O' Suzzanna - Part 18

Sue watched him leave. She was discouraged. She had thought her marriage plans would trigger him. It would make him realize his love for her. Unfortunately it didn't work. He was moving faraway from her instead of getting close to her.

She left the place without making any more efforts. She was tired of making him understand her worth. She should have understood her place in his heart by now. But she didn't want to understand. When she reached home, she cried hard.

Jacob was alone in his vanity room. His band members had gone out to celebrate. They had coaxed him to join them but he refused. Sue and her words tortured his mind. He tried to distract himself and think about Suzzanna. But his mind was fixed in Sue's thoughts. "Am I in love with Sue?", he wondered.

He fought with himself. "No, This can't be!", he protested with himself. "Then why am I not happy with Sue's marriage?", he argued with himself. "I don't know!", he said. "Because you are in love with her. You never realized it until now.", his conscious complained. "What about Suzzanna?", he asked.  "She never existed. You were obsessed with her name.", he argued with himself.

"I was  searching for Suzzanna everywhere but never realized that she was next to me in form of Sue. How naive I was?", he said to himself.  He got up with new sense of mission. He was going to get his Suzzanna- his Sue.

He reached home next day after eight hours of hitchhiking ride. He hugged his mother and said, "I have to meet Sue. I will be back soon." His mother sighed her disappointment. He headed towards her place. Her house seemed empty. It wasn't decorated . There were no relatives, no friends or anyone. There was no sign of celebration of wedding. He felt strange.


(To be continued)

O' Suzzanna - Part 17

***** Present Day ******

As audience cheered his name, he looked for Suzzanna. No one in audience reminded him of her. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. He was restless. He didn't find her. His song filled with pain was enjoyed by crowd. No one could understand his pain.

The concert was good. His shoulders drooped. His eyes was filled with pain. His heart ached. Everyone else were busy chatting about the concert and he was in his own world. He was tired of failures. " Is Suzzanna real?  Was my love all these years not real?", he wondered.

He walked toward his vanity room, unaware of who was approaching him.  He collided over her. As he held her, he was surprised to see that the person he collided was Sue. "Sue!", he said. "Jacob", she replied back.

He released from his grip. "What are you doing here?",  he asked. "I am here for my best friend.", she replied. He didn't understand. "I need my best friend to be my side on my day. I missed you so much. Let's keep our egos side and become friends again.", she said softly.

"What do you mean?", he asked confused. "I am getting married. I need you to be on my side. Can I at least ask my friend to do that?", she asked. He didn't reply anything. He felt as if his world was coming down. 

His friend was getting married. She was asking him to be there for her. She had always been there for him. But now she needed him and he couldn't give her what she wanted. He didn't want to witness her being someone else's bride and he didn't know why. He left her without giving her any promise. He was running away. 

(To be continued)

O'Suzzanna - Part 16

The engagement was simple affair.  There were not many people gathered except for closed ones. As she was putting the ring to her fiance, she looked for Jacob everywhere. He wasn't there. She had asked his mother many times about him. His mother replied her with same answer - he had some urgent work.

She still hoped  though she knew he wouldn't come. When everyone asked her to put the ring, she obliged with heavy heart. She stared at her fiance with teary eyed , looking for Jacob in him. She was sad, heartbroken and lost.

He wasn't sure why he had felt bad that his best friend was getting married. He should be happy but he wasn't. He didn't love her. He had always loved Suzzanna. Sue had known that. She had helped him with his quest. But her engagement pained him and he felt as if something was taken away from him. He felt she was going away from her. But then he remembered her words. He had to find Suzzanna.

He focused his attention on music and Suzzanna. But he would think about Sue during the night. He missed her. He would check her status and pictures in social networking account. She looked happy. She looked normal.

He felt miserable watching her. He was unable to understand the feeling he had for Sue. Sue was his friend. His best friend. He tried to call her and message her. But his ego stopped him. He tried to not think about her. But he failed.

His music was hit with the youth. Girls idolized him. He had become a sensation. But nothing made him happy. He was miserable inside. He searched for Suzzanna in every concert. He always started the concert with full of hope and positivity.  He wanted to prove Sue and himself that Suzzanna was real. But when he failed to find her, he would end up in questioning himself - Whether Suzzanna was real.


(To be continued)

O'Suzzanna - Part 15

She looked at him angrily. "Why did you care? I marry , I don't marry. It's my life. Who are you to say anything?", she said rudely. Tears in her eyes, she shivered in anger.  He didn't reply. He didn't understand the feelings running in his heart.

"You are marrying because I didn't reciprocate back your love. You are angry. I know. But don't ruin your life like that.", he said. His words were like fuel to her anger. "How dare you? I have stood by you always and yes, you broke my heart. But that doesn't mean I marrying someone else by forgetting you. Why does it even matter to you whether I marry or not?  You have Suzzanna. Be happy with your imaginative lover and let me move on.", she fought.

He held her tight. "Suzzanna is not imaginative. She is real. One day I will find her and bring her to you.", he snarled. She smirked and said," Fine! I will be happiest to meet her. Speak to me only when you find her. Goodbye!". She stormed towards her room while he watched her with blazing fury.

That day ego won over the friendship. Jacob locked himself inside his room and tossed everything. His mother tried to intervene and cool his temper. He cried badly as he slept on his mother's lap. His mother mistook his emotion for one sided love for his friend. She advised him to forget her and be happy for her as a friend. He didn't say anything to clear his mother's misunderstanding.

Sue was distraught. She wished she had not said anything. She wished she had not accepted Ryan's proposal. She still loved Jacob. Every word Jacob said broke her inside. She had decided not to be affected by Jacob's presence. But she was. She had tried many times to distance herself from him. She couldn't. Her love for Jacob got stronger when she met him in the morning.

She had almost believed when he had stormed toward her and asked her why she was marrying. She was wrong. He was jealous indeed. But he believed more in his imaginary love story than her love for him. She had failed again to recognize that there was no love in Jacob's heart except for his false ego.

(To be continued)

O' Suzzanna - Part 14

Busy schedules had left him with no time with his mother. He wanted to spend time with her. He decided to take few days  off from music and his search for Suzzanna. When he reached home, he was surprised to see Sue and a stranger.

They were laughing and chatting with his mother. A sudden sense of restlessness hit him seeing his friend enjoying someone else company. "Who was this guy? Why is he here?", he wondered. He watched them at the corner until his mother noticed him. "Jacob! When did you arrive? Why are you standing there? Come here!", his mother called.

Sue smiled at him as their eyes met. He sat next to his mother. His mother hugged him. She had missed him so much. "Hi Sue!", he finally greeted her. "Hi Jacob!", she said finding words to speak to her best friend. An awkward silence engulfed them. After few minutes,he got up and walked towards his room in pretense of looking for something.

Their past still held them. He still felt guilty. She was still stuck with the pain he had given few years back. They left after sometime. During evening, his mother approached him with tea. He was lying on the bed and thinking deeply. "What are you doing alone here? Sue is your best friend and you didn't receive her well. Is everything okay between you two?", she asked.

"Everything is okay. I was just tired and needed rest. I didn't expect her today. So I came here.", he said. "Hmm. You and your music!", she complained softly. "Anyway, Sue is getting married. She came to invite us for the engagement.", she said. The words 'Sue' and 'marriage' shook him. He didn't like it. "What!", he said and raced before his mother could stop him. His mother was puzzled with his sudden disappearance.

He dashed towards Sue's place. He stopped when he had reached the destination. Sue stood at patio, staring blankly at the sky. He took few minutes to breath properly. She didn't notice him storming toward her. He grabbed her hand and turned her towards him. "Why are you doing this to me?", he growled. "What?", she asked him , startled. "Why are you getting married?", he asked.


(To be continued)

O' Suzzanna - Part 13

Next day he tried  messaging her , asking her if he had hurt her anyway. She had replied back with a no and why. He was about to type something. But  he simply replied back, "Nothing". He didn't want to bother her more for a childish issue he had faced last night.

His addition to the band was not all bed of roses. He wasn't welcomed properly by the group. He became mere guitarist instead of a lead singer. Roy, one of the member was dominant  as well as the proud one. The other members of band were his tail who only followed his words and  encouraged his opinions.

Jacob felt like outsider. He had voiced his opinion many times to improve the quality of music. He had even shared his concern about being the lead singer to manager. But the manager couldn't do anything more than just sharing his sympathies with him. 

He was getting frustrated day by day. One day his frustration had reached all bounds. The band was going to play at the youth fest. As soon as their names were called, the members got ready to step in. Suddenly they heard Jacob playing on the stage. It was the same song he had auditioned for the band. The member stared at Roy. Roy was embarrassed. He was silent for the first time.

The crowd cheered. Slowly the band joined with sorry face. As soon as Jacob turned to see his band members behind , he signaled them to join in. He forgave them. They added beats and their own touch to the song. 

After their performance, new friendships were formed.  Past was forgotten. He got busy with the band. He hadn't realized when the days had become months and Sue's sudden arrival startled him.  

(To be continued)