I too have a love story!

It was eight years ago at Jakar HSS in Bumthang. I was so young yet impulsive, so innocent yet very passionate, so tender yet very determined. To me, then, the real challenges and sufferings of this world were unheard and unknown.

I lived in a mere perception that our life was “beautiful”. I lived to make merry, and nothing more. To be happy was my maxim. No menacing covetousness and aspiring dreams ever pervaded me from that beautiful existence.

Exams, therefore, were temporary villain in my beautiful world, concerning me little of passing to next grade. But it was a minimal sacrifice I offered at the end of each year. Rest of the year I would be merry-making, though. I never bothered about the marks and ranks I acquired after each examination. Securing a pass mark was obvious goal for me.

Although bunking many classes and study hours or not studying even during the exam times, it was easy for me to score good marks to step into next grade. There were a handful of mates who were like me and we called ourselves “intelligent lot”.

This was the time when I fell in love madly with a girl same like me. It’s a cold winter, just a week left for us to appear common exam, the ultimate decider of rest of our life. I held her arms after gathering the guts of the world to confess my undeclared love. Outside, it was extremely cold, dews blanketed on dry grass blades and the wintry breeze blowing from the south. Students horsing around and rattling their plates were lining up for the dinner (kharang and pumpkin curry). Some would be carrying green chili, other taking packets of red chilli powder in their plates to have it with dinner. A piece of chili or a spoon of powder would be a great appetizer for us.

It was my first love, but not the love at first sight. I was shivering so vibrantly, nervous too. I was very weak and timid in this business-love. Perhaps I was proposing a girl for the first time. Never did I know that proposing a girl was so herculean task. It took me about two years to declare my love. But I was doing that day.

In a sheer disbelief, I proposed her, confessed my love. I felt perfectly relieved.

But I was persistently bothered and worried about the rejection. What if she denied my love? What if she had just thought and was treating me “only” as “a good friend”, and nothing more. It would ruin our three-spring good friendship; apparently ruining her trust on me.

I thought, instantly, that I made the greatest mistake of my life, and I started repenting never like before.

“I love you too!” from that small and innocent lips of hers sounded reverberating in my tensed heart. A huge emotion of joy gushed into my heart that I experienced the world of happiness and love, very true, very spiritual.

This love had no ounce of lust, no intention of hurting each other. As innocent, as immature, as pure as our untainted mind we surrendered our hearts for each other, trusting wholly.

We, then, prayed and promised that we will never go apart. We shared limitless immortal love notes which words can never express. Hand-in-hand or in each others' bosom, we chanted the prayer of love. We took an oath, that, whatever the circumstances, we will always walk together the journey of this life and die old together.