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Just another valentine Love Story

(based on a true story)

The door bell finally rang and Tanisha opened the door. “Hi Tanisha, sorry I was a bit late, actually some work came up at the last moment and I just had to finish it. You know how hard I am trying to impress my boss so that I get a raise.” Sajid looked at Tanisha with hopeful eyes, maybe she will forgive him.

It was their first Valentine Day celebration. They had fallen in love six months earlier. Sajid and Tanisha used to be friends, but things started to happen between the two love struck soul as they came closer and closer. On a beautiful day, Sajid decided to ask the question and they became a couple from being friends. For other couples, perhaps that would be the beginning of a fairy tale romance. But for Sajid and Tanisha, it was beginning of a roller coaster ride to make their own priorities and expectations for each other to come to some common ground. They would fight quite often, stop talking to each other, and then again, realize their mistakes and come back together to never to be bothered by their problem. Yet again in the very next week, they would be at each others throat due to other problems.

Sajid and Tanisha's relationship cannot be termed as teenage romance or puppy love. Sajid is in University, in his final year, doing a part time job to pay for his various expenses. Tanisha is also a University student and a part time journalist. Both of them were quite dedicated to the relationship and want to make it work out and dream of marrying after they graduate. But the repeated tussles between the two are exerting a stress over their dream of living the rest of their lives together. To Sajid, he is doing all that is humanely possible to be patient with her and to listen and understand Tanisha. Tanisha too tries to understand Sajid, but sometimes she just can't compromise with some of the relapses that Sajid shows, for example today, arriving very late on their first ever Valentines Day. She had the whole day planned out. She asked Sajid to take the day off from the office at 12 so that they can go and meet her friends (who are also couples) and then they will go and watch a movie. Later they will be having a nice candle light dinner in a restaurant. But Sajid's two hour delay ruined everything.

Sajid left for office at 8 in the morning, an hour earlier so that he can finish work early. He is a graphic visualizer in an ad firm. He worked overnight to finish the new ad design and plan to work in the office for some final touches. He had informed his boss that he will want to leave by 12, but unfortunately the clients changed their plan in the 11th hour and he has to restart everything. He simply cannot leave the work for someone and didn't have the courage to call Tanisha and tell her that he will be delayed. In fact, he didn't even know how late he was going to be. He just stopped worrying about her and put all his mind and effort in the work at hand so that he can finish as early as possible.

Tanisha was all dressed up by 12, surely Sajid will not mess up their first ever valentine. He wore the dress he gave him in her birthday. The clock struck half past 12 but still no Sajid. He tried calling him but his phone was turned off. In the meantime, her friends kept on calling her. At first she asked them to wait a little more, later she told them to go ahead without her as she wasn't feeling very good. Surely her friends had suspected that something was wrong. One more hour passed by, still Sajid is unreachable. This made her cry, how can he stand her up like this. She knew it wasn't going to work out and wished she has said no to him on the day he asked her.

Sajid realized that he cannot concentrate on work anymore. If he ruined Tanisha's day, she would never forgive her, a terrible fight will breakout and what is worse, she will forever remember this day. He cursed his client but kept a fake smile on his face nevertheless. Finally his colleagues came to his rescue and at almost 2 he was allowed to leave. He fired up his motorcycle and sped as fast as he could. Just before he reached her home, he made sure to buy a bunch of flowers.

“I am not going with you? You can take your flowers with you. I didn't want to hear any excuses and you can go and do whatever you want, I am not coming with you.” Tanisha was stern, she couldn't believe that Sajid is lying to cover up the fact that he simply didn't give enough importance to her and her feelings. Sajid tried to make a case for being late. But Tanisha just took the flowers and threw it in the dust bin. It was a big insult for Sajid. He took so much trouble, escaped from worked. Besides he was late only by a few hours, at best they are going to miss the movie, but the rest of the day is still on and they can enjoy their first Valentine together. Tanisha, on the other hand, thought of the humiliation that she faced in front of her friends (and more when the others find out). They would think that she is going out with a guy who didn't value her as much as their boyfriends did.

After some persuasions, she decided come out with Sajid, but they didn't talk to each other on their way to the restaurant. As Sajid had thought, a fight broke out between the two. This was what Sajid feared the most. It was impossible to win a fight against Tanisha. She would bring all the events of the past and sting him with whatever she had. In his defense, Sajid would also go on the attacking. The same happening here today as well, when all the other valentine couples are sharing special moments, Sajid and Tanisha are fighting. Soon Tanisha was in tears, and to this, Sajid had no answers.

They spent hours fighting. Sajid felt that he had hit the edge of his sanity. Many times he expressed his willingness to end the relationship, terming it as the biggest mistake of his life. Tanisha accused him of being indifferent, which according to her, was worse than hate. When it was almost late and the day was about to end, Tanisha suddenly cleared her eyes and told him that she did not want their valentines day to end in a fight and asked him to take her somewhere else to change the atmosphere. This sudden change Surprised Sajid, but something told him that this is one opportunity to change things and make this day good. He took her to the place where he proposed her. The place always had an appeal to both of them. As soon as they went there, Tanisha began to smile.

“Oh Sajid, I know we love each other so much, then why do we fight? I am sorry I got mad and shouted at you, of course you tried your best, what could you do if your clients are so bad. And why cant you sooth me whenever I get angry, why can't you take me in your arms.” Tanisha had forgotten about the fight. “No it's me who should be sorry. I mistrusted your judgments and did not tell you about me being late. I thought you would be angry. Sometimes, I should just trust you more.”

As if by magic, the bitterness passed away in a moments magic. Any passerby who saw them would say that these two are the most devoted and romantic couple they had ever seen. At the end of the day, Sajid and Tanisha had their candle light dinner, watched a late night movie and walked together hand in hand in the streets. Before they said goodbye to each other, they both kissed each other deeply and promised they would never ruin another day of their lives by mistrusting each other, no matter what happened.

By Monty Python


The day we love to hate

The clock has gone round and another Valentines Day is here again, oh joy! We should be thrilled, because Valentines is a day when people all around the world let their loved ones, be it family or friend, know how special they are, right? Wrong! In reality, it is a day, strictly restricted to young, mushy lovebirds, where a select few honestly express their love for each other, and the rest of the public just desperately search for someone to spoon with and gush over on this 'day of love'.

Seriously, what do people do on Valentines Day? Although I do not want to criticize my own race, Valentines is great for girls who use it as an excuse to extort gifts from their boyfriends. Apparently, giving ridiculously expensive gifts to your girl once a year proves all your love, which is good for the filthy rich guys, since they don't have to waste time in making any other romantic gesture at any other time of the year to express their affection. On the other hand, if the boyfriends lack understanding girlfriends and overly indulgent parents, you better look out for those muggers as the crime rate rises in February!

The gift shops especially have a blast on Valentines Day, as their commercial conspiracy makes most couples put a price on love and spend gargantuan amounts. But you would think they would come up with something a bit more original! Every year the stores have the same old cards in gigantic sizes, filled with mushy lines that are corny throughout the year, but romantic only on 14th February! And let's not start on the gifts, pink teddy bears holding hearts, mugs with hearts, photo frames and showpieces with hearts, you get the message right? But still, Valentines Day wouldn't be so annoying if it weren't for how people start to act as the big day draws near, especially teenagers, who get this weird syndrome called Desperate Love Seeking Disorder. Girls start having nightmares about the social stigma they will face if no one asks them out, while boys make a list of the girls they can ask out, starting with their crush and backup plan number 1, 2, 3 and onwards, just so they can be seen with a date at the highly expensive, highly pointless parties that everyone for some weird reason stampedes to every time there is any occasion.

In some cases, when the Desperate Disorder reaches extreme degrees, there are a select few who make up imaginary 'significant others' who send a whole bucket full of roses from Crazy Land on Valentines Day, which they of course receive in front of their mates, with eyes wide with shock and loud exclamations of 'Oh! How sweeeet!!'

But you can't help feeling sorry for these poor critters, many of them are driven to this desperation due to the unyielding inquisitiveness of a bunch of preppy, Bengali blondes who badger you about your date, and when you admit you don't have one, make those annoying, wide eyed expressions and burst into laughter as soon as you turn your back.

For the rest of us normal people, who are not wildly in love and who don't see any point in pretending to be so just for a day, going out on Valentines Day can become a great hassle. Firstly, if you want to leave the house your parents interrogate you for hours, since suspicions of indecent behaviour turns to surety on this day.

Speaking of that, if kids wanted they can be just as indecent on any other day, but that doesn't usually occur to parents. On the other hand, there is something about this day that causes some sort of hormonal imbalance making all couples act like smitten puppies. If they could leave the mushiness and cuddling at home, that would be no problem, but it is extremely tiring, to say the least, to go to every single hang out place and see such couples with octopus arms gushing over each other on every square inch of the place. These places should be rated as PG, R etc. according to the levels of behaviour admitted in there!

But honestly, I don't personally have anything against Valentines Day. It's just that there should be some ground rules on this holiday; the 'Laily Mojnus' of Dhaka should take the mushiness down a notch, and people should stop acting like being single is a huge disaster and express their love for everyone, including friends and family. That is what Valentines is supposed to be about, not hearts, candies and sickeningly sweet attitudes. Happy Valentines Day everyone!

By Shuprova Tasneem

I would've gotten you a gift BUT….

… I'm saving up for my… um… our future.
… Since you told me that my happiness was all that mattered to you, I spent all my money on my new cell phone… anything for you!
… I did not want to taint the purity of our love with petty materialism.
… I felt so sorry for the poor cold beggar on the street that I gave him the cashmere I bought for you.
… All the gifts in the world would not be enough express my love for you, so why waste the money.
… The stupid eight o' clock shopping curfew!
… My mom says one does not need gifts to express oneself and you always tell me to listen to my mom

By Midnight Maiden


 

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