Short Story in English- The love from the past
I recently reconnected with one of my old school friends, Nirmal, after a long time. We shared many memorable moments during our school years, but after graduation, life took us on different paths. College came, and with it, our regular meetings became sporadic phone calls, eventually dwindling to exchanges on birthdays or special occasions. But the beauty of true friendship is that no matter how much time passes when we talk, it feels as if nothing has changed.
During our conversation, Nirmal confided in me about something that took me by surprise—he still couldn’t forget his first love. He admitted that despite being in a relationship during college with another girl, his thoughts often wandered back to Rishika, the girl from school he’d always cared about. The problem? Rishika never reciprocated his feelings and saw him as nothing more than a good friend. It was one of those classic, one-sided love stories, where he was hopelessly stuck in the friend zone.
I think it happens often—boys misinterpret a girl’s friendliness as something more, believing it to be love. And then, they’re hit with that dreaded line: “You’re such a great person, but I don’t feel the same way.” Those words are like a wrecking ball, tearing down the dream castle they’ve built in their minds where they and their crush live happily ever after.
That’s exactly what happened to Nirmal. He was devastated, heartbroken, and did everything he could to change her mind, but love isn’t something you can force. If you push too hard, it risks ruining even the friendship. And sadly, that’s what happened—she couldn’t bear to be around him anymore, and it was painful to see my friend go through that.
We moved on from school, went to college, and our lives got busier. Nirmal joined an engineering college, and eventually, things seemed to be getting better. He’d laugh about how childish he had been, chasing after a one-sided love. I was happy for him when he met Diksha during a college fest. She was from a different department, and their relationship blossomed. He was genuinely in love, and I thought Rishika was finally out of the picture.
But during this recent conversation, Nirmal dropped another bombshell—he had broken up with Diksha. Shocked, I bombarded him with questions: What? Why? When?
Then came the real surprise: “I still love Rishika,” he confessed. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Are you insane?” I exclaimed. “You broke up with Diksha because you still love Rishika? The same Rishika who never saw you that way? You should be missing Diksha, not Rishika!”
“It was my mistake,” Nirmal said quietly. “I thought I had moved on from Rishika, but she’s always been in my mind. Getting into a relationship with Diksha was supposed to help me forget her, but it didn’t. I was never fully in it, and that’s why things fell apart.”
Short Story- The Love from the Past
I was speechless for a moment. “But you seemed so happy in the beginning,” I reminded him. “You told me Diksha was everything you wanted. What changed? And why do you think Rishika is the one for you? She’s a chapter that never even began.”
“Diksha is amazing,” Nirmal admitted. “She’s beautiful, talented, and caring… but not the one I want. Things were great in the beginning, but over time, we fought more and more. She became distant, and I realized I wasn’t enough for her. It wasn’t her fault. I just couldn’t give her my heart because a part of me still belonged to Rishika.”
I sighed. “How can you be sure Rishika is the right girl for you? She could be another Diksha. You might be chasing a dream that’s never meant to be.”
But Nirmal was resolute. “No, it’s different. I still love Rishika. There’s a part of me that will always want her in my life.”
Also Read-SHORT STORY- THE SILENT SACRIFICE
As he shared his feelings, I could only listen and support him as a friend. We talked for hours, and I suggested he reach out to Rishika again, just to see if things had changed. Perhaps, this time, she might feel differently. Who knows?
I’ve realized that many people carry similar feelings for their first love, especially if it was one-sided. The reason it lingers is that it’s untarnished by reality. There were no fights, no heartbreak, no flaws—just a perfect image of someone in your mind. And when that feeling is suppressed, it becomes even stronger.
First love is powerful, not just because of the person, but because of what it represents—the first taste of something so profound and unfamiliar. It’s like looking through a glass wall, knowing there’s something extraordinary on the other side, but never truly experiencing it. And once that glass breaks, you feel everything.
Check out my book ‘THE TREE AND THE WIND’ on Kindle
