers ran towards their kids who were busy on the garden with mud water.

"Ragini!! Lakshya!!"Janvi and Sujata stressed their tone and both the kids stopped their play.

"Maa!!"Ragini mumbled while Lakshya snatched the cup from her.

"Aunty, look at this. My cutie won the prize in running race. So, don't scold her."Lakshya announced proudly.

"ohh!"Sujata came forward and twisted her son's ears lightly.

"How is it explains your current state?"Sujata asked while rolling her eyes.

"Aunty, it's not his mistake. I ran in the garden and he followed me while instructing me to be careful. Then, I slipped and made him also slip into mud."Ragini pouted.

"oye! You slipped because I dashed with you. It's my mistake only."Lakshya said while putting his hands on his hip.

"It's all started because I ran faster."Ragini argued.

"I am telling its my mistake."Lakshya stressed his tone.

"It's my mistake only."Ragini stressed her tone equally and they continued to do the same for next five minutes.

Janvi and Sujata nodded their head in horizontal position and held both of their children.

"First take bath then medicine."The mothers said in unison and dragged their child to their respective house.

Ragini and Lakshya turned towards each other and smiled with a grin as they escaped from their respective mother's punishment.

"Wish we stayed as kid forever." Lakshya murmured.

"You can be father of a kid in a year yet still you wish to be kid. Ohh! Kali maa! What have you written in my fate by tying me with this childish person ?" Ragini exclaimed dramatically.

Lakshya sighed while making her head lean against his shoulders again.

"That's I have to tell, cutie. I have to ask her why she made me fell in love with a complete extrovert."Lakshya said.

"Then, what are you? You are complete introvert and nerd. Sometimes, I wonder what made us get us clicked with each other."Ragini wondered while looking at her engagement ring.

"Don't tell me that you are thinking about backing off now."Lakshya said while his own sentence horrified him to the core.

"Don't think that I would free you that much easily. You have to bear me with all these kind of bickering and my dramatic exclaims, forever."Ragini declared and her voice seemed to be soothing contrasting to her words.

Lakshya entangled his fingers with her's. She turned and looked at his eyes; the deep brown eyes.

Lakshya and Ragini were in the college last year and both were in different streams of Engineering.

"Yaar! Why is getting selected in Interview this much harder?"Ragini sighed while sitting beside Lakshya.

"Cutie, it's not much..."Lakshya's lips got sealed automatically after earning a glare from Ragini.

"Don't speak a word, you betrayer. You got selected in Tier-1 level company in your very first interview and didn't teach me about the tricks."Ragini complained while hitting him on his arms.

"That's just luck."Lakshya shrugged his shoulders.

"Moreover, your head is a barren land. Who would hire you?"Lakshya teased her and earned another two punches from Nikhil, who was their common friend and came there just now.

"Dare to tease my Golgappe!!"Nikhil said while sitting beside Lakshya.

"Oh! My true friend!!"Ragini exclaimed in a low voice.

"My Golgappe!!"Nikhil looked at her emotionally and wiped his virtual tears.

"My Puchka!!"Ragini gave him the same look while Lakshya sighed at their madness.

"For your information, both are the names of single food."Lakshya said while correcting his eye-glasses but got ignorance as an answer.

"I failed in my interview."Ragini and Nikhil said in unison.

"you too!!"Ragini and Nikhil gave shocked expression to each other.

"Let's heal our hearts with ..."Nikhil resumed as Lakshya coughed fakely.

"our canteen master's tea."Nikhil finished and extended his hands to hold her hand.

Lakshya's eyebrows knitted, he held her both hands before Nikhil making the book fell down on ground from his hands.

"Both of you come to my house. I will teach you about Problem solving techniques from today."Lakshya said and started to leave while dragging Ragini with him.

"He loves her but always bickers with her. Childish person!!"Nikhil thought in his mind.

"Hey Jaan! Leave my hands."Ragini squealed and struggled under his grip.

"Why are you acting like Darr's Shahrukh khan? 'I love you kir...rrr...an'"Ragini mimicked.

"What!!"Lakshya left her hands. And, he realized he almost did the same. He was acting like possessive love for god sake.

"Don't tell me that you love me. That would be the best joke of the year."Ragini chuckled without knowing what was in his mind.

He hid his hurt feelings inside his eye-glasses.

"Why would I love a mad girl even after knowing about her madness?"Lakshya asked. His rejection made her heart bleed yet she didn't show it in her face.

"I am going to Library. If you want , you can join with me."Lakshya continued, leaving his first statement in middle.

"I am going to eat golgappa with my Puchka. Bye!!"Ragini waved her hands and left towards Nikhil. He knew about Nikhil and also Ragini. Both were childish and that bothered him. Both were alike and their closeness pinched his heart everytime whenever he witnessed that.

"My Puchka!!"Lakshya mimicked like Ragini once she left and then twisted his lips.

"Wish he would be really a puchka. I would eat him whole in single bite."Lakshya thought then shook his head

"Why do you love me, Lakshya?"Ragini's question brought him back .

"Don't know, cutie. I just realized that I couldn't live without you. It's you who were in my past and present. And, I realized there was no future for me without you."Lakshya shrugged his shoulders.

"Yet you called me 'Mad' and even rejected the idea of loving me."Ragini pouted and Lakshya held his ears in instant.

"Never hesitate to ask sorry even if you aren't at fault when the opponent is your wife."He believed in his father's words much more and so he never hesitated.

"I was mad in your love and I was scared to lose your friendship and so I left some bitter words in my over possessiveness. Sorry cutie."Lakshya said while Ragini suppressed her chuckle hardly.

"It's better that I went to your room on that day."Ragini said.

"What would have been happened if you didn't see my book?"Lakshya wondered.

At Lakshya's house in his room,

Ragini was pacing inside his room as he was late on that day.

"I will teach you Problem solving..."Ragini mimicked like Lakshya.

"Ragini beta, don't trust him. Read by yourself today."Ragini said to herself and took a book from his book shelf.

She roughly flipped the pages as she lost her interest in a second. A Picture at the corner of the book got her attention. As she flipped, the corner of the pages showed the life of young couple from their meet to old aged which Lakshya drew. The thought that Lakshya imagined some other girl in his life was much more to her.

"Cutie!!"Lakshya called her in an apologetic tone and she turned in instant and slammed the book on his chest.

"You love..."Ragini stuttered while her eyes turned red. She didn't know why she was feeling dejected and angry on him. They weren't in love in open and they never confessed it to each other. She loved him and felt that he also loves her.

"Yes Ragini! I love you!"Lakshya confessed and looked at the shocked face of Ragini.

"I was scared that I might lose your friendship also. But you get to know about it. I won't ask you to accept my proposal but at least don't break our friendship, Ragini."Lakshya pleaded with all his seriousness.

Ragini stared at his face and then muttered," Lay down on floor and get in position of doing pushups."

"What?"Lakshya mumbled not able to trust his ears but obliged. She sat on his back and told him,"Do twenty pushups. It's your punishment."

"for confessing my love?"Lakshya asked while gulping hard to ask that question. He expected a bit of seriousness from his mad friend.

"25 pushups."Ragini said.

"Cutie!!"Lakshya wailed as he demanded an answer.

"30 pushups."Ragini said while dusting her nails.

"Still, my shoulders are aching."Lakshya said and turned towards her.

"Did you really make me do pushups as a punishment for confessing my love?"Lakshya asked.

"It's a punishment, jaan but not for confessing your love. I never saw myself in that book. Trust me, you didn't draw my face clearly. I thought there were some other in your life and that imagination was much painful. So, I gave punishment for the horrible drawing and leading me wrong."Ragini said.

"Check your eyes with doctor. I got prizes for my drawing. And..."Lakshya stopped as Ragini interrupted.

"Don't tell me about your kinder garden competitions. We both know that you never won anything after in any extra- curricular activities."Ragini said.

"But I was in co-curricular activities. I was the leader of the class even I became school pupil leader."Lakshya argued back.

"yeah! Thanks to your extra marks for your good handwriting."Ragini twisted her lips then grinned at her thought.

"Do you want to know the answer of your previous question? "Ragini asked with extra sweetness.

"What would have been happened if you didn't see my book?"Lakshya mumbled as he remembered his own question.

"I would have been married with Nikhil. Do you know how much my maa liked him?"Ragini asked while Lakshya held her hands protectively.

"Why are you hell bent to make my only friend as enemy?"Lakshya asked and Ragini chuckled openly.

"You don't know how much I enjoy while irritating you with Nikhil's name. At start, I did it deliberately then Nikhil also joined with me."Ragini said.

"Golgappa? Puchka? All these were to irritate me."Lakshya gasped at his realization while Ragini smiled.

"What can I do, jaan? Even after irritating you , you were hell bent to not propose me. Even, I thought that you didn't love me and I was just having illusion."Ragini said and her face became sad at her memories.

Lakshya pulled her cheeks.

"Oh my cutie! This sad face doesn't suits you. I am here beside you as your love. Forget about those memories. Don't worry, I will do something better to replace those memories after our marriage."Lakshya said and winked at her.

Ragini's face turned red a little as she understood what he meant.

Lakshya stared at her face.

"I am sorry, cutie. I am selfish and I am going to be selfish till the last moment of my life. I thought I got everything when maa told me that they are going to fix my marriage with you. Our marriage is just week after. I love you and I can't let you go easily. Yet , I have to. While numbering my days of my life, I can't destroy your life also. I have to let you go and that breaks me than the predicament of my death . I can't see you go away from me. And so, I am going away from you, from everyone tonight. I have preponed the date of my death. I am such a coward infront of our love, cutie. I want to enjoy your love till my last moment. I know I am giving hopeless promises. I know you will be break down tomorrow. But, please be strong and move on in your life. I informed Nikhil about it and hope he will make you strong again."Lakshya thought.

"What are you thinking , jaan?"Ragini asked.

Lakshya nodded negatively and placed his head on her lap. Ragini smiled and ruffled his hairs. He always hated that yet tonight he allowed her to do. With a smile frozen in his face while his mind was thinking about the kiss, the dark hand of death started to embrace him as well as Ragini. Ragini stopped ruffling his hair. Her hand took her phone and looked at the message which lakshya meant sent to Nikhil but accidentally sent it to ragini also.

"I chose to leave her and this world before my marriage, Nikhil. I can't tell her truth that I am dying and I can't destroy her life. Be with your puchka as her support till she reforms from my loss. And, at last, thanks for all your help Nikhil and hearing about all my pain.- Lakshya."the message ended and she started to type her message to Nikhil.

"He chose to leave me but I can't let him go away from me. And so, I am following him. Good bye, my Puchka." Ragini tapped on the send button and threw her mobile in a far.

"I didn't call you Jaan just by word, Lakshya. I meant it. You are my life and seeing your smile is my motto of everyday from my childhood. Even knowing everything, you chose to leave me first. Not only you, even I am coward. I can't confront you and see your break down."Ragini paused.

"Didn't I say that you have to bear me forever?"Ragini asked him and then looked at sky.

"We will be twinkling bright as stars next to next in this sky. We will fight , bicker and ... love forever and ever."Ragini mumbled and placed her head on his torso.

As the darkness started to consume her, she smiled as her Lakshya was waiting for her with a ring in his hand.

A/N

This is my first one shot in telly updates and I changed a bit. Hope, you would like to read it. Kindly let me know about your suggestions reg poem and story.