Love: A Short Story

Once upon a time there lived two friends called Love and Trust in a village called Life. They were inseparable. Their relationship was sweeter than sugar, so to say. They were happy to be together and cherished their unique friendship. Everyone welcomed Love and Trust with open arms.

Time passed by and their story continued. Love and Trust were showered with a lot of respect. The special treatment meted out to the two made them feel happy. One fine day Love met a stranger called Ego and the two hit it off instantly.

Slowly and steadily Love and Trust grew apart. Love wouldn’t tolerate the sight of Trust but Trust begged him to respect his sentiments and value their friendship.

And then, Love began to take others for granted. He started to disrespect the ones who respected him, shower abuses on the ones who blessed him, treat with disdain the ones who welcomed him. To make matters worse, Ego made Love believe that there was nothing wrong his behavior and that he was right and everyone around him wrong. Ego’s remarks filled his heart with unexplained pride. Around the same time, Love and Ego befriended yet another stranger called Jealousy. Whenever Love tried to introspect about his actions, Ego stopped him from doing so and this continued for a while until Forgiveness walked into their lives. Forgiveness gave Love a strange peace in his company and helped him find the solace that he so desperately craved for.

Gradually Love began to transform back into being a gentleman, his real self. At the behest of Forgiveness, Love walked up to all the people he had hurt in the past and begged for mercy. However, he was treated with scorn by the same people who once respected him! He got the shock of his life to know that another stranger called Hate had dethroned his value from their lives and now lived in their hearts. What broke him further was the fact that his friends Ego and Jealousy had swapped sides and were now in cahoots with Hate, all the while relishing the gracious hospitality of his erstwhile hosts!

A gush of memories and nostalgia flashed past him and Love realized how much he missed Trust! Alas! Trust, his soul buddy, was nowhere to be seen. He cried and cringed in pain, but in vain. Trust was gone and no matter how hard he tried to piece his broken relationship together, he could not. Forgiveness was watching the drama unfold and his heart bled for his dear friend. However, despite Love’s plight, Forgiveness’s heart was filled with joy, for his friend had mustered the courage to seek pardon! That he felt was a quality exclusive to Love. Heart in heart, he was aware that no matter how much Hate, Ego and Jealousy cherish the cordial reception, they cannot beat Love for his uniqueness and compassion!

No amount of consoling was enough to soothe a repenting Love. However, he extolled to him the worth of regret and mercy, which helped calm Love a bit. Love felt a sudden pang of guilt overcome his senses and fear engulf him. Nonetheless, he pushed all his feelings aside to express his gratitude to the friend who had guided him like a beacon light all along. Needless to say,

Love and Forgiveness lived happily ever after!

Cc:Sakshi