Laila had just gotten out of a terrible relationship where her boyfriend showed her how tired he was of the relationship through rants and heavy blows. This was her second time of trying since Jason and she was already tired of loving. She vowed not to ever listen to Sandra on matters of the heart again as she was the one that talked her into accepting Adam’s proposal when she wasn’t sure what her heart was saying.
“Go, girl, you so deserve this after all you’ve been through at the hands of that punk.” She remembered Sandra saying on the night Adam asked her to be his girlfriend.
She had already declined earlier but after having listened to Sandra had said “Yes” the next time he asked. He used to be everything she asked for until recently. She didn’t know what had changed in the few months that she had known him before they started dating and now. She did her best to hang on to him because he was her joy, the reason she woke up every day, hands-on phone and typing a “Good morning Hun” but now being with him felt like icy hell and she wanted out. Having already made up her mind, Laila picked up her phone and typed the liberating words. “I’m tired of living this façade. I’m Done” with quivering hands she tapped the send button and sealed the deal. That was the last she heard from him.
Years went by and Laila, still stuck to her “No more self-inflicted heartbreak” mantra secretly hoped for a little light, an adventure to sweep her off her feet. She had turned down all proposals and her course mates were beginning to attach reasons to her decision to stay away from ‘heartbreaks’ as that was the term she used when referring to guys. “She’s probably into females.” She heard someone whisper as she passed. She refused to be weighed down by the rumors they created. For all, she cared they could go fall off some cliff or get swept away by some whirlwind. “Life is a lot more precious to spend it worrying about some guy your heart which is supposed to be pumping blood skips constantly for.” She would always tell Sandra who was beginning to worry a lot about her secluded life and her decision not to date again.
Laila devoted her time to learning to play the cello. She got so good that her friends advised her to consider going for competitions and seeing that it would help her get her mind off the lots of crap that have been creeping into her mind lately succumbed to their “You should so do this…” and “you were born for this…” She signed up and started preparing for the College Orchestra Battle. A competition hosted by Julliard a music school in New York which was held on every 14th of February. The competition had different instrumentalists from different colleges in one auditorium playing for a cash prize of 100,000USD and a scholarship to study music in Julliard. It was a big one but having been tutored by one of the best cellists in the country, she knew she stood a chance of carting away with her one of the top prizes. If only she knew the cupid package awaiting her...
To be Continued.