It was late 90’s when the loudest notification was the school bell and the fastest way to send a message was through a folded piece of paper passed from one desk to another or through book
In Class 9 everyone knew that Sameer and Sana argued about everything.2 toppers who can’t tolerate each other…..
“You copied my answer.”
“No, yours was wrong.”
“You always think you’re right.”
“Because I usually am.”
.
.
Soo on……
Their friends laughed, convinced they couldn’t stand each other.
But no one knew that every morning, Sameer reached school ten minutes early just to see Sana walk through the gate with two neatly braided plaits and a bag that looked too big for her.
And Sana secretly chose the window seat because it overlooked the ground where sameer goes during leisure.
There were no smartphones. No Instagram. No Facebook. No blue ticks.
If they wanted to talk, they had to wait until school.
One day, Sameer slipped a tiny folded note into Sana’s notebook.
-“Will you meet me near the library after school?”
Her heart raced.
She spent the whole day pretending not to smile .
When the final bell rang, she walked to the library.
Sameer was already there, nervously pacing and kicking air.
“I… I like you,” he blurted.
Sana looked down, hiding her smile but she didn’t say anything
“I mean l….I” he has practiced this so much but now his voice is betraying him
“I know” sana interrupted
“You know”
“Mmhmm” she is still looking down to control the smile , blush, nervousness whatever it is
He turned red.
“So… is that a yes?”
Instead of answering, she handed him a Dairy Milk chocolate from her school bag.
He understood.
For next 1 year ,they shared stolen conversations between classes, exchanged birthday cards, and wrote letters that began with “Dear Friend,” in case anyone else found them.
Then after Class 10
Board exams. Coaching classes. Different colleges, different cities, different goals
On the last day of class 10, Sameer gave her his favorite blue fountain pen.
“So you’ll remember me.”
She gave him her library bookmark.
“So you’ll remember to read.”
Neither of them said goodbye.
Life moved on.
New cities. College. Jobs.
Years passed.
Life moved on.
Different cities. College. Careers.
10 years passed.
An invitation arrived for their ten year school reunion.
On same day, it was raining outside Sameer was cleaning an old wooden trunk filled with school memories. Between faded report cards and class photographs, he found the library bookmark Sana had given him on the last day of school.
As he turned it over, something caught his eye.
In tiny handwriting along the edge, she had written:
“I hope one day you’ll realize you were never the only one who waited for the school bell.”
He read it again.
Then a third time.
Suddenly, memories rushed back—how she always seemed to be last one to leave classroom when class ended,so that he got opportunity to give her his letters., how she never forgot his birthday, how she had smiled instead of answering when he confessed beside the library and handed him that Dairy Milk chocolate.
She had loved him too.
She had just never found the courage to say it.
After few days……..
Sameer-
The moment he entered the school auditorium, he saw her.
She was talking to a group of classmates, laughing exactly the way she used to.
Some things, he realized, never change.
Later that evening, they walked through the quiet corridor where they had once raced each other between classes.
Sameer took the bookmark from his wallet.
“I finally found your secret.”
Sana looked at it and laughed softly.
“I wondered if you’d ever notice.”
“I was fifteen years late.”
“You’ve always been a little slow,” she teased.
They both laughed.
Then he looked at her, just as he had outside the library all those years ago.
“I should’ve asked you again years ago.”
She smiled.
“No.”
He frowned.
“You should’ve asked me today.”
He gently took her hand.
“So… after fifteen years…”
“…would you let me be the reason you smile for the rest of your life?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I’ve been saying yes since I was fifteen.”
This time, there was no school bell to interrupt them.
No exams waiting.
No goodbye.
Just two childhood crushes who had finally arrived at the right chapter of the same story.
A Happy never Ending story❤️
