Dear Shruti,

I'm glad to hear that you finally got that courage. You can ask as many people to pray for you, but if it's not in your heart, it will never come. And now, you've shown that you can summon that inner strength when you need it the most.

But unfortunately, I lack those powers. Some might think I lost them while aging. But the truth is, I never had them.

All through the childhood, I chased my parent's dreams. Got a degree, took up a job and lost myself in that monotonous life. All the while my heart screamed at me to stop it, to go chase what it wanted. But no. I never had that courage to speak up.

When I reached that peak of my youth, I too had those confused feelings which you were going through. Call it coincidence or just God's will, her name was Shruti as well. We had trapped our hearts in each other's prison. Little did I know, that destiny had other plans.

The whole world crashed on me when my parents fixed my marriage. I never liked that concept and yet succumbed to their pressure. Shruti urged me to make a stand, even run away from this wretched world. But I couldn't.

Once again my lack of guts had drowned me. But this time, it had dragged an innocent bystander with me. Shruti never recovered from that shock. To say she lost her mind won't be an overstatement.

No, I'm not that bad as you may think I am. In all these years after that, I have visited her a couple of times every year. Whenever she saw me, her eyes would flicker with an unknown excitement. Like she was chasing an uncertainty. But in all these years after that, she never recognized me.

They say some people know when their death closes in. They say it true. I can feel it coming very fast. Because I still don't have it in me to face the world alone.

My wife had left me long before, and somehow it didn't give me that pain. But last week, that last piece of the puzzle was put into place. There was a call. A call from the hospital. Shruti had lost her battle with life.

You know Shruti, all the things that I've mentioned above, I've never told it to anyone else. I guess the resemblance of your name with her finally gave me the strength to carve out all the thoughts.

I wish you and Aman all the happiness in this world. And one last thing, don't ever give away that quality of yours. Every time your heart says something's wrong, make a stand. Because that's what will help you discover yourself.

Goodbye Shruti.

Going to meet my other half,
Rahul.

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Thank you all the readers for being with me on this short journey.