“A heart that loves is the one that gives,

This is how everyone who loves someone lives.

It’s not about what and how much you receive,

Love is a magic that does not deceive.”

This is the story of Naresh. He was a total outcast, hated by many. His fault? Being the son of a man accused of harassment. This did impact his relationship with his father who often thought he could never redeem himself. This only added fuel to the fire, as Naresh never looked up to his father or thought about how to help him. His father, named Atul, always knew it that he was falsely accused of harassment and that he could fight off such accusations, but simply didn’t since his wife’s death left him and his son alone. Naresh didn’t really know whether or not he was the culprit. He just wanted to live his life and fulfill his dreams. The society, however, was not willing to forgive Atul and in the process made Naresh suffer for years. He developed a low self-esteem, becoming anxious and depressed. His friends left him one-by-one, and there was no one to console him or stand by him.

One day, however, when he was crying while eating his cold sandwiches at college, a girl dared to talk to him. She came for him, and asked him if he was alright. Naresh had always been shy and nervous, and to see a girl smile at him and ask about his condition was an extremely exciting yet frightening experience for him. She said she heard him cry and couldn’t bear hearing him like that. She offered him a handkerchief and gave another beautiful smile that made Naresh’s heart melt. He finally drummed up the courage to ask her name, which was revealed as Aastha. And thus they began meeting during lunch time every day. One day, Aastha decided to switch lunches with Naresh, who initially advised against it, believing his food to be too cold and tasteless. However, Aastha let him eat her lunch and happily ate his cold sandwiches. This gesture by her made Naresh develop feelings for her. He was already “breathtaken” by her gorgeous looks, but seeing these humane qualities in her made him fall for her as they kept on meeting and strengthening their bonds.

He was left heartbroken when another boy proposed to her and she reciprocated. Naresh was an outcast once again, and Aastha never met him after that day. Naresh had carefully selected the best flowers he could as a gift for her. It was all in vain and Naresh was in pain. He kept getting bullied and ridiculed by his classmates, and that only made him lonelier. He had no one left to talk to, share his feelings with or hang out with. Naresh decided to put an end to this misery and decided to stop expecting love or warmth from those around him. Securing excellent grades in the final exams, he topped the college and only the teachers congratulated him, while everyone else just made fun of him or accused him of cheating somehow.

Naresh was about to go away, before Aastha showed up to congratulate him. Naresh felt the warmth and thanked her for the wishes. However, Aastha’s boyfriend Nikhil acted hostile towards him upon seeing the two shake hands. He asked Aastha if Naresh was her brother, and she kept saying “just a good friend”, but Naresh himself started to feel enraged. He calmly told him he’s not her brother but just a friend… an old friend. Seeing him talk back, Nikhil punched him and broke his nose. As everyone gathered upon seeing this, Naresh found his rage uncontrollable and delivered a heavy blow to his face as well. A fight ensued between the two, with Naresh repeating he’s not Aastha’s brother and continuing to beat Nikhil black and blue. This is where Aastha intervened, grabbed Naresh’s shirt and gave him a tight slap for “murderously” beating Nikhil up. Naresh first found his anger uncontrollable, and now his tears. Aastha angrily looked at him and picking up an injured Nikhil told him, “You don’t deserve anyone, freak.” Naresh was left looking around, finding the crowd quietly staring at him. This is when Nikhil pushed Aastha away and delivered a tooth-breaking kick to Naresh’s face, damaging one of his frontal teeth by half.

Naresh grabbed his prizes and ran away from the college. Entering a subway station’s washroom, he quickly and quietly washed the blood and injuries in his mouth and boarded the train back to home. During the commute, he felt numb. He heard a co-passenger talk to his friend about drinking to get rid of pain. Naresh almost felt convinced to drink for the first time in life since his pain had gotten worse. However, he quickly told himself it’s not a good thing and continued to exit the train upon arriving at his station. He walked towards home, and as a few good-looking girls walked past him, he felt happy as well as worried that he might be seen as creepy for merely looking at them. Arriving home, he heard gunshots inside. He threw his bag aside and rushed inside to see what was going on. He found himself surrounded by a pile of corpses stabbed with knives and other sharp objects. He entered one of the rooms and saw his father sitting in the balcony, probably breathing his last.

Naresh rushed towards Atul who acted as if nothing happened at all. He only had this much to say to his son:

“It’s settled. The dispute I had with the society is now permanently settled. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone, but you, my son, must know that I never harassed any woman in life. As for these men lying dead in our house… they came for you. I had no problem with them, until they said they would hack you to death, I couldn’t resist killing them. I wanted to protect you. Listen, son. I don’t have much time left, so keep listening to my words. As a husband, I failed big time, but I don’t want to fail as a father, even if I end up actually failing. I love you, son. I only have a simple advice for you: work hard, fulfill your dreams, get a job, find a woman, and live a good life with her till death. Who knows what happens after dying…

The funny part is, I will find it out now but won’t ever be able to tell you about that. Dark comedy in real life is either really bad… or just simply hilarious.”

Naresh tearfully smiled and hugged Atul, only to see him pass away in a few seconds. He began crying and kept hugging his father’s corpse. In a few hours, the cops came but found only the corpses of the attackers and Atul. Naresh ran away with the determination to return, clear his father’s name and achieve the goals set for him. Thus began a boy’s journey towards becoming a man: one who would die as much as he would kill for the one thing everyone in this world wants: love.

“No matter how much pain it endures,

Even if loving it is forsaken.

A loving heart will always win,

And find itself in love breathtaken.”