Short Story

The inspiration behind this was Neerja's story, her blog, and essentially the experience of my first week at college and hostel. 

Please comment :)

She had never been lonely before. 

She had been in the spotlight. Ever since she could remember. Always. Centre of attention. Every guy's fantasy. Every girl's envy. Everybody's best friend. Nobody disliked her. She radiated warmth. Comfort. She glowed. People vied for a chance to be with her, talk to her, stand next to her, hoping that maybe, some of that constant happiness would rub off on them. Headstrong. Independent. Eversmiling. Free spirited. She was the sun. She never cast a shadow. 

It all changed.

It wasnt abrupt. It was subtle. Slow. Initially, nobody noticed. As the days, weeks, months slipped by, she seemed to be gradually withdrawing. An aura of mysteriousness surrounded her. A knowing look entered her eyes. She seemed to weave an invisible cloak around herself, reserved and dignified. As if a strange, dark secret had revealed itself, and she was the only one who knew.

It was the voices. It was him.

He quietly entered her dreams. He whispered secrets into her ear. He told her wonderful tales of young love, of knights in shining armour rescuing beautiful young maidens. Maidens like her, he said. Rescuing them from what, she asked. From the world, he answered. From everything that held her back. From everything that she could not do. That the world stopped her from doing. From darkness, from evil, from jealousy, greed, hate. And take them where, she asked. To an enchanting land, he answered. A world of endless joys. A world of laughter, care, dreams and possibilites.

She believed him.

She had never experienced such emotion. She had never known what it was like to love, to be loved, to care for someone so much that love seemed too puny a word for it. She laughed with him, cried with him, shared her life with him so completely that she couldnt feel where her own senses ended and his began. Life was a magical dream. They were together. They were one.

He was within her. He was in her heart, a part of her soul. Unknown to herself, she had built a wall around herself. No one could enter the secret region where they were one, where she safely locked the memories of their conversations, his smile, his scent, his touch. It was just her, and him. In her heart. On her mind. Always.

She was the loneliest person in the world.