It was a winter morning in Kolkata. A soft mist had settled over the metro platform, as if the city were wrapped in a white shawl. Before the train arrived,a gentle breeze carried the scent of unknown flowers , some said it was night Jasmine, others through it was shiuli.
Ayan stood in a corner of the platform, a physics book in his hands filled with difficult formulas. A little distance away,a girl wrapped in a blue shawl. Her name was Neera . Stood holding a cup of coffee. As the metro doors opened with a sudden jolt , Neera's coffee spilled over Ayan's book .
"I'm extremely sorry...i didn't notice at all ,"she said , clearly embarrassed.
At first Ayan left annoyed, but when he looked up , it felt as through spring had suddenly arrived before him.
"It's okay,"he smiled softly, "maybe studying will become sweeter with a coffee stain."
That day they traveled in the same coach till collage street, standing side by side . They didn't talk much, yet both felt strangely that this meeting was beginning of something new.
Two weeks later, they met again unexpectedly in a small cafe near college street.
The cafe was called "Book & Bloom", filled with books and tiny vases of flowers on every table. It felt like each table held a little garden.
Neera looked surprised at first, then smiled,
"Seems like the coffee stain from the metro has brought me here."
Ayan joked,
"Maybe coffee has its own destiny."
That day they talked a lot about dreams, fears, studies, future and even favourite flowers.
Neera said her favourite flower was tuberose, because its fragrance spread most beautifully at night.
Ayan replied,"You are just like tuberose quiet, yet you fill the whole room with your presence".
From that day , their friendship began.
Every metro journey, every cafe evening, every road in the city slowly started filling with dlowiin their hearts.
With time , they realised it was more than friendship.
While watching the city through the metro window, their hands slowly intertwined, and they didn't even notice when it happened.
One evening, sitting near Victoria Memorial as the sun was setting, Ayan said , "You Know, it feels like this city was made just for us , every road, every cafe , every flowers."
Neera smiled gently,
"Then is our story like these city flowers? Will it fade someday?"
Ayan shook his head,
"No... Our story will be like an eternal flowers
One that never fades , only changes its colors."
That Evening, holding her hand firmly , he said for the first time,
"I love You."
Tears filled Neera's eyes , but they were tears of happiness.
" I love You too....."
And it felt as through the air arround them filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers.
Dreams, Struggle,and Marriage.
Love is never always easy..
Career pressures, family expectations, worries about the future life become complicated. Sometimes they stayed apart , talking over calls, sending late night message to give each other strength.
Neera sat beside him and said," Do you know? Before a flower blooms, the plant must endure many storms. Our love is like that , it will reach fulfillment only after surviving the storms."
Year passed.....
Ayan moved forward toward his dreams, Neera built her own world. And one day in that very same cafe, Ayan gave her a small box .
Inside it was a ring shaped like a tuberose flower.
"Will you stay as the fragrance of this flower in my life forever?" he asked.
Neera's eyes sparkled just like day they met.
"Yew, I will....till the very end."
Soon after, they got married.
The wedding hall was decorated with flowers - white, blue and rows of tuberose. It felt as if the whole city was blessing their love .
Even after marriage, their life felt like a fairytale.
Every morning , Neera placed a fresh flower near the window and said , " Let Today begin like a new story."
Before leaving for office, Ayan would say, " stay like a flower always beautiful, always strong."
They traveled to mountains, seas,and little cafes.
Wherever they went, it felt as if flowers bloomed just for their love .
Sometimes Neera would tease,
" I think our love is a bit magical."
Ayan would reply softly,
"Because it is real ."
Old age and the last spring time never stops.
White strands appeared in their hair, glasses rested on their eyes, their steps become slower, yet their love remained as fresh as ever.
One afternoon, they returned to that very first cafe .
Neera whispered slowly,"Do you remember? Everything started from here."
Ayan smiled, "Yes.....and you still feel like that girl from the metro."
They sat silently for a long time.
Soft breeze,the scent of flowers, and gentle sunlight,it felt as through time itself had paused.
One rainy night, Neera feel seriously ill.
Ayan held her hand tightly. In a calm voice she said,"Don't be afraid.....our story isn't ending, it's just changing its form."
Tears filled Ayan's eyes,"How will i live without you?" Neera smiled faintly,"they way a flower, even after falling, leaves behind its fragrance... I'll remain in every breath of yours like that."
That night,Neera fell into a peaceful sleep as if drifting into a long dream.
Ayan sat beside the window. The rain has stopped, and strangely, at dawn , every flower in the garden bloomed together. It felt as if Neera was whispering,"am here .... always."
A few years later,on a quiet morning, Ayan too closed his eyes. A gentle smile rested on his face as if he were again standing on that metro platform with a book in hand , and before him stood a girl wrapped in a blue shawl.
Epilogue::::
They are story never truly ended. In every Metro station, every cafe ,every fragrance of tuberose in the City, they love still lives on. Because true love never dies.... Eat simply changes its form and blooms forever like and eternal flower.....
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