The Apartment

[Tarun]

The Apartment



Chapter 1



It was 1972.....



As he sat in his balcony staring at the empty apartment before him, he thought about the future residents of the apartment. "Who is it going to be?" he wondered. As days passed by he sat in

his balcony every evening, he hoped to see someone in the empty apartment and he wished they had a kid of his age. Though he had many friends in his school, he never had a friend who lived

closed to his house. He always wanted someone he could talk to all through the night sitting under the stars and not worry about getting back to home before it was late.



As days passed by no one came in to the vacant apartment, but he sat in his balcony every night eagerly waiting. Then one day it happened, he saw trucks filled with all kinds of furniture

parked right in front of the apartment complex. He couldn't believe it, he hoped they were at the right apartment and not lost their way. There were so many times when he saw the same

kind of trucks filled with furniture, and was joyous that someone was moving into the vacant apartment but when the trucks left without unloading a single item, he realised they

were at the wrong address . But this time it was for real, someone was moving into the empty apartment. He saw a car stopping next to the truck and a man giving instructions while

the stuf was being unloaded. Then he saw someone he couldn't take his eyes off, she was beautiful. He never thought his wish would come true and he never even dreamed that his new

neighbour would be so beautiful. He sat there and saw all the stuff being unloaded and finally the truck left, that night he couldn't sleep. He was too happy to sleep, he dreamt about his

new neighbour, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "Does she go to school, she is too young not to go to school" he heard himself say.



The next morning as he started off to school he saw the door to the previously vacant apartment closed. Then as he was walking to school eager to tell his friends about his new neighbhours

he saw soemthing very odd. He saw someone in a school uniform walking ahead of him and he recognised the uniform as his school uniform. "That's odd, there is no one in this vicinity

who is young enough to go school and especially to my school, I am the only kid here" he thought. Then it struck him, the new neighbour, "ahh how could I be be so dumb", he said hitting his head with his hand. Then as he walked with quicker and longer steps until he was right behind her. Then he didn't know how to start the conversation, then she turned around. "Ahh I wish I can hide somewhere or better I wish I was invinsible" he wished. Then with a beautiful smile he heard her said "Hi", "what a simple way to start conversation I need to note that in my book" he thought smiling back. Then as they started to talk, he knew this was the start of a great friendship.



Chapter 2



Then as time passed on they became more than just neighbours they became best friends. She told him everything that was happening in her life and he told her everything that was going on in his life, well almost everything. There was something he never told her and heard telling her, that he thought her as more than just his best friend. He wanted to tell her that he loved her more than anything in this world, but he feared. He feared that he may lose his best friend, so he never expressed his feelings for her.



Then came the School Farewell Party, they were in their 10th grade.All the students were anxious as they were going to be exposed to a new world. But he was anxious for more than one reason, last night he had decided he was going to do it. He decided he was going to tell her he loves. He wore a black suit with a tie matching his ice blue color shirt, and had a bunch of roses in his hands. And he waited for her at the School, he had said he could not accompany her to the farewell party. Then he saw her, she looked like a princess then as she walked closer to him he started fear again. He hid the roses behind his back and with everystep she took towards him his fear grew, and he had this debate going in his mind "what will she say, what if she is going to reject me, all these years of friendship.......naa maybe she likes me too I am being pessimistic, I know her I think she likes me......but what if....". Then as she stood before he froze, greeting her with a sheepish he led her into the Assembly hall where the party was to take place and away from the roses which lay on the ground, since the moment he dropped them when he heard her say "hi".



Then with the begining of their +2, he took up Math as his major while she took up Botany. He lived in a On-campus dormitory and they never got many oppportunities to meet and talk, the few opportunites they got they spent sitting on the terrace watching the stars and talking about what was going on in their lives. He told her everything except for the words "I Love You", he was afraid of her rejection. Then as they finished their +2, he got admission in Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and he had to leave his hometown. He thought he had to somehow tell her about his feelings for her, he asked her to come for a treat before he left for his Undergraduation. This time he was going to do it, he had practiced it all night and he was confident he could do it. Then as he saw he coming the same old fear starting creeping back, no matter what he told himself he couldn't help letting the fear take hold of him. Then he did it, he dropped the flowers and talked to her about his trip to IIT.





Chapter 3



He told her he would be in regular touch with her, and he kept his promise and though he came to his hometown many times during his 4 year stay in IIT. He never told her about his love, he didn't know how she would respond. Things had changed in these 4 years, she had moved into another apartment but still she lived close to his house. Then after completing his undergrad, he had got admission in Princeton University, he had to leave in a few weeks.



He strongly decided he was going to do it, he was not going to back off this time, he ordered a bouquet of roses, sprayed david hoff's Cool Water on his brand new suit and was ready to go. Then he wants to give her a call then decides against it, "I want her to surprise her" he says to himself. When he reached her new house he learns from her father that she just left for his house. He rushes back to his house and finds her still in his house waiting for him. "I have something to tell you" both of them said at the same time. "You first" she said, "Ladies first" he said, she hesitantly asks him to close his eyes and then she handed him something. He opened his eyes shocked to see her wedding invitation. He hugs her and wishes her a happy married life, he left for USA the next week, a week before he actually planned,a week before her wedding.



After a couple of years, he came back to india and felt good to be back in his hometown. He couldn't stop thinking about his best friend all these years, he still had feelings for her he still loved her more than his life. Then he asked his mother about her whether she was happy with her married life. Then he heard the news, she never got married, the groom to be got killed in an accident while on his way to the temple. He felt sad for her, he was happy to see her and seemed to notice she wasn't what she used to be, she wasn't smiling as much as she used to. But then as her father told him she had never seen her smile so much after the mishap couple of year ago. "The time is right, I shoudl tell her I love her, I will marry her and then go back" he thought.



He still had a couple of weeks before he left for USA and he prepared himself yet another time to tell her about his love. Then he called her just to make sure she was there, he didn't want to make the same mistake as last time. So, he called her and find out that she is in the shower, he leaves her no message. Then he gets ready and calls her once again and finds that she has just left for shopping and should be back in a couple of hours. He decides he will propose to her the first thing in the morning and tries to sleep that night but can't. He gets back memories of her the first time he saw her, the first time he walked with her, there was a first time for everything and he thought tomorrow was going to be the first time for something special something he always feared to do. Something he should have done a long time ago.





Chapter 4



The next morning he gets ready and goes to her house with a bunch of roses, and as he goes to her house he sees many people standing outside. He steps into her house and drops the roses, she met with an accident last night and it was fatal. He leaves the roses next to her and walks back to his house, this was the most loneliest walks he had ever made. And as he walked he didn't cry, he hated himself. "If only I had left a message last night, if only I had gone shopping with her last night." he heard himself shout. He couldn't sleep that night.



After a couple of weeks a day before his departure gets a call from her father, "she has left some gift for you" he said. He was not sure what that gift was, and when did she want to give him and why? There were so many questions going on in his mind, then as he returned home with his gift he couldn't stop himself from opening it as soon as he entered his house. He could see from the cover that it seemed to be packed a long time ago, and as he opened it he saw that it was her diary. "Why would she want to give me her diary?" he thought. Then as he opened the diary he could read on the first page his name next to "TO" and her name under "PRESENTED BY". Then he turned to the next page and he froze, tears started rolling down. There on the page she had written "I love you, and I always did, from the moment I first saw you. I always wanted to tell you this but I never had the courage, I feared you would reject me, I feared losing our friendship. I don't know if you love me too. I want to give you this instead of my wedding card today, and I hope I will have the courage to do this, and I hope you would say I love you before I get to do this and save me from all this trouble".



He never really recovered from this, even after 25 years after the incident took place he still reads her diary and cries. He lives alone in USA as he never married, trying to forget his One true love trying to forgive himself for not taking the chance to tell her how much he loves her. He will never forgive himself and he can never forget her.







"It hurts when someone you love doesn't love you back, but what's worse is not having the courage to tell someone you love them."- Author Unknown



P.S: This is not my story, but the words are.

[quote][/quote]

[akhilis2cool]

Nice story.

[Just Another Human]

Nice story.

Hey akhil! Be honest!!



did u read the complete story ????

[akhilis2cool]

Nice story.

Hey akhil! Be honest!!

did u read the complete story ????

yeh.

u dont need to read the story word by word to understand it.

[Just Another Human]

Nice story.

Hey akhil! Be honest!!

did u read the complete story ????

yeh.
u dont need to read the story word by word to understand it.

L O L



will try