Permanence of Family's Devotion

It was a sunny morning, as any other day, but the fact was not at all sunny. Gabriel was in trouble. "How can you? Did I not love you enough? Did me and daddy love you any less?", said Angela, Gabriel's mother to him. "Nothing like that mom, it was my fault." said Gabriel.

"Now that you understand? It's too late to catch the situation now. Well don't worry my child, we are family and we're here for you to stay by your side."
* Gabriel and Angela began weeping expressing care for each other *

7 MONTHS AGO

The mathematics class. Gabriel and Sophie had not become good friends until that, and were moving to the class together after introduction, casually. But Gabriel craved to talk to her, since he first saw Sophie. And that day was the day, he could ultimately do it. He was happy, and was hoping if she'd show interest in talking to him. Sophie often asked Gabriel for help in mathematics as the former and latter were weak and good at it respectively. Gabriel had a huge infatuation for Sophie and he had said it to his friend David. David was flirtatious and fun. His heart would begin racing seeing voluptuous women. David introduced Gabriel to Anne, the best friend of Sophie, in hope to make relation between their best friends, for which eventually Anne agreed for. Sophie was attractive and was very pretty and could not keep the eyes of people from not watching her. Anne threw her birthday party and decided to put a dress code of wearing black or white only, and she intentionally did not tell about the dress code to Gabriel and Sophie. They arrived the party in casuals. Everyone ignored them because of their unregulated outfit. Eventually Anne turned up and greeted them with regards and applauded them, teased them for breaking the rules together and apologized too. Ignored them, had none to talk to, so they walked and talked among themselves, where they finally develop huge interest for each other. Gabriel proposed her for a relationship and Sophie accepts and the whole scene is applauded by the party guests present there, with tears of hard work in Anne's and David's eyes.

4 MONTHS FROM THEN

"Get ready darling, you'd be a bride soon." said Ashley, Sophie's mother to her.
"Yes mom, but I need some time."
"Time is all yours, honey."
"Good night."
"Yeah, good night."

The next day, Sophie runs to Gabriel and gives him a tight hug, "I love you so much, but we cannot be together anymore, my mother found a groom for me, and I cannot deny her choice because she's my mother." said she. Gabriel was astonished and wished he'd never heard this. "I understand, try telling her once, I'll never be able to be without you."
"Surely."

The suspense continues for another month.

" Pardon me, do I know you?", said Sophie. "Obviously you do, we've been dating for a long time and you're not recognising me?" said Gabriel, bursting out.
"Security! Get this man outta here!"
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Security!", she screamed.
Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, thought a moment and then kept numb. He left.

David and Anne shameful and astonished of what they did see in Sophie.
"Her rich fiance made her forget about the guy who loved her deeply." said David.
"Perhaps it never was love." said Anne.

He didn't show for long time, abandoned his job, and stayed home for long.
"She left me!" forever the words on his lips.

A MONTH LATER FROM THEN

"Come over here, my love" said Angela to Gabriel.
"I'm coming mom, I'll be there." said Gabriel with wet eyes.

THE PRESENT TIME

Knock is heard on the door of a small house. The door is opened and the lady that opened the door was hugged tightly.
"I love you mom!"
"Your mom will never stop loving you."

Gabriel elaborates the complete happening to his mother.

"Now that I have realized, I loved that girl for a few months so deeply, so wholeheartedly, and what she did was to choose her family's for her choice over that of herself. Well maybe, she was right, because now I realize, that family never leaves us, they may do a tad wrong to us, but never think our bad. Family stays with you forever and loves you until the eternity. I see you. I love you mom." Gabriel hardly speaking that with his voice hitching.
"We love you forever son. Maybe Sophie didn't want to do it, but she did it for some reason and yes son, we will never leave you. We are always here for you, even now and will be by your side, no matter what happens.
The 27 year old Gabriel closes his eyes and falls asleep on her mother's lap, happy about having a loving family.

— Shantanu Shubham

Hope in Enviness

Hardworking father, sacrificing mother,
Together raising their children,
Within the poor family,
They had their own heaven.

Rich relatives, enough to make you blink,
All you can do, is nothing but think,
Of "What was my fault?" in the situation you're in,
Inferiority running under your skin.

You weep, you sob,
You feel alone within a mob,
Being ignored gets embedded in your memory,
All you do, is try to say "goodbye".

They have everything, you envy,
Pretending you're okay, is just your predilection.
You know you're not okay, and you're sorry,
Even when  you're wrong nowhere.

Wheel rotates, feet come front alternatively,
Time is wheel too, ups and downs,
Hoping for a change, will never stop,
We expect the almighty to give us strength.

— Shantanu Shubham

A Promise Flouted to a Promise Kept

"I'll never do, trust me" said Alexander to his father.
"Hope you won't", his father said, " And you know all this is wrong and will kill you someday".
"Yeah!" said Alexander.

FOUR MONTHS LATER

"You're not a man, you don't pose manliness, you moron!" said Frederick to Alexander.
"What makes you think so?" puzzled and insulted Alexander asked him.
"You don't smoke, you don't drink, don't take drugs, what can you be said? Anything else?"
"You'll die."
"We haven't, you're making excuses, because you're not a man and thus can't prove it." Fredrick and his friends burst into laughter.
"What? That's what you think? Let me show you!" Alexander takes the cocaine bag and starts inhaling it.
After 5 minutes, his coordination system gets totally disturbed and he feels of being in heaven.
"You guys were right, it feels amazing!" said Alexander.
"And now you're a man!" said Duke.
Then Alexander becomes used to cocaine and enjoys its consumption. He regularly intakes cocaine and gets addicted.

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Doctor, please, do whatever you can, save him!" says Alexander's father to the doctor of a multi specialist hospital.
"The situation is quite complicated, if something serious is done quickly, there may be paralysis or brain hemorrhage and if we leave him this way, he'll die."
"I can't believe, he broke his promise"
"We'll do our best, but can't assure you of our success."

*Operation theatre bulb goes red*

2 hours later

"The body has been totally paralyzed, the nerves have stopped responding, the medulla oblongata has failed and his heart stopped to death."
"What? He was my only son, my only child, he is my life.", shrieks Alexander's mother to the doctor and groans.

* Everyone bursts in tears and begins to sob and mourn his death*

"Curse the one who seduced him to this, resulting in his death" coaxing his mother, with tears rolling throughout her face.

"Jonathan, remember this, forever, you cannot be the way your uncle Alexander was."  says the mother of Alexander's nephew.
"Maybe mumma, he didn't know, how to stay away from these."
"The world is cruel, everyone's keep score and keep your eyes open. You know what you are and you don't need to prove anything to anyone. Just imagine Jonathan, if he hadn't paid attention to what that seducer Duke had said and if your uncle Alexander hadn't come to that bad company, this might never have happened! Stay away from bad company and choose friends very precisely. Don't just come to what they think, be what you want to be, not what they want you to be."
Jonathan says, "Mummy, I love you so much, I don't want you to sob for me anyway, I'd never do such thing to you and dadda."

"Keep your promise!"
"I will."

— Shantanu Shubham