Our forever !

OUR FOREVER!

The curtains in her room were drawn tight; but the sun still crept in; painting faint streaks across the wall. She got up and rubbed her eye. Her eyes darting to the corner where a shadow seemed to crouch, watching. She froze. Her breaths caught. She blinked once, twice. And it was just a chair. She exhaled sharply while repeating , "it is just a chair, just a chair".

Mornings were always the hardest, it was not easy living with schizophrenia after all.

A knock came at the door after she was freshened up and sitting at the window. It was their maid who came with her breakfast. From eating to sleeping .....everything was done in silence within the walls of her big room.

To society , she didn't exist. Hidden away since childhood. She was her family's unspoken secret. It wasn't cruelty, it was fear - fear of shame, fear of whispers, fear of not being the perfect family, fear of what would happen if the world knew their daughter had schizophrenia.

Her eyes shifted to the notebook, on her bed. Pages filled with stories of people - braver, freer, unbound by shadows. She clutched it to her chest. Writing was the only place she felt whole.

She was homeschooled. She was never allowed to leave her home. 'For her own safety', that's what she was told. She had everything - a doctor, a therapist to help her with her condition, but what she wanted was to be accepted as she was by her people at least, if not the society, what she wanted was freedom - freedom from these four walls, from hidden life.

And she got that taste of freedom when the house was quiet, when the world slept, at night time when she slipped away. There was one place - hidden away, not known by many, a very small, cozy, not so famous "book café" - where she belonged. 

One night, in the middle of the cafe, she got lost - lost in her own thoughts, lost in the voices inside her head, voices she cant name, words she cant make out. Her breathing got fast, on verge of crying and suddenly she heard a voice.

"uh...excuse me ...you're blocking the way!

That somewhat rude voice bought her back to reality. She blinked up at him - tall, well-dressed, a stranger with eyes that seemed annoyed. She stumbled aside, muttering sorry. The guy gave her a last look and walked away.

The guy walked away but the girl kind of stayed with him., in his mind - how scared she looked.

The next many nights, the guy observed her from afar, he never intruded, just sat at a distance, sipping coffee, just observing her, how she kept to herself and sipped her coffee while scribbling in her book. Observing her made him forget all his worries. 

The guy tried talking with her once or twice but she totally ignored him. She was different.

Until one night, their orders got swapped, and he made a joke about how fate gave him a chance to talk to her but even then she ignored him and kept writing in her book.

Slowly and gently he chipped at her silence. A remark about the rain. A joke about the sleepy waiter. One night, without meaning to, she laughed - a startled, raw laugh, she hadn't heard from herself in years.

That laugh changed everything. 

Before meeting him, she was happy that every night she got to go to the cafe but after meeting him she waited eagerly when will the sunset so that she can escape to the cafe and meet him. Nowadays she use to smile a lot, which was so foreign to her.

Before meeting her, he lived a monotone life and use to lose his shit very easily, but now he use to stay calm and happy, more at peace with himself. He was excited to meet her every night.

The time they spent away from everything and everyone was treasured by both. For him it was escape from all the chaos and for her it was freedom from her life.

And as he got to know more and more about her, all the little things, all the things she let him know about her, he fell for her more and more each passing day.

One night at the cafe he asked, "Are you dating anyone?"

"No!" she replied.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just." she replied.

"A beautiful women like you should not be single!" he stated.

"Its not easy to love me." she said in her soft voice .

"Why would you say that." he asked a little confused.

There was a pause. She was not sure but still she said it ,

"I have schizophrenia"

But even that statement didnt change how he felt about her. Infact he fell more for her.....seeing how strong she was!

She let him in. Not all at once, but slowly and steady. She made him promise not to tell her secrets to anyone and he kept his promise like a sacred prayer. For once both were truly happy and were having a good time away from all their chaos.

Until the night everything broke.

They were leaving the cafe when the first flash struck. A camera. Reporters circling like vultures. She froze, ears ringing. The voices returned - louder and unbearable. She dropped her notebook, clutching her ears, trembling. He tried to shield her, pulling her close, but by morning the headlines screamed - 

                      

                         "SARIN's HEIR SPOTTED WITH OBEROI's HIDDEN DAUGHTER" 

Overnight she was no longer invisible. He was grounded, his phone taken away.

She was sent away quietly, her mother's eyes wet with tears. "Its for your own safety", they said " The world will never understand".

Before leaving she wanted to meet him once but she heard him getting engaged to someone "suitable". It enough for her to move on and move away from this place.

Society makes it hard for those with mental illness to simply live that even their own family is ashamed of them, let alone love. Every step is shadowed by judgement, every dream questioned. And when love does find them, the world doubts it, whispers that they are unworthy, too broken for someone "whole". Yet their hearts beat the same, often loving more deeply because they know what it means to be loved for who they are.

Years passed.

She is now older and works as a writer anonymously. Her books are well-known around the world. Being sent away turned out good for her. Now she lives independently without hiding anymore. She has her own people, she has created her own life in this new city.

One evening she stands by the sea,

"Hey" she hears a voice which her ears can never forget.

Shocked she turned around,

"I am sorry it took so long to find you. My family was being too difficult. But I never stopped looking for you, I never stopped loving you. All these years I was thinking only about you." he said.

"I am sorry but I think you should go back from where you came" she replied coldly.

"Why" he asked.

"Because it isn't easy. Not for me. Not for you. You know what I am. I will only make life harder for you." she said with teary eyes.

"I don't care if it is easy or not. I don't care about what the people say. I just know two things that I care about you and that I love you." he said softly.

And they lived - lived a life the world was against of , a life the society made them believe that they cant have. It was not perfect, not even close but it was a life well lived with genuine love and laughter. In this choice of theirs, they found their forever.

THE END

Inspired by : Extraordinary attorney Woo young woo. ( Korean show).