"Really! That handsome guy wants to make friendship with you?" that news indeed got a change in the mood of Sirisha. "I really congratulate you that you are going to be a friend to him. But this is not at all news to me. Any handsome boy will easily come into your hold as you are very much beautiful and attractive!"

"But he tried to make friendship with you a lot. As you have not encouraged him at all, he came to me to make friendship with." Chandana's uneasiness was reflected in her voice. "Don't you feel at all that I am stealing him from you?"

"What nonsense you are talking?" Sirisha put her both hands around Chandana and kissed on her left cheek. "Not just him, I don't encourage anyone to become my boyfriend. Just because I have big goal in my life and I don't want unnecessary disturbances. I feel so much happy if you both become good friends as you both appear just like for each other."

"Oh, my god! I did not expect this at all!" Chandana also put her both hands around Sirisha and returned her kiss on her right cheek.

"Here your hero is coming!" Sirisha suddenly relieved from the hold of Chandana after relieving her. "I think he is coming here particularly to talk with you. My sincere suggestion to you is; don't appear too much enthusiastic and be reserved to some extent." With a slow voice she said.

Chandana wanted to say something but by that time itself Sarath came there and Chandana and Sirisha looked into each other's faces with serious expressions.

"How you wrote your exam?" looking into the face of Chandana, he asked her.

"Just in the way I have expected to write it." Chandana could not stop the smile that was forced onto her lips.

"That is not the exact answer to my question." with a serious expression in his face Sarath said.

"In whichever way I wrote, what it has to do anything with you?" Chandana also pulled a serious expression into her face.

"Dear, now I have to go home. You cannot stop me." Sirisha understood that they needed some lonely time together to develop their friendship, said that and moved away from that place.

"You are absolutely right. What it has anything to do with me? I am sorry. I don't try to talk with you again." He turned back and started walking away from that place.

"Just a moment please!" Chandana hastily said and when he stopped, she went near to him fast. "Do you need to become this much angry just because my answering in such a way." By then she has completely forgotten about the suggestion given by Sirisha.

"I did not get angry for that." The expression in his face has become amicable. "I just became upset understanding that you don't want to talk with me and am going away."

"How do you come to conclusions like that? Why you are thinking that I don't want to talk with you?" the frowns gathered on her forehead then made her even more beautiful.

"But..........does that mean..........that you want to make friendship with me?" there was sudden happy expression in his face.

"By all means, of course!" Chandana could not remain without laughing happily. "Which girl does not like to make friendship with a handsome guy like you?" but suddenly her face became serious. "Are you really that much intent to be my friend? There are so many girls flocking around you."

"But none of them are like you. After Sirisha, you are the most beautiful, attractive and intelligent in this school. Moreover, I have to have certain feeling in me to make friendship with anyone. I am feeling like that with you and wanted to make friendship with you."

"If that Sirisha has agreed to your friendship, you never would have preferred to come to me, is it is not?" with little angry expression in her face Chandana said.

"That sure would have been the case of course if she interested to make friendship with me just because..........." he paused for a second as if to reiterate whatever he was going to say ".............once I make friendship with someone I do give my heart only to that one. Once you become my friend, only you are going to be my close friend, no one else."

"That means you don't have a close friend yet?" Chandana knitted her brows together.

"Yes, to that matter even in boys also I don't have a close friend yet." With firmness in his voice Sarath said. "I have attracted towards some girls and made little friendship with them but never have felt about them in my heart. I don't know how to convince you about this but I am feeling about you deep in my heart."

"Really you do mean it?" it was becoming quite difficult to Chandana to control her happiness and it was reflecting full in her face.

"How I can prove to you that I do mean it hundred percent?" with gathered frowns Sarath said. "It is upto you whether to believe it or not."

"Oh, I believe it!" Chandana said and proffered her right hand towards him. "From now on we are going to be good friends."

The feeling she has when he took her right hand into his right hand and squeezed it gently, she just could not explain in words. If just the touch of a hand was like that, how the other things would be, it was impossible even to imagine!

***

"Mom, ever you have felt so much happy in your life?" that happy feeling was just so in Chandana even after she reached home and once she finished her sapper and before going into her room for studying, she asked that question. She really did not know why she asked like that but asked.

"There were so many occasions that I have so much happy in my life." With a small smile on her lips, her mom Sameera said. "The whole day also may not be enough if I narrate them one after one to you. Anyhow why did you ask like that to me?"

"I am feeling so happy now, so I wanted to ask like that to you." Feeling the same happiness still in her Chandana said.

"Is there any reason for your feeling happy like that now?"

Chandana startled hearing that sudden question from her mom even it was something could be expected. What she would think and how she would react if she told her the real reason for her happiness then?

"I have written today's exam also so good mom. I am expecting to write the remaining exams also in the same way. That is the reason for my happiness now." Chandana felt happy as she could find a pretext without much thinking.

"That is indeed something you can feel happy!" there came an instant happiness in the face of Sameera. "Both your dad and I have all hopes on you. You just have to thrive like that all your life and get good marks in all your examinations."

"Certainly it will be so mom." She came near to her mom, put her both hands around her and kissed on her right cheek. "I always give first preference to my studies." She did not feel guilty to say like that as it was just so to her. As she has said, she has written all her examination so well till that moment.

"Just a moment darling!" before she was retiring into her room Sameera said and Chandana turned and looked into her face with a questioning expression. "There are not just happy moments all the time but sad incidents also. We have to learn to deal with both the happy and sad incidents."

"I just don't know what you really want to say!" with a confusing expression in her face, Chandana said.

"Yes, dear. I am thinking it is necessary to tell you about this also." coming near to her Sameera said. "Sad incidents are also as much natural as happy incidents in our lives and we have to deal with them in equilibrium."

"Alright mom, I understood." Chandana nodded her head and was about to move away from that place but then she suddenly wanted to ask. "Do you have any such sad incidents in your life?"

"Of course, some." The expression in Sameera's face was suddenly turned pathetic. "The main incident among them was; losing my child when it was in my stomach itself. Your dad and I so much thought about, have so many plans for it but I have sudden abortion. We both felt so much worried and unhappy. I could not conceive with you until four years after that incident but I must say I never could forget about that loss and still sometimes feel worry about it."

"But mom, you lost it when it was still in your stomach, why do you worry about it that much?" feeling lot of surprise on her mom's saying like that Chandana asked. "I know that so many women get their pregnancies aborted without a feeling in them."

"If we become inhuman and without feeling, we can do anything but if we are human we cannot even think like that." Sighing heavily Sameera said. "You just cannot understand how a pregnant woman feels until you do become pregnant. It is impossible to say in words the mom's attachment towards her child even while it is in her womb."

"Is it is so to her with every pregnancy of her mom?" whatever she heard from her mom was like a whiplash to her. Indirectly with what type of feeling she was making Sirisha's mom to be subjected if she got her pregnancy aborted just because of her advice to Sirisha like that and Sirisha demanding her so?

"Does not a mom have the same love and affection on all of her children? It is just so with all her pregnancies also. She just does feel the same love and affection on all her pregnancies and never even bear the thinking to lose them." her mom said. "If that pregnancy has been survived, you would have a brother or sister to play with you, love and like you. Sometimes I am feeling guilty........."

"Okay mom. I understood." After saying that Chandana retired into her room as she could not hear anymore from her mom

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)