Answer by Jitendra Patil:
Not boyfriend, My girlfriend (Lets call her "N") passed way few years back. She fought very hard to battle Breast Cancer. It was not the death that most bothered me, but the struggle that she went through every single day. The chemotherapy, the radiations, the bone-marrow tests. Cancer does not affect you physically as much as it does emotionally.
'N' underwent through all those tests with a smile on her face, I knew what she was going through. I cried in solitude keeping a brave face when I was with her. With each passing day, her condition deteriorated but not her resolve. That taught me one thing, "No matter how bad things get, life is still beautiful"
I remember, on my birthday, she had a chemotherapy session. Post the session, she wanted to go to our favorite hotel to have coffee. Just after we sat down, the waiter came up to me and handed me a customized menu. It had my picture and all my favorite dishes. She knew that I was a tea addict and after every meal, I would order tea. The best part of the customized menu was the prices of the food items on the right.
Rava Masala Dosa…….. 20 kisses
Idli Sambhar……………… 10 kisses
Punjabi Samosa………….. 5 minute hug
Masala Tea…………………. 1 promiseI ordered the Masala tea. She was glad. She looked at me and said, "Promise me that you will be happy after I go." I couldn't hold the tears in any more. I think it must have been embarrassing, but I didn't care.
Few months later she passed away. I was beside her. I was broken, yet relieved. Her suffering had come to an end. Everyone remembered 'N' as a girl who liked to smile, be happy and who fought till the very end, never once complaining. Her only regret was that she wouldn't be able to spend more time with her loved ones.
I was bound by her promise to be happy, I tried. Failed at times, but tried again. Today, her memory serves as an inspiration.
How does it feel to have your boyfriend die at a very young age?