Beautiful Story of Friends :) :)

Anchal was a sweet, soft-natured and a charming girl. Every evening, she would go to the park, feed the ducks by the pond, sit on her favorite bench with a book in hand and greet all the passers-by. People loved her for her charm. They would compliment her for that and say that it made their day. Even gloomy looking people would go back happy after having a look at her. On one such evening, Anchal saw a girl sitting aloof and crying. Anchal felt sorry for her. She went across to her, introduced herself and sat down beside her. The girl looked back and introduced herself as Toya, meaning water. Anchal told her not to be sad and asked her to look at the evening sky with all of its myriad colors, so that she could see the Hope-Fairy. Sure enough, Toya found the Hope Fairy (the tiny patches that look like rainbows when the eyes are moist)  and smiled. Toya started to like Anchal. From that day onwards, Toya wold join Anchal in feeding the ducks and greeting people. For them, the day would seem incomplete till they spent time with each other. They became really close to each other.
 
One fine day, Anchal started getting hate mails. The mails would just not stop. Every day a new one would pop-in in her inbox and this started to upset her. She shared this with Toya and asked her who would hate her so much. Toya said she was equally surprised and shocked. They both decided to ignore those mails. After a few days, Anchal broke the news that she would be getting married in a few weeks time. From the next day, the amount of hate mails simply doubled. Then Anchal got pre-occupied with her wedding celebrations and stopped going to the park. Toya would sit alone on the bench each day and feed the ducks thinking of good times. 
 
Next morning, there were more hate mails in Anchal's inbox. Anchal showed all of those mails to her husband and they decided to go to a different country.  That evening, Anchal met Toya to tell her that she wouldn't be able to join her from the next day as they would be relocating. Toya was upset and cried. Anchal reminded her to look up at the sky for the Hope Fairy whenever she felt like crying as that would make situations a lot simpler. Toya promised her that she would follow that.

After a few years, even after a couple of new mail id's and a couple more of relocation's, the amount of hate mails had only increased. To Anchal, it was like a routine. As long as she didn't receive a hate mail, she couldn't sleep peacefully. To her, it was like a part and parcel of life. She had stopped worrying about them. She infact, had started looking forward to them. Then one fine day, she decided to meet her old friend, Toya and visited their old place, the bench in the park and sat down there, feeding the ducks. Suddenly, there was a gasp and she looked back to see Toya standing there. They both were happy to have met after such a long time. Then, they shared their anecdotes in life and updated each other on the happenings in their lives. 

Anchal handed over an envelope to Toya before she left and asked her to read it by the weekend and made her promise that she wouldn't open it early.
That weekend, Toya opened the letter, and began to read through. It read,
    Dear Toya,
    By the time, you read this letter, I might have finished my days on Earth. I came to meet you because I was counting the days in my life. I was suffering from cancer, the first time when I met you.
    It only got advanced with time. We changed locations to meet different doctors so that we could look for a cure, but in vain. Do you remember the hate mails that I would keep getting everyday? It     only became more in number. You know, that was the only thing that kept me going till now. Things like that can happen only when you do something right and there is someone who is jealous of that.
    I got to know who that was, the day I received the mails even when I changed my mail-id. I knew it was you, Toya, all the time. So, I stopped feeling scared and started looking forward to it     because that would mean that you are fine and things are going on great with you. Why were you jealous of me, Toya? What had I done to you? It might be too late for an apology now since you     cannot reach me in the place where I am. I hope you give up that attitude in you and change for the better. Now, please stop crying, there is still hope for you. Change for the better and whenever     you feel like crying, look up at the sky and find the Hope Fairy.
    Love,
    Anchal
Toya was filled to the brim, with pangs of guilt. She just couldn't forgive herself for the mistake that she had committed. She couldn't stop crying. She looked up at the sky to find the Hope Fairy but instead saw a Rainbow, the one that Anchal used to believe that would appear when you decide to change for the better !!! She missed Anchal....

PS :- Dearies, This Story Is Composed By My Friend Sowmya :) :)

Strong Friendship Bond - A Friendship That Distance Couldn’t Change

Yesterday, I had one of those marathon conversations with a friend—the kind where you keep talking because there is simply so much to share.

During our conversation, she told me about her incredible group of friends, and I couldn't help but feel amazed.

She has nearly 60 friends in her group!

Most of them studied together from nursery to 10th standard. A few continued together in junior college, while others went to different colleges. Some even moved to different states.

Yet, distance never came between them.

They still make sure they stay connected through group video chats. Back then, it was Yahoo Messenger and Skype, long before today's endless social media and video-calling apps.

My friend lives away from Bangalore, where most of them are, but she never feels left out.

About ten friends would gather in each of six different houses, switch on their webcams and join the rest of the group online.

First came the parents' conversations.

Then it was the friends' turn! 😄

They would tease each other, crack jokes, laugh and share everything that had happened over the previous two weeks.

They made this a tradition once every fifteen days, usually on a Saturday, and sometimes spent four or five hours catching up.

Birthdays Were Special

Their birthday celebrations were even more fun.

Everyone would come online by around 10 p.m. And when the clock struck midnight, the birthday boy or girl would cut the cake while everyone else watched through the webcam.

Even though they were miles apart, they were still together for the celebration.

And if someone missed the video chat, the next day someone would call and ask,

"Why weren't you there? Are you okay?"

That little question says so much about true friendship.

They noticed when someone was missing.

They cared.

A Friendship That Stayed Strong

Listening to her story, I couldn't help admitting that I was a little jealous.

Not of her—but of her wonderful circle of friends.

Imagine growing up together, going to different colleges, moving to different cities and still making time for one another.

Different places.

Different lives.

But the same friendship.

It made me realise that distance doesn't always weaken friendship. When people genuinely care about each other, they find a way to stay connected.

Technology may change. Cities may change. Life may change.

But some friendships simply refuse to fade.

And that, I think, is what makes a childhood friendship truly special. ❤️