After days of dealing with the dilemma whether I should tell him or not, I decided to disclose my romantic feelings for him. That evening seemed like the perfect time to divulge the secret.

Sitting on a bench in a park on a summery evening, I was wearing a pink, flowery dress. My best friend texted me – ‘all the best. Tell him today. If you can’t say it directly, at least leave a hint.’

Ajay and I were family friends and neighbors. I knew him for over two years but it was only recently that I began to develop feelings for him. Nothing close to true love or deep admiration but a light, breezy liking. I knew he liked me too because I had seen him looking for me when he couldn’t find me in our casual, family gatherings and watching me from the corners of his eyes when I was present around him.

That evening, I had to go to the market to buy a pack of freshly made salad and Ajay proposed to drive me to the market. Of course I was delighted and immediately, we hopped onto his car and went off. He deliberately took the longer route and I felt euphoric! He was nice to talk to – polite and intelligent.

The shopkeeper informed us that it would take about 25 – 30 mins for our order to be processed. We proceeded to the park nearby and sat there.

Best ways to end unhealthy relationships.

It began to get dark and a sudden drizzle followed. We didn’t complain. He complimented the beautiful sky and the tiny rain drops and I had messaged my best friend about the impending proposal from either of us.

‘I love rains. You like them too?’, he asked.

‘Yeah. Me too’, I said in conjunction.

Just then we heard a little frog singing ‘ribbit ribbit’ and he pointed out, ‘rain isn’t here yet but these frogs are’ and we both laughed.

‘What is it about the rains you like the most?’ I asked as I couldn’t think of anything else.

‘I like what follows after rains. Clear sky, neat streets and the fresh smell of the rain washed air’, he said in a poetic way.

I was almost floored. I wished he added ‘and this rain feels even more beautiful because you are here with me’ or something else on the lines of ‘I like you more than the rains.’ But he didn’t say anything after that.

We both were silent. The frog was still singing, adding a buzz to the quiet air around us.

He started fidgeting. We still had five more minutes to wait. I asked him what troubled him and he replied, ‘I am looking for a stone.’

I looked around too but didn’t find any.

‘Why do you need a stone?’

‘I just need one.’

By the time I could ask him again about his motive, he grabbed a stone and boom!, he just aimed it at the frog who was sitting and singing somewhere in the hedge of the shrubs.

I went numb. Right in front of me, he threw a sharp stone at the innocent frog who was enjoying the rains as much as Ajay claimed moments ago. And I couldn’t utter a word. I simply shed a tear for the poor frog who probably lost his life because of me. Had I not taken Ajay to the park and had I not asked him about rains, maybe he hadn’t killed (or tried to kill) the frog.

I don’t know if the frog was killed or if he escaped the hit but there was no ‘ribbit ribbit’ after the attack.

I got up and went to the shop. Ajay followed me. Our order was ready.

On our way back home Ajay tried to justify, ‘these frogs can cause salmonella infection.’

I didn’t answer.

Ajay added, ‘and it was disrupting our moment.’

I replied, ‘which moment? There wasn’t any moment.’