The big step

It had been a long distance relation since last 3 years. Meera opens her laptop waiting for Sammer to come online.

It was all a fairy tale story with fights, patch-ups, trust, heartbreaks and a promise to never leave each other. Still every night when she made her way to the bed saying a good night to him she wished of a dream that she wanted to full fill badly. She regretted the day she stepped down the only decision that she was not able to make for herself.

She wished she had the courage to decide on not leaving the offer she had got from the Indian Airforce.

Meera, a 25 year old Gujarati girl, is pursing her Masters in Computers. While she was doing her Bachelor’s she had appeared for the recruitment of Indian Airforce. She never had the courage to tell her parents that she had cleared the written test and had to go for the 9 rounds of technical test at Amritsar. Somehow she told a lie at home putting a story for some technical workshop and attended the technical test. She cleared all the 9 rounds varying from medical to physical fitness. She came back home waiting for the results. She was scared and confident. Confident as she knew she would be selected yet, scared as she knew her parents would never allow her for the same. Joining the Indian Airforce for a girl in India is like breaking stereotype rules in many families even today.

Sammer and Meera did their Bachelor’s from the same college where they met for the first time, became friends and fell in love. She hadn’t lied to him about anything. He was aware that she had cleared the test. Somewhere he was scared too. He knew Meera and her passion to join the Indian Airforce. He knew she would get selected. He was scared too but due to different reasons. He had been selected for a job in the USA and was going to leave India soon. He loved speed, the white color job, the big fat foreign currency and USA.

The day the results were announced he was very happy with a little guilt in his heart. Meera had been selected for the Indian AFCAT Flying Branch and Permanent Commission (PC) for both Men and Women. She broke the news at home and tried to convince her parents to allow her to take her dream job but her efforts were in vein. He was happy with some guilt because he knew that if Meera had opted the job he would lose her forever. He didn’t want to lose her, still the guilt hovered over him as he knew that she wanted to server her country more than loving and getting married to him someday.

She gets a message from Sammer and they start chatting. She was happy being with him yet felt a void. Sammer was waiting to break the news. He had come to India on a short trip and was planning to propose to her to get married to him but he wasn’t aware of what was coming. He had made all the preparations at the restaurant with the ring, cake and her favorite music but somehow Meera didn’t show up that day. Being curious he went to her home to know what had happened.

When he reached her place he noticed that the atmosphere was already heated up. Meera was sitting on her knees trying to convince her dad. Sammer could not understand what had happened. He saw the letter lying on the floor.

Dear Meera,

Congratulations ! We are feeling proud to inform you that you have been selected for the Indian AFCAT Flying Branch Short Term Service…………………….

He wasn’t able to read further but he did understand that she had tried again to join the Indian Airforce to serve the nation. This time he had a chance to either convince Meera to leave it and ask her to marry him or to convince her father for letting her choose to fly.

For the love he had for her he decided to go to her father and convince him.

Some things are tough to regret.

Life might never give you a second chance so be brave to take those small decisions that might change your life forever.

Cause In the end, we always regret the choices we didn’t make.