I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU...[FIRST EVER GREETING CARD]

In two months time everything will be finished.10th exams were nearing. Everyone but I was serious about

studies. While I was serious about my love! I was in love with her ever since I met her. It was way back in 7th standard. She was a relative of mine. I never told her that I loved her so much. Even she didn't tell me anything sort of that. But both of us knew each other that we were in love (At least I thought). No words were spoken. It was just the meaningful glances between us sent the messages across.

All of my friends were busy collecting autographs.But I wanted to gift something different for a special person. I decided to buy a greeting card for her. But when the shopkeeper started showing me the collection of greeting cards he had in stock, I got confused which one to choose. Everything he had shown me was better than the previous one. What I want was a greeting card which would brief my message to her in crisp sentence. more than 200 cards were in front of me. Finally I chose a card on which it was written 

"I  WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU"!

I couldn't sleep that night. I put the greeting card below my pillow and dreamed her. But God had other plans. Next evening I was walking back from school and saw her walking ahead of me. I called her up in trembling voice and went near her. There was a wrapper in her hand. I handed over the greeting card. But I was shell shocked when I came to know that she also had bought a card for me. When she passed me the card, I though I would have a cardiac arrest then and there. But nothing happened. I went home and locked my bedroom from inside and remove the wrapper and read what she wrote in the card. It read

" YOU ARE MY BROTHER FOREVER!"

I realized that It was all my false. I misjudged her glances. She might have seen a brother in me. I saw a lover in her. Clash of perceptions are common in life. True I was shocked and depressed for some months. 

After 9 years I saw her with her Husband and kids, during a function. She introduced me to her husband. Awkward moment! [Imaging your ex girlfriend introducing you to her husband !]

But I relived in that five words she had written on that greeting card " YOU ARE MY BROTHER FOREVER!". I smiled, they smiled and it was all smiles at the end!

Thanks for your time

Sharath Muthirakkal

AND THERE IS HOPE!

Setbacks are common in life. Neither you invite them nor it knocks

at your door. Its just the rule of the game called LIFE! Sometimes there would be a series of failure in whatever you do. Either you do a business or you do a job in a company, the story would be the same- FAILURE! Sometimes you may loose faith in GOD when such situation arises. But remember the old saying? " GOD often checks who all are still keeping faith in him when tides of difficulty rocking one's life".

I know one guy who had lot of setbacks in his life so far. In his early days he struggled with a skin disease. He looked really ugly with marks on his face and all over his body. Some of his friends used to make fun of him. But he withheld his faith in GOD and moved on. His faith paid off when he turned 15. No marks were found on him and his confidence boosted high. Another incident; He was an average student whose English language was the worst among the students across the globe. But he kept his faith in GOD and worked hard. Now he is handling the language in such a way that he is able to read any book in English and what amused me is that he is managing a blog of his own online!

When he became a teenager, no girls had chosen him for a relationship. He was upset. He used to imagine strolling with a girl locking hands. But his imagination never became reality. He believed in GOD. After 2 years he found it difficult managing his female friends! But everything mentioned so far was nothing when you compare what he faced after joining for a PG course.

He was all fun in winter and summer. But when Monsoon hit he fell depressed. It was something like a depression attached with a climatic shift. He stopped going college for months and used to sit in his room, watching gloomy movies of late 80's . But his faith in GOD was never decreased. After that he was all fun throughout the year. After his MBA he got campus placement and started working in a faraway city. He could not stand with managerial policies of the company and quit. But GOD never let him down. He got selected in another company and started working again. Again he quit his job Again GOD placed him somewhere. But when he quit that job he fell depressed and this time it was disturbing and lasted for good 3 months. But he never disbelieved his GOD. Finally he bounced back and started swimming against the tide.

After that he realized one of his passions and moved on with it. Now he is all fun. Now he is all energetic. 

One of his friends asked him ' Dude,imagine another setback in your life, what will you do?'

He answered back "AGAIN,THERE IS HOPE!"