They were the kind of couple everyone envied… laughing too loud, fighting over silly things, and then holding hands like nothing else mattered. To him, she was life itself. To her, he was the only reason she could smile through the pain she carried in silence.
For months, she hid her truth. The hospital visits, the medicines, the quiet nights when her body trembled in weakness—none of it reached him. She was fighting cancer, but she refused to let him see her broken.
One evening, as they sat under the old banyan tree where they always met, she looked at him strangely. Her eyes sparkled, but behind them was something heavier.
“Can you do something for me?” she asked softly.
“Anything,” he smiled. “Just say it.”
She took a deep breath. “Don’t talk to me tomorrow. No calls, no messages, nothing. Pretend I don’t exist for one whole day. If you can do it… I’ll love you forever.”
He laughed. “That’s it? One day without you? Piece of cake.”
But that night was torture. Every song, every memory, every heartbeat reminded him of her. His hands reached for his phone a hundred times, but he held back. For her. For the challenge.
The next morning, unable to bear the emptiness, he rushed to her house. He imagined her waiting with that mischievous grin, ready to tease him for missing her.
Instead, he was met with silence. Her parents stood with swollen eyes, and in their hands, an envelope with his name.
His fingers trembled as he opened it.
“You did it, baby… one whole day without me. Now I need you to do it every day. I didn’t tell you, but I was sick… my time was short. I wanted your last memory of me to be strong, not weak. Don’t cry for me. Just love me in silence. I’ll be with you, always.”
The letter blurred through his tears. He sank to the ground, clutching the note to his chest. The challenge he thought was only for a day had become his forever.
For months, she hid her truth. The hospital visits, the medicines, the quiet nights when her body trembled in weakness—none of it reached him. She was fighting cancer, but she refused to let him see her broken.
One evening, as they sat under the old banyan tree where they always met, she looked at him strangely. Her eyes sparkled, but behind them was something heavier.
“Can you do something for me?” she asked softly.
“Anything,” he smiled. “Just say it.”
She took a deep breath. “Don’t talk to me tomorrow. No calls, no messages, nothing. Pretend I don’t exist for one whole day. If you can do it… I’ll love you forever.”
He laughed. “That’s it? One day without you? Piece of cake.”
But that night was torture. Every song, every memory, every heartbeat reminded him of her. His hands reached for his phone a hundred times, but he held back. For her. For the challenge.
The next morning, unable to bear the emptiness, he rushed to her house. He imagined her waiting with that mischievous grin, ready to tease him for missing her.
Instead, he was met with silence. Her parents stood with swollen eyes, and in their hands, an envelope with his name.
His fingers trembled as he opened it.
“You did it, baby… one whole day without me. Now I need you to do it every day. I didn’t tell you, but I was sick… my time was short. I wanted your last memory of me to be strong, not weak. Don’t cry for me. Just love me in silence. I’ll be with you, always.”
The letter blurred through his tears. He sank to the ground, clutching the note to his chest. The challenge he thought was only for a day had become his forever.
