Ritul sat on a bench in the park. It was the most appropriate place according to him which was situated at a location far away from the honks of vehicles which pervaded the whole of the busy city. He used to often visit the park, with his diary. Writing his thoughts and experiences in his diary was something he loved doing.
Ritul had a passion for writing, it was a medium through which he could express and confess feelings which otherwise remained trapped. He was very good with words; and was appreciated for his selection of words. It was his dream to publish his book someday.

He opened his diary and read out the first line engraved on the cover page with golden and orange ink- ‘With love, from Radhika’. Below it, was a line - “Chase your passion and someday you shall find yourself standing amidst the land of your dreams.”  Ritul touched the writing with his finger tips; he felt each and every word making way from the page straight in to his heart. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

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“Here is your present, open it now; I am eager to see the expression on your face when you see it.” A beautiful girl sat in front of him with excitement ringing in her voice. She chuckled in joy gifting Ritul his present.

“What is it sweetheart?” Ritul had asked her, examining the box in his hand. He unpacked the present and found the beautiful diary, with an inspiring thought written carefully on it.

“A diary? Oh my God! How did you know that I have a passion for writing?” He was surprised since he had never mentioned it to her.

“Hmmm. Do you call me your ‘bestie’ just for name sake? You don’t really have to tell these things to me, I can figure it out. And how would I not know? It has been seven years that we known each other.” She grinned.

The smile on her face made resonated in his soul he knew he was the luckiest person on the planet.

 They had known each other since class six when she had taken his notebook home by mistake and he searched for it in the entire school. The notebook had a poem and a small piece of writing in it which good enough for her to fathom that he had a flare for writing and was gifted at it. The next day when she returned the notebook to him, he was overjoyed, he mentioned it to her that it was his favorite notebook and he had been too upset at its loss. They eventually developed friendship, gradually turning out to be the best of friends over years.

“Tell me, how you know that I write.” He persisted.

“Ritul, you remember I took your notebook by mistake when we were kids?”

“Yes. I do. I was upset beyond reasons, when I realized I had lost it.” He explained.

“I had read it that day and was impressed with what I read. I showed it to my mother; she said that you would definitely have the talent for writing. I am giving this diary to you so that you never give up the gift god sent you with; it’s time for us to choose our carriers. I know your parents want you to pursue dentistry but you should not give up on your dreams, after all it is your life and you have to live it. You talk to your parents and reason it out with them.” She said on a serious note.

“But they won’t listen.” He had no other way.

“There is never any harm in talking it out and at least giving it a try.” She said.

“Let me try.”

That night Ritul went home and told his parents about his wish to pursue his passion, they seemed reluctant to listen. However they finally agreed to it and were happy with his decision; the credit for this was certainly Radhika’s; it was her clear thinking and sheer will to help Ritul take up writing, that had finally convinced his parents.

Ritul was proud to have such a friend in his life. He didn’t have words to thank her enough.
Thus began a new journey of chasing his passion. She was always there by his side to support and encourage him.

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As Ritul opened his eyes, he was enveloped by dusk a metaphor of his life today. The street lamps flickered and shone brightly making the path visible for the late-evening pedestrians. He was in no mood to write, his thoughts were preoccupied. He wanted to throw the diary away, yet it seemed like a sin if he did so. He sat there sobbing quietly below the huge blue sky. The cold wind blew and embraced him in its arms. He had no one to share his pain with. He had lost his best friend forever. Just then an ambulance passed by him making that unpleasant sound and bringing back those memories which he remembered so clearly.

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“Sir, please hurry up. We need to reach there as fast as possible.” Ritul managed to say while panting and holding on to her hands. He looked at her almond shaped lovely face. It had the same gleam; although her lips had dried and her beautiful expressive eyes were closed.

They reached the hospital. She was immediately taken to the Operation Theatre. He sat there outside with numbness overcoming all his senses.
The doctor came out after half an hour. On prodding the doctor said that she had very less time left with her. She was in the last stage on her tumor and would not survive for long.

As he entered the OT, he saw her clad in white sheets, smiling endearingly at him. He looked at her innocent face, went and sat beside her. He held her hands. She smiled. “Why are you looking so forlorn? Smile. Please.”

“I can’t.” A tear somehow managed to escape his eyes.

“You knew this had to happen someday. You have to face it, and accept it.”

“I can’t let you go.” Ritul couldn’t hold back his tears. He laid his head on her belly to rest. She patted him. A teardrop escaped her eyes too; she wiped it away and tried to smile.

“Oh goodness! You are such a drama king. Look here now. You have to promise me certain things.” She tried to hide her sadness.

He looked up at her, she wiped his tears.

“You’ll take care of yourself, mummy and dad when I am gone.”

“Yes. I will.” He managed to speak.

He smiled through his tears.

“And that you will never give up writing...”

“I can’t do that. It is because of you that I write. You are my sole inspiration. If you aren’t there, who will I write for?” He started sobbing.

“These are my last wishes Ritul. You’ve to keep them. Please.”

“I want to tell you something. I never got an opportunity to tell it earlier.”

“What is it?” Her eyebrows rose.

“I love you Radhika, from the very first day I know of love.” he broke down.

“I love you too.” She grinned.

They hugged each other.

That night Radhika passed away in his arms.

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 It’s been two months now, the wounds were still clear and fresh.

Ritul was broken, it was very hard for him to gather courage and start writing again. But his love for her slowly became his inspiration for writing.

He looked at his bag and took out a certificate. It read-

TALENT FOR WRITING

This is a certificate of merit to certify that Mr. Ritul Shikhawat has written a beautiful piece of short story titled- ‘The last wish’ which was selected for publication in a Young Writers anthology.”

He looked at it, smiled and said to himself, “Who knows how much pain it cost to write this short story.”