Together

In Love

Robert

I always considered myself an orphan till I met my friend Joseph in middle school. His mother, who breathed her last a couple of years ago due to cancer, taught me to hope again. And his father, Mr. Collins, he taught me to play pool, he helped me recover from my first break up and, he was shot by the mafia as he rescued me when my alcoholic absentee father sold me to an underworld gang.

Flashback

" Why? You could have just let it be. You did not need to put yourself at risk to save me. I am......I've always been a nobody. "

" We all have our battles, Robert, but I trust my instinct, I trust my son's judgment. You are the first friend he has had till date. And despite not having a vantage start, you have not compromised. "

" Mr. Collins......."

" I have always known everything about you, Robert, because I got someone to investigate you. Initially........... I thought that you and your father, cut from the same cloth, were similar, but you proved that one may choose a different alternative that alters the life path for the better. Over time, you have earned my trust. The right path is hard. But it is only when we walk on it that our true destiny will be revealed to us. I will never regret saving you. "

" Thank you, Mr. Collins. "

End

That day, at the age of sixteen, for the first time in my life, I felt secure. I felt blessed that I had found a family.

*************

My car was parked a short distance away from the college gates that Sarah would be joining soon. As I witnessed the happy banter between my best friend and his sister, and Mr. Collins, standing at the side looking at his children who were his world, I felt happy. The adorable girl who always shared her sweets with me had finally grown up. While I wanted to join them, I stopped as I felt that this was their moment alone. I vowed to protect this girl from the shadows. When she almost slipped at the entrance, I stopped myself from getting out to check on her. I would be missing her nonsensical rants, her sweets, her fiery temper, her idealism, her strong sense of justice.......perhaps her as well. I used to think that I cared for her. However, at that moment when I finally realized that we might meet less often for the next four years, my heart felt strange.

I started the engine of my car when Sarah was no longer in sight. As I hit the road, I understood that only one word could justify my intense emotions. I was in love.