SINGLE HEART

Chp-1:- Unknown Man!

The evening sky was hazy, followed by a sudden peal of thunder and soon it started to drizzle. The pedestrians started running to take shelter to prevent themselves from getting drenched. The cold breeze blew across the street, causing everyone to shiver.

It was the spring season of the year, but today's unexpected thunderstorm dashed people's moods.

Jenny was no different. She had  dolled herself up especially, wearing a white floral dress with some light makeup, and her hair locks left loosely on her shoulders. She had planned to walk around the market to buy a gift for her mother's birthday.

After searching for a while, she finally found a yellow gold crystal pendant. Her mother was a simple lady, and as such, Jenny was sure that her mother would definitely like her gift.

Jenny was immersed in searching for the gift for so long that she didn't notice the time and by the time she came to a realization, the sun had started to set down.

"Ohh...I am late!" Thinking that her mother would be worried about her, Jenny started running back towards her home.

Unfortunately, today's unexpected rain became a hurdle for her. Like other people, Jenny started running to take shelter to prevent herself from getting drenched.

She immediately ran towards an open hut located at the center of the street.

Since the sun had already set, many people had already gone towards their home. Jenny also wanted to go home, but it was far away from the market and the loud clap of thunder was making her scared to her wits' end.

In the end, Jenny decided to stay under the open hut for a while along with other people before proceeding towards her home.

Since the sky was turning dark and the thunderstorm didn't seem to have a plan to slow down soon, therefore, other people also started to run away towards their home leaving Jenny alone.

With the passage of time, Jenny was left alone under the open hut. The cold breeze brushed past her body, sending a shiver down her spine. Her deep black eyes were slightly moistened with  fear that could be seen in them as well.

She crossed her hands close to her front, holding  the gift box tightly in her hands.

She didn’t  know what to do next, and before she could even begin racking her brains, she heard the sound of some footsteps nearing her.

'Pak!'

'Pak!'

Jenny turned to look towards the source of the sound and a man was coming towards the street. Seeing that an unknown man was coming there, Jenny felt her heart jump to her throat in fear!

She lowered her head and pressed her lips tightly together. Even though she was scared and shivering, she couldn't reveal her fear in case it would bring a disadvantage to her.

The man was holding an umbrella which was hiding his face. He seemed to be going somewhere else, but suddenly he stopped for a moment and then he changed his direction only to come walking towards the open hut where Jenny was standing alone. The man quietly stood under the hut and set his umbrella aside, near the other side of the pillar.

Jenny's body stiffened when she noticed his movement, not being able to understand as to why that man standing there despite having an umbrella.

Nevertheless, she didn't dare to ask and look towards him. She was just silently praying to  God to stop raining for a few minutes so that she could go back home, back to her parents.

After a few minutes, the man stepped forward to go. Jenny sighed in relief noticing his movement, but subconsciously her sight caught something...

Huh...The umbrella!

The man had left his umbrella behind!

Jenny immediately looked up to call out to him but she noticed that man was standing in the rain and smiling at her warmingly. His grey eyes showed a sense of security. He pointed towards the umbrella, hinting her to take the umbrella with her and then he ran away, soon disappearing into the dark night.

****

Chp-2:- Dating

Jenny immediately took the umbrella and went behind that man but he was already gone.

She could still recall his mesmerizing grey eyes and the charming smile on his face. For the first time in her life, she felt her heart skip a beat.

Afterward, Jenny returned back home with the umbrella.

Jenny unknowingly fell in love with the umbrella that whenever she went out, she always carried it with herself in hope that she could meet that man again.

In the blink of an eye, a few days had passed and spring season came back to overcome the unexpected thunderstorms. The sparkling sunlight rays were brightening up the entire city and the pleasant breeze was also blowing around, lightening up everyone's mood.

Jenny's mother, Rosy Martin's, birthday had also arrived. Jenny's family, The Martin's, had organized a small gathering to celebrate her birthday.

On the same day, Jenny's father, John Martin, had informed Jenny that he had selected a suitor for her and that he had also invited him for today’s  gathering.

John told Jenny that it was the right time for her to find a life partner.

Jenny was reluctant. She liked her life with her parents and she didn't want to get separated from them. However, she was an obedient daughter so she couldn't object to her father's wishes.

In the end, she decided to meet that suitor on her father's request. But in the back of her mind, she had already rejected him.

She subconsciously looked at the umbrella which that unknown man had left for her that night and she suddenly thought, 'It would be wonderful if I could meet him again!'

In that instant, the door of the house opened. Jenny looked towards it and was completely shocked to see the person in front of her!

She couldn't believe what she was looking at!

Jenny's sight greeted that man's silhouette whom she had met that night in the market.

She couldn't believe that she would be so lucky that her wish would be fulfilled so soon.

His name was Alex. Later, Jenny got to know that Alex was the one whom her father had selected for her.

Her  idea of rejecting him was immediately wiped out from her mind.

During the entire gathering, Jenny couldn't take her eyes off him.

Alex was an outstanding man. Everyone in the Martin family liked him and had already selected him for Jenny.

They wanted Alex and Jenny to get married soon. However, Alex suggested that they should date for sometime before they get married.

When Jenny heard his suggestion, she was stunned as it seemed that Alex had read her eyes. She was also thinking the same thing but she hesitated to let her family know about it.

Alex had found her problem and solved it for her without letting her say anything.

Jenny could find herself to be less blissful and soon they started dating.

She was a timid person and sometimes, she felt inferior to him and thought that Alex would leave her soon. However, nothing like this ever happened.

Alex was very calm towards her. He was a very caring and loving person just like Jenny wanted.

He never complained about anything and patiently treated her with his care and love and soon, Jenny lost her heart to him.

She was very excited and couldn't wait to spend her life with him!

Dismally, things didn't go as Jenny wished!

She got to know that her family did not mention anything to Alex and his family, The Smiths, about her heart condition.

Jenny had a hole in her heart and the doctor had informed her family that if she did not go for a transplant in a few years, she wouldn't be able to survive. Unfortunately, Jenny's blood type was very rare that was why the Martins were not able to find any suitable donor yet.

Jenny wanted to live her life with Alex, but not when the foundation of their life was built upon a lie.

Therefore, she took a bold step and decided to tell everything to him despite her family's strong opposition.

The next day, Jenny went to meet Alex. They decided to meet at the same place where they met the first time i.e. under the open hut in the center of the market.

It was a very difficult step for Jenny. She feared that she might lose Alex forever after that day, but she was still determined to tell him the truth!

Alex hadn't shown up yet!

Jenny knew that he would surely come, so she decided to wait for him. The needle in the clock moved and soon, it had completed a few circles of the clock. The bright sparkling sunlight started turning into orange and then it started disappearing into the clouds with the darkness slowly wrapping the entire sky.

However, Alex didn't turn up!

***

Chp-3:- Share heart! (The End)

Disheartened Jenny went back to her home and the first thing she wanted to do was to contact Alex. However, she didn't know the grave news was already waiting for her.

As soon as Jenny reached home, her family informed her that Alex had brain cancer and his condition was very critical and he didn't have many days left.

All of a sudden, Jenny felt that her world had turned upside down!

Few days before, her life seemed blissful and now it felt miserable.

The Martins were very angry at the Smiths as the latter did not mention anything about Alex's cancer to them.

Whereas, Smiths were also very dejected because their only son, Alex, was going to die in a matter of a few days and they couldn't do anything to save him.

Alex was always an obedient and caring son to his parents. They felt that God was being very unfair towards their family, towards their son. How could God be so evil to take their son away from them?

Jenny cared less about her family's feelings and immediately rushed to the hospital. Rosy couldn't leave her daughter alone so she also chased after her. Jenny, followed by the Martins, reached the hospital and little did they know that another shocking news was waiting for them.

The Smiths already knew about Jenny's heart problem and Alex and Jenny's blood type also matched with each other.

Now Alex had a last wish that his heart should be transplanted into Jenny’s body.

The Smiths also agreed with Alex as it was their son's last wish. Perhaps through this heart transplant, they felt that their son would still be alive!

The Martins felt ashamed to face the kind-hearted Smiths. They couldn't understand whether they should feel happy that their daughter would be saved or they should feel sad that the person whom their daughter loved, couldn't be saved.

Even in his last few days, Alex's heart warming smile didn't lose its charm while he said to Jenny, "Jenny, now you can live long so do cherish it. Find a man for whom your heart beats and marry him!"

"My heart only beats for you! " Jenny replied with sobs.

"Don't worry. Since you will have my heart, I will find a good man for you!"

Those were the last words of Alex to Jenny!

After that, the Martins and the Smiths helped Jenny find a suitable suitor. However, all of them got rejected because none of them got the approval of Alex's heart.

With that, a few years had passed. Even though Alex wasn't beside her anymore, Jenny never felt alone because his heart  beat with every breath she took. That was why she felt content with her life.

Again the spring season of the year arrived. It was the favorite season of Alex and Jenny. The pleasant breeze was blowing everywhere with the sparkling sunlight rays. It was a lovely day, and as usual, Jenny took her umbrella that Alex had given to her before going out for a walk.

Jenny walked far away from her home and didn't notice the time and by the time she realized, a sudden thunderstorm had already arrived.

Luckily, Jenny had an umbrella that made her feel secure. She opened it up and walked back towards her home.

However, all of a sudden....

A huge gust of cold breeze brushed past her body and the umbrella flew far away.

Jenny immediately ran after the umbrella, but soon, it disappeared in the heavy rain.

However, she didn't back down and continued her search for it, irrespective of the fact that she was getting drenched!

Unfortunately, after a long time, she still wasn't able to find it.

In the end, Jenny got discouraged and helplessly bent down on her knees in the middle of the road.  All of a sudden, she felt her soul leaving her body and she also felt a loss of sense of security.

Her body was shivering from getting drenched and her eyes were numb with unshed tears.

She didn’t know what to do next. After some time, she felt that the rain had suddenly stopped. She immediately looked up and found a man who was holding her umbrella.

"Your umbrella!" The unknown man said with a heart warming smile. He also had grey eyes just like Alex which provided a sense of great security to her.

She stood up to take her umbrella but then the man suddenly asked, " If you don't mind, can we share this umbrella?"

Jenny didn't know what to say, but then suddenly, her heart skipped a beat for a moment as she felt that Alex had come back after seeing the smile of that man. She subconsciously nodded and started walking beside him.

Afterward, they shared the umbrella and both of them soon disappeared in the dark night...

***

The end!