"Akash! Look outside."
The voice slipped into Akash's ears as he sat quietly in the moving bus. He turned his head and asked, "What happened?"
Beside him sat a boy with brown eyes, light-brown skin, black hair, the same height as Akash, and wearing clothes similar to his.
"Just look outside! Outside! How beautiful it is!"
Akash shifted his gaze to the window. Enormous mountains covered in snow stood like ancient guardians; birds glided across the sky; the cold breeze brushed against the glass; and lush greenery spread beneath and around the mountains.
"Akash, brother, isn't our world so beautiful and good?" the boy said with a wide smile.
Akash thought to himself, Beautiful and good? My friend is so innocent. This beauty exists only on the surface. The real truth inside… that is terrifying.
"Yes… you're right, Dhruv," he replied quietly.
Some time later, in school.
Satyamarg Vidyalaya (Path of Truth School)—that is the name of my school. But does this school show any truth at all?
I am in 12th grade now, and I chose the non-medical stream. I once believed this stream would give me answers—answers about creation, about the universe, about mysteries, about truth itself.
But no.
Nothing.
I've learned nothing.
I don't understand what I'm going to do with my life. What if my family becomes disappointed in me? What am I supposed to do?
The people around me feel strange. They are born, make small dreams, try to fulfill them, want to live with family, want to marry a good boy or girl, want to have children, then get their children married, then see their children's children… and one day they die.
It irritates me. How do they live such a tiny, meaningless cycle? It feels pointless. They cannot think beyond it.
"Akash, what do you keep thinking again and again?"
The voice shakes him out of his thoughts.
"What?" Akash says.
"Brother, what do you think about all the time? Leave all that—look at that guy, yaar (friend). He already has a girlfriend. When will I get one?" Dhruv says dramatically.
Akash responds, "Girlfriend? You mean love…?" He smiles. "Love is just—"
But before he can finish, the classroom door swings open.
A woman walks in—dressed in yellow Indian clothes, long black hair, deep brown eyes, fair skin, and a height of about 5'7".
There are forty-five students in Akash's class—twenty in non-medical, twenty-five in medical.
In the twenty: twelve boys, eight girls.
In the twenty-five: eight boys, seventeen girls.
Twenty-eight benches filled the room—seven in each row—and four rows in total: two for boys, two for girls. Most students sat in pairs—boys with boys, girls with girls.
Akash sat on the fourth bench of the window-side row, next to Dhruv.
All the students greeted the woman with "Namaste" (respectful greeting), and she greeted them in return.
As she looked around, her eyes paused on a boy and a girl hurrying awkwardly toward separate benches.
"There's nothing to be scared of. Go slowly," she said gently.
(The class burst into laughter.)
"Alright, everyone sit down. My name is Maya. Most of you already know it, since many of you have studied with me before."
She paused, thinking for a moment.
"So, let's do something different today. Why don't we talk about something else—love."
The entire class erupted into laughter again, most of them glancing at the same boy and girl.
"What's so funny? It's a very important part of life."
(Then softly) "And no, I'm not saying this because of you two."
The class laughed even louder.
"So… where should we begin?" She looked around.
"Akash, stand up."
"Who, me?" Akash said, startled.
Everyone turned toward him. Dhruv burst out laughing.
"So, Akash, tell us—what do you think about love?"
"Me…?" Akash said.
And the class fell silent, waiting.