Letting go is NOT easy.

Bhoomi and Sarvesh were best friends. They’d met through a coaching institute and that had gotten them together for three years now. There was no looking back from then. They had shared every little thing to huge, massive problems with each other. They’d rescued each other from every predicament and people out there were envious of their friendship. Looking at them, one would easily contemplate them being a couple. And that was the worst thing, ever, for they were JUST FRIENDS. And that’s what Anand was conveniently being oblivious of.

Sarvesh was a much sorted guy. He never had a girlfriend and never wanted one. He believed in liberty.  And according to him, relationships were cages which kept two people in a nameless bondage. It was just a tag, as per his say. He used to think, all love is equal - the love between a couple, the love between friends, the love between parents and their child, the love between siblings. (I didn’t agree with him though.) He was good at heart and considered everyone to be so.

Bhoomi was a sweet, little, innocent and bubbly girl. With her charming eyes, she could please anyone and everyone. She had been dating Anand for a year now. And now, his possessiveness had begun showing its true colours. Bhoomi considered Sarvesh a genuine and true friend, and could never imagine him taking Anand’s place in her life. Anand was her love and Sarvesh, her best friend. It had been as simple as that. Just for her, maybe.

Anand was a typical guy. He had loved Bhoomi with all his heart and could never imagine losing her. Losing her meant losing life in itself. And maybe that is why he was being too cautious with Bhoomi and Sarvesh. That is why he didn’t like Sarvesh. Not that he didn’t trust Bhoomi, he really did. But he had an image to maintain in his friends circle. He had to be a man. And this had just added to his insecurity. He was high on Sarvesh all the time.

One fine evening, Sarvesh and Bhoomi were chilling out, riding and enjoying. They had had a good time together. It was always fun for them in each others’ company. Little did they know, an unfortunate disaster was waiting for them. Later that night, when Anand called Bhoomi, she was shattered into pieces.

“You’re my girlfriend, you understand that? You’re mine. What were you thinking while roaming on the streets with that lame guy? Who is he to you? My friends saw you both; they said you were physically so close? Listen, you witch, I have a reputation to maintain. I have an image in front of my friends. Don’t let me down this time. And dare you talk to that guy again. I’m telling you its high time you end whatever you have with him right now. I don’t want to come to know about you both from my friends anymore. Take care of that.”

Anand’s heart ached when he said such hurtful things to Bhoomi. He knew she would never cheat him with Sarvesh. Still he had to face his friends and maintain a fake reputation, which was possibly way more important for him than his girlfriend’s broken heart.

“I .. I’m sorry, Anand. I’ll make sure I don’t disappoint you further. I’m sorry.” Bhoomi had said, sobbing. Anand too, had shed a tear or two, but he brushed his feelings aside.

After they hung up the call, Bhoomi cried her heart out. Sarvesh was her best friend and she couldn’t imagine a day without him. But for her, it was a choice. A choice between her love and friendship. And as everyone would do, she chose Anand. She had been blindfolded since she'd gotten in a relationship with Anand, and this was just one circumstance when her love had overpowered her friendship. Once she was done with crying, till her head ached and her eyes swelled up, she called up Sarvesh.

“Sarvesh, I need to tell you something.” She’d said, but Sarvesh had already smelled something fishy and had forecasted a catastrophe.

“Go on, I’m listening. And don’t cry, Bhoomi. If Anand doesn’t approve of our friendship doesn’t mean I’m letting you go. You’re my best friend. What’d I do without you?” Sarvesh had managed to speak, holding back his tears.

“Sarvesh, you’ve got to listen to me. I love Anand, you understand that? I love Anand. I’ve fantasized my entire life with him. And I know he loves me back, equally. There are no internal problems between us. Just that he doesn’t like our friendship and that is an external problem.  I can do ..” Bhoomi was saying, when Sarvesh had interrupted her.

“I’m an external problem? My friendship is considered as a problem by you?” He’d spoken up, now tears flowing down his cheeks, uncontrollably.

“Oh c’mon, I didn’t mean that, Sarvesh. You’re the only one who understands me. Why are you behaving this way today? Anand is my boyfriend. I have to spend my entire life with him. And someone has to adjust to keep a relationship going. So let that be me this time? Moreover, wherever we go, whoever we meet, everyone looks upon us being a couple. I really get uncomfortable. People would talk. And suppose, if I still be friends with you, and if someone tells Anand, my whole life would come crashing down. I cannot do this to him. I cannot live without him. Anand and me, we’ve been together for a year now. I owe this much to him, Sarvesh.” She’d paused to take a breath when Sarvesh spoke up again.

“People used to talk before, too. You had chosen to ignore them then. Then suddenly what happened? And you’ve been with Anand for a year, you say. But what about our friendship? Three years of friendship mean nothing before a relationship of a year? Don’t you owe me anything?” Sarvesh had been crying. Bhoomi couldn’t stay strong as well. She’d broken down, again.

“It doesn’t work this way, Sarvesh. Anand is my boyfriend. I cannot disappoint him. It would be difficult for me, too. But I’d do it for Anand. Would you do this for me?” She’d asked him.

“. . .” Sarvesh couldn’t say anything.

“Sarvesh, all the love is equal for you, right? So do you love me enough to let me go? Do you love our friendship enough to let it break?” She’d questioned him.

Of course, Sarvesh was left with no other choice other than letting Bhoomi go. He knew it was Anand’s fake pride, but he could not do anything to make Bhoomi understand this. She was blind in her love for Anand.

“Okay. I’ll never call you again. I’ll go away from your life, Bhoomi. You stay happy, and tell Anand, I let you go just because I’ve truly loved our friendship. I’d never come back again. Bye, Bhoomi. Take care. Henceforth, I won’t be there to wipe your tears away. Bye.” Sarvesh had said, and hung up the call.

That night, there were three broken hearts crying at their respective places, for hurting their loved ones. There was a sense of loss and sadness had filled the air.

Then, Sarvesh shifted somewhere else, changed his phone number and deactivated all his social networks. He’d submerged himself in his work, never to look back again.

Bhoomi couldn’t live by bearing the guilt of losing her friendship to her love. One fine day, she asked the same question she’d asked Sarvesh, to Anand. She asked, “Do you love me enough to let me go, Anand?” And Anand, he couldn’t hold Bhoomi back because of the guilt of breaking her friendship with Sarvesh. He’d let her go.

Bhoomi couldn’t track Sarvesh and his whereabouts, and eventually, she gave up. Anand still bears the guilt of breaking a friendship, which could have else lived till eternity. Sarvesh didn’t let anyone come as close to him as Bhoomi. He was afraid, everyone would leave him one day.

As Bryant McGill says, “We all are damaged. We all have been hurt. We have all had to learn painful lessons. We are all recovering from some mistake, loss, betrayal, abuse, injustice or misfortune. All of life is a process of recovery that never ends. We each must find ways to accept and move through the pain and to pick ourselves back up. For each pang of grief, doubt or despair, there is an inverse toward renewal coming to you in time. Each tragedy is an announcement that some good will indeed come in time. Be patient with yourself.”

And that is why, Sarvesh, Bhoomi and Anand, all the three are recovering from the mistake, the misfortune that came in because of Anand’s fake pride and Sarvesh and Bhoomi’s true friendship. Maybe one day, they’d heal.