II 

He loved her, a lot. He loved her as much as anyone could possibly love someone, perhaps a little more than that. His love was not about holding her, restricting her. He let her explore her options because he believed that in the end she would be in his arms for no one could ever love her as much as he did. She was his childhood friend. He admired her for the person she was. She was the first girl he had hugged; she was the first girl he had held hands and walked with, at the seashore. She was the first girl he had rolled with, in the sand at the seashore. She was the only person to understand the changes in him, his mood swings as he began to grow up. She was the girl he had shown his first grown moustache. She was the only person he had cried in front of. She had wiped his tears, allowed him to rest his head on her shoulder. Though people believed that she was a weak person, he knew how strong a woman she was. He never fought with her but there were times when he took out frustration of somewhere else, on her. She never complained. She understood him, listened to him, and helped him to calm down. She did not have to do anything special, she just held his hand and smiled and his anger vanished.

He trusted her as a friend; he knew that she would be there for him whenever he needed her. He could never think of anyone else other than her but he did not force her to consider him as the only guy in her life. He could never date any girl but he allowed her to date other guys. When he had built sandcastle with her as a kid, he had imagined spending his future with her in that sandcastle. He was the king and she was his queen. He had often told that to her and she had hugged him. They had rolled in the sand and had fun together and cried together as waves washed away their castle. He had wiped her tears and promised her that he would build a big house for her in future. His parents were poor but he knew he would build a house for her, someday. He never spent the money his parents gave him as pocket money. He saved it for her.

When she started dating, he ran a quick study on the background of the guys she dated. He told her, what was the right thing to do and what she should not be doing and she obeyed each and every thing that he told her.  He knew that she respected him. The first two dates of hers did not go further than a handshake and a dance. The guy she danced with; got too drunk and started misbehaving with her when he interfered and punched the guy. She did not meet that guy after that day. The third person was comparatively a tough rival but he knew, though she would spend more time with that guy, she would finally come back to him. He knew that she was looking for something special in the guys she dated, something that even she did not know. He knew that only one man could provide her the kind of security she was looking for and that man was him. 

The night Jacintha shared her experience of first kiss; he knew that matters were on the way of getting serious. He had to do something about it. The night she had told him about the first kiss was magical, the starlit sky and her presence was a perfect combination. His feelings for her grew stronger that night. As she looked at him, he could not stop staring into her deep blue eyes. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her but he knew it was not the right time. She was just sixteen and perhaps she would have not understood how true his love for her was. He wanted to wait for the right time. But, he knew it was time to make her feel very special and let her know how much she meant to him.

The next morning as he stepped out of his house for his regular morning walk, he stopped at a florist shop and bought a red rose for her. On his way back home, he placed the rose on her doorstep and waited behind a tree to watch her pick up the rose. She picked up the rose with a smile on her face and he fell in love with her once again. He knew he would remember that angelic face for the rest of his life. She was the first woman of his life and he knew that she would be the last one. Later in the day when they met, he waited for her to tell him about the rose, but she did not. As they sat together on the bench, looking at the waves, the air was filled with her perfume and as he took a deep breath, he knew that he would remember this smell forever and whenever he’d feel lonely and sad, the smell of her perfume would fill him with happiness and contentment for it would remind him that he had her in his life. 

Whenever they met, they held hands while walking and there were times when suddenly Jacintha tightened the grip on his hand. Every time she did that, he felt something stir within him but he did not show it on his face, he did not want her to have a wrong impression about him.

He continued sending roses to her, one every morning and saw her picking it up as she opened the door for picking up the newspaper. He noticed the change in her as she started picking up the roses without smiling. He waited for her to tell him about the roses. He wanted to tell her that he was the one who was sending them to her but when she did not question him, he thought maybe, just maybe she thought that it was someone else sending them.

One day, she told him that her third date had left her for another girl. He put his arm around her, trying to comfort her and as she placed her head on his shoulder he tightened his grip over her shoulder. He was not sure whether she noticed that but even if she did, she did not react. 

After a few days he asked her why she had stopped dating. That day, he intended to ask her out on a date. He had planned everything. He had chalked out the entire day and in the evening with the setting sun as the witness; he intended to propose marriage to her. But she had said that she was too heartbroken to start dating again. She was still hurt because of her third date.

He decided to give her the time she needed. He had made up her mind to be there for her whenever she needed him. He was going to be hers forever though there was someone else who secretly admired him.

There were many girls who were attracted to him but he did not pay any heed to them. There was someone special who sent him chocolates everyday. Just the way he kept a rose for Jacintha. The label on the parcel read – “With love from Jini”. For a moment he thought that Jini had something to do with Jacintha but when he had approached her with the box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, the look on her face showed that she was not all that pleased with the that someone had sent him a box of chocolates. He smiled. Perhaps that was the beginning of their wonderful life together. Perhaps she was also falling in love with him. He was ready to wait till she was fully prepared to accept him in her life.

If it was not Jacintha, then who must be the girl? He wondered everyday as he received the box of chocolates. After eating a few chocolates he would distribute the chocolates amongst children.

The box of chocolates kept coming; there was no way he could find who the sender was because the payment for the chocolates was done by cash as per what the storekeeper had told him when he had traced the store from the address on the box.

One day, while he was at one of his friend’s residence, his friend’s kid sister approached him and told him that she loved him. The girl was just thirteen year old and all that he could do was smile. But when he came to know the name of the girl, he was surprised. Her name was Jenny. That was so close to Jini. He talked to her and made her understand. He was not sure whether he should have told his friend about this. He could not. He did not mention the chocolates, either. A thirteen year old girl spending so much on chocolates seemed weird to him. Maybe he was wrong; maybe she was not the girl.

The chocolates kept coming and Jenny tried talking to him whenever she got the chance. 

Five years, it had been five years now, he had been placing those roses on the doorstep of Jacintha’s house. He had allowed too much time to slip away. There were many reasons for that. Her education, his education and most importantly the house he had been working on. He had bought a simple house at an affordable cost and he was renovating it with the money he had saved all these years. The house was just as he had dreamed of and he was sure Jacintha would love it too. He wanted to propose marriage to her in that house. It was situated on the outskirts of the town they lived in. A one hour traveling on his bike and they would be at their dream house.

When the house was almost ready he told Jacintha that he wanted to show her something and then he set off to have a last look at the house before he showed it to her. The house still needed a final touch but other than that it was ready to welcome the love birds. He smiled to himself as he looked around the house and visualized Jacintha in his arms. He could already smell her perfume.

... to be continued [concluding part]