Neethu was an average looking south indian girl. Fair, short and curvy. She had long thick hair which she always used to plait right from her childhood. A shy and reserved character mainly because of her humble family background. She had to take care of her ailing mother from her school days and her father who was a contract employee made enough just for her college fees and house expenses. Left with no choice, she used to take tuition for school kids after her college hours and with that money she used to buy things for herself.
She used to wear simple clothes to college even though she could afford branded clothing. She was very careful not to attract any unnecessary attention as her mother advised her that college is the place where all guys will become mad and chase girls. None of them would look for a serious long term relationship, maybe an affair and once the girl gives them space she would be utilized and thrown off like a tissue. From the very first day she distanced herself from boys and girls who were very close to boys. But despite all these efforts she still had an admirer.
Ajay, son of a businessman was a lazy lad all his college life. Crumpled shirt, torn jeans, unkept hair and a week's stubble would be his description most of the time. He was tall and was part of the college basketball team. Chose to do his engineering far away from home so picked this college even though he had much better options. Kinda oblivious to the fact that people were actually having a life outside the hostel. Spent more time with gadgets, video games and his bike than his friends.
All this till he met Neethu. He quickly developed a crush on her. He loved everything about her. Her simple clothes, her mild perfume, the cute bag she carried, the dimple on her cheeks when she smiled, the way she chewed the pen when nervous, the thin gold chain that adorned her beautiful neck, the way she hummed her favorite song when no one was around. First time in his life he felt the need to look better to impress some one. Wasting no time he proposed to her which was rejected promptly along with a stern warning of complaining to the staff.
He never gave up and after countless tries managed to become her friend. She wasn't ready for any relationship and even though she never hated him she was scared if he will propose again, hence maintained a distance with him. As a rule she never accepted gifts from him and never gave him her number. They were allowed to talk only about studies and nothing personal. As long as he gets to spend time with her, he was happy and thus grew their friendship.
One valentine's day Ajay's friends tried to pull a prank on them and it turned out nasty. The whole college knew about their "friendship" and both of them were summoned to the Chancellor's office. After receiving a strict warning Neethu decided to end their friendship. She cut off all his links and swore she wouldn't see him again.
8 yrs later...
A lot of worse things have happened in Neethu's life since her college. Her mom succumbed to her illness. Her father quit his job the moment she started working and she practically lost all her friends living a monotonous life feeding herself and her drunkard father. Even though she was well educated Neethu was not cut out for this. A home maker, a loving wife, a caring mother. That's all what she wanted to be. She loved to be a typical indian housewife. All this work, taking care of the old with no shoulders to cry on made her life dismal.
She missed him. She tried many times to reach out to Ajay the only person whom she was close with even though it was only for few days. She blamed herself for ending their friendship and her non existent social life was not helping her in any way to get his contact.
After years of search she finally found him in the latest social networking site, the Facebook. She took 50 different photos before finalizing one for her profile picture and sent him a friend request. She spent months waiting for him to accept. Looking at his profile picture everyday wondering where he is and what was he doing was all she did that time. Finally one day he accepted her request. But her happiness was short lived. His profile was loaded with his wedding and honeymoon pics. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she went through each and every picture posted and read every comment wishing them. Every night she used to cry seeing these pictures. Pictures of him laughing and holding his wife's hands. It looked like a high profile wedding and the bride sure looked beautiful. She infact looked like a model. Girl with sharp features, raven hair, designer clothes. She was indeed his perfect match.
