There was a boy named Prashant and a girl named Pratiksha. Both were fifteen and studying in class 10. They had known each other's names since class 7, but they did not really notice one another until class 9. It began when one of Prashant's friend Priyashant took help from Pratiksha during an exam. From that moment they met.
In class 10 the teacher arranged seats by roll number. Prashant had roll number 22 and Pratiksha 24, so they sat close. At first, Prashant felt nothing special. But after two months, during the first-term exams, Prashant noticed something different about her. He became quietly obsessed with one small thing — Pratiksha's ponytail. He never told her, but every morning before going to school he hoped she would come with her hair tied.
One day at tiffin, Prashant accidentally touched Pratiksha's hand. Embarrassed, he said, "Sorry, sister." She smiled and said, "It's okay. Don't worry." That smile stayed with him.
After the exams the school closed for summer. During vacation they did not have each other's phone numbers. On 6th June, Prashant finally told his best friend at that time Priyashant about Pratiksha. Priyashant encouraged him to confess. On 7th June, Prashant texted Pratiksha for the first time and — in a dramatic, cinematic way — he proposed. He wrote that she came into his dreams and accepted. Pratiksha was shocked and told him they should talk in school. Prashant disagreed, saying if they talked at school everyone would know; he wanted to chat.
School reopened on 9th June. Prashant was nervous — even his legs shook during the anthem. When Pratiksha's friends Suvarna and Adyasha entered, Suvarna called Pratiksha's name loudly in front of Prashant. Later, Priyashant asked Pratiksha what she thought of Prashant's proposal. Pratiksha smiled and said she did not like such things and would not accept a proposal because she wanted to focus on her upcoming Madhyamik exams.Priyashant was laughing but with a sadness but what was in his inside nobody knows whereas Prashant pretended to laugh, but he was hurt. For the first time he loved someone and was rejected.
That evening Prashant texted her, saying he understood why she refused — the exams. Pratiksha confirmed she found relationships "cringe" at that time and wanted to focus on studies. Even then she started talking to him more. As weeks passed, talking with Prashant became her daily habit. She waited for his messages and replied quickly; she ignored others but never his.
Suvarna and Adyasha tested Prashant to see whether he was serious. When they asked, he confidently said yes, he loved Pratiksha. After a month, Prashant went out of station for three days for a match. He missed Pratiksha every moment. He even missed his pet cat, MEOW, though he could see the cat on video calls. Pratiksha, who was introvert and disliked calls, could not talk much by call. When Prashant returned, Suvarna told him Pratiksha had actually had a crush on him since class 7 and she missed him badly. Prashant was shocked and happy.
Their bond deepened. But one day, while chatting at home on a Sunday, Pratiksha's mother heard the conversation, took Pratiksha's phone, and later blocked Prashant. Pratiksha used her mother's phone to text him once: her mother had taken the phone away. Suvarna warned Prashant that if Pratiksha didn't talk after that, he would know why. Later that night, after Pratiksha's mother slept, Pratiksha and Prashant began talking daily for three to four hours.
A few months went by and everything seemed all right. Prashant decided to propose again after the second-term exams. During one of the last exams he was quiet and upset. Pratiksha noticed and worried asked Priyashant about it and he asked Prashant what happened to him and in reply he sad nothing.After the exam Suverna was going to ask Prashant that what happened to him but unfortunately his parents came to pick him up and when he was leaving he clearly saw the sad face of Pratiksha. Then after few days when they were chatting Prashant said Pratiksha about there bond and she replied we are in a situationship, Prashant said "See , situationship is temporary but relationship is permanent. So what do you want Relationship or Nothing?" In reply Pratiksha said "I think relationship is better" . Prashant was fully of joy but Pratiksha said after the PTM they are going to get in the relationship.After school on 11th August, while most students had left, Prashant took Pratiksha aside and asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?" Pratiksha nodded yes. Prashant wanted to hug her at that moment. He was nervous, but she opened her arms and told him to hug her. That was their first hug.
Their relationship continued. Two weeks later they kissed for the first time. Everything seemed good. Still, Pratiksha remained shy. She rarely showed her feelings first — she only hugged or kissed when Prashant asked. He wished she would sometimes take the initiative, hold his hand, or hug him or kiss him without being asked. Pratiksha did love him so much, but she expressed it very few times.
One day, Pratiksha's mother found out they were talking. She called Prashant and asked, "Do you love my daughter?" Prashant honestly said, "Yes, Aunty, I love Pratiksha." Later Pratiksha told with aghast that he should have said "no" to her mother. Those words hurt him deeply. He felt he had failed to love her properly. He realized Pratiksha was under immense pressure at home — her parents wanted her to take the science stream and they pressured her with study. Her home felt more like a prison. Prashant tried to understand and support her, but sometimes he could not read what she kept inside. This made him doubt himself.
In December, Prashant had an important match. He asked Pratiksha to meet him before the game. She came, and they talked. Prashant hoped she would hug him or hold his hand or kiss him, but she did not. Neither knew that this meeting would be their last.
The next day on the field, Prashant bowled and took five wickets for only 12 runs in nine overs. He dedicated his performance to Pratiksha. While batting later, he reached 89 not out. Then a ball traveling at about 130 km/h struck his head. He was wearing a helmet, but the blow was severe. He collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.
When Prashant woke up in the hospital he asked for a phone. He called Pratiksha's mother and begged, "Aunty, please give the phone to Pratiksha. I want to talk to her." But Pratiksha's mother refused and hung up. Ten minutes later, Prashant died from a blood clot in his brain.
Two months passed. After the Madhyamik exams ended, Pratiksha expected to hear from Prashant. On 2nd February, her birthday, Prashant did not wish her. Confused and upset, she called Ayush and asked where Prashant was. Ayush, stunned, replied, "Prashant is dead." Pratiksha could not believe him. Ayush told her that Prashant had called her for the last time, but her mother did not give the phone. Hearing this, Pratiksha ran to her mother and cried, "Why didn't you give me the phone? He wanted to talk to me!" Her mother said she had not given it because of the exam. Pratiksha screamed that he died after you hang up, and she collapsed.
Three days later she woke up in the hospital. Ayush, Prashant's parents, and her own parents were there. She asked, "Where is Prashant? I want him." Ayush said with tears, "He's gone." Then Ayush told her what Prashant had said in his final moments: his last words were her name and three words — "Pratiksha, I love you."
Ayush also gave Pratiksha a letter written by Prashant. In it he had said he knew he would die and that he had called to hear her voice one last time. He asked her never to give up on life, to live for her family and dreams, and promised that if destiny separated them now, they would be together in the next birth. He told her his soul would always protect her.
Pratiksha read the letter and cried. She regretted not hugging him the last time they met. She realized she had waited too long to show her feelings. She understood, too late, that love should be shown openly — not left hidden for fear or shyness.
The lesson she learned was simple and harsh: never wait to show your feelings to someone before it's too late.
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