It is a pleasure to see a person you love, smile. When you see them beam, your eyes crinkle and that is when you realise that you love that person. This is what happens when I see my beloved. I’m Yashi and this is my story. You must be wondering who this person is whom I adore. So let me take you back to the College Freshers Party. It was my first day in St. Mary College. Away from my home, I was in America, studying in my dream college. I was very excited to attend the party but nervous too because I didn’t know if people would accept a person like me to be their friend. Yes, you’re right, I didn’t like myself. Not because I was an Indian living in America or a brown person, but because I was suffering from psychological anxiety and anger issues since my father’s death. He passed away when I was 10 years old. His death made me as blind as a bat and I couldn’t see how I was harming my mental health. Everyone in my school thought I was mad so I had to leave the town to start a new chapter of my life. Scared and conscious, I dressed up in my favorite dress and went to the college party. It was different, the people, the place, the vibe, everything. I took a glass of soft drink and sat in a corner. The music was loud and the people were dancing. Almost everyone had friends except me. When I was lurking around, a guy sat next to me and greeted me. I was shocked for a moment. I stuttered while I greeted him back. His name was Jackson and surprisingly, he was the most handsome guy I had ever seen. We talked for an hour and then it was time to head back to the hostel. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t stop thinking about him so I texted him “Hey”. I was astonished because he replied immediately “Hello Beautiful!”. We talked the whole night. Being called ‘psycho’ all my life, no guy ever tried to talk to me. It was the first time someone actually gave me attention. I was ecstatic . We met in the college and then slowly we came closer. We became bench maters, went to the canteen together, and accompanied each other to almost every place we went. I called my mother one fine day and told her all about this new life. She was in a jovial mood. She said “I’m happy to see your anger turning to joy and your pain healing”. Hearing this, I too realized that Jackson’s presence in my life was improving me as a person. His presence was healing my pain and adding happiness to my life. The next day, Jackson invited me for lunch to his favorite restaurant. It was weird because he asked me to wear the same dress that I wore on the day we first met which was the College Freshers Party. When I reached the place, I realized that he also wore the same suit which he wore that day. He pulled the chair for me and we ordered our food. When we were eating, a group of musicians gathered around our table and Jackson proposed me. I was surprised and couldn’t think of a better answer than saying “yes”. Oh my god! Finally I had a boyfriend. The whole college got to know about us and we were going really well together. One fine day, he invited me for dinner with his family. I went to his house, dressed up in an Indian attire. His parents really liked me and his sister too. I liked his family. After the dinner, Jackson dropped me home and he asked me to marry him. I was blushing but I wanted to go slow so I ran blushing to my room. I switched off my phone and went to bed. When I woke up, I saw that there were more than 20 missed calls from Jackson’s mother. I was worried so I tried to call all the numbers of Jackson’s family I had but no one picked up my phone. I went to their house but it was locked. I asked their neighbor who told me that the family went to the hospital last night and hasn’t come back. I rushed towards the hospital in a panic state of mind. When I reached there, I was dumbstruck to see the dead body of the only guy I loved after my father. He met with an accident last night. I should have told him that I wanted to marry him and I should have said “yes” but it was too late. He left without an answer. His unconditional love in those few days gave me the hope to continue living my life with his memories that always brought a smile on my face.Now it is 5 months since the accident, his picture hangs in my room. He is still smiling and seeing him smile, makes my eyes crinkle.