THE RED BOOK

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Nora was on her way to meet her boyfriend Harper. She was traveling via train that was thronged with happy people who were traveling with their spouse and children. Nora was on a vacation, she missed her boyfriend so much that she lied to her parents that she is off for her friend's wedding for few days. Nora was full of beans and pitched in to hearken some music looking at the dark sky with glittering stars with a duchenne smile on her face and she texted Harper that she boarded the train and was longing to meet him. Nora began thinking about the days they both met each other and exchanged their feelings and all other things that happened to them. She recollected some memory where she brawled with Harper for looking at a girl passing by in a park and chuckled for such a crazy behaviour. Nora was madly in love with him that she was not ready to think about the future and only look in to the present because she thought if it did not go accordingly she might end up disappointed and get hurt badly. She unzipped her bag to find the gift which she got for him and the songs that she was hearing triggered her to keep thinking and not let her sleep. Although she was jaded she was gleeful to keep thinking about him.

 

With the songs running by, she peeped outside the window, she kept thinking about the moments she spent with him and she could remember all those words he uttered while proposing her and started blushing. She then grew thoughtful and reached down to pick a book from her bag that was gifted by him and she read each and every word with a smile on her face. Then she closed the book after 50 pages or so and then closed her eyes to feel his warmth and his smell. Suddenly, her phone vibrated and it was her friend Chloe. She picked the call and she probed whether she boarded the train or not. Chloe is her best friend in college but she did not know anything about Harper, she just knew that Harper is Nora’s friend in her workplace. Chloe asked her to check her WhatsApp message to find the location of her new apartment that she got months back. Nora signified that she feels exuberant and is looking forward to join in. Chloe then bid her goodbye and disconnected the call. Nora resumed thinking about Harper and then began perturbed as he did not return any calls or messages.

 

She tried calling him but he did not pick her call, in a couple of minutes she received a text which unhinged her mood. Harper texted her saying that something changed between them, Nora grew anxious and began panicking if something wrong has happened or been done by her, she asked what is wrong with him. Harper told her that nothing was her mistake but was his. Nora began sweating profusely and she could not feel anything and after getting back to her senses, she grasped a water bottle and then began thinking what went wrong. She started blaming herself mentally for such a change to occur in him. She texted him after a brief pause, “Harper, what is it? Tell me, please. I’m worried. Did I do anything wrong? Please tell me, I love you”. The reply she got blew out her mind – “I do not feel the same way as you, you won’t be the right person to me and so let’s part ways”.

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She told herself not to react and stay calm in this particular serious issue if not she might lose her calm and it might ruin his peace. Again did she recollected her memories with him and tried reading from where she left before. Later did she realize that it was a tragic love story where the characters in the book falls in love with each other at workplace and will end in splitting up as he might have fallen for another girl at the same time.

She could not stop thinking about him and she began re-reading his messages and wished for everything to be a dream and failed to realize that the night was a nightmare. She put on her thinking cap to reflect on the book and her reality.

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She knew that Harper was a bibliophile and was very determined to write a book and she was alarmed that he was already working on it months back when she met him in his place. He often used to talk how much he is interested in writing books and most of the time he used to devote his time a day in reading. Harper used to read books even during work breaks besides talking with her. He loves to indulge in arguments with his work mates about a book every week. He even told that the first book he writes will be gifted to Nora and she has to be the first person to comment on it.

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Nora received this book a month before they all disbanded for vacation. Harper insisted her to read this book after she reaches her place and gave her a kiss and bid an emotional goodbye with lots of hugs and kisses. Nora after reaching her place was very busy in spending time with her family and relatives that she completely forgot about the book and found this only while packing her things.

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Her heart started beating fast than the usual. She re-read the pages again and again. She later realized that all that was written was about her own life and the characters in it unfolded their love story and this ending made her to realize that he is over some other girl at the same time. She quickly turned to the title page to read the name of the book in which it was written – “It happens, I still love you”.