How I Met My Soulmate 🌸🌸

How I Met My Soulmate

Harsh Chaudhari

© Harsh Chaudhari

Copyright © 2025 by Harsh Chaudhari.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without prior written permission from the author, except for brief quotations used in reviews or critical articles.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to real events is purely coincidental.

The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book; however, the content is presented without warranty. The author and publisher assume no liability for any loss or damages of any kind arising from the use of this book.

Chapter 1

“When two paths are meant to cross, even the smallest moment becomes the beginning of everything.”

Everything started last November. I was traveling to my hometown by bus. My hometown, Bardoli, is a small town near Surat (the “Diamond City”). love morning journeys for a reason , everything is calm, and not many people travel that early.

It was roughly 5 AM when I boarded the bus in Ahmedabad. The bus was completely empty; I could only hear the sound of the heater humming inside.

I remember only a few people were on board. With me was a couple, and they were, you know, cuddling which made me a little jealous. I wasn’t judging, but I felt a pang and wished I had a wife or partner with whom I could spend some romantic time.

our bus soon reached Ahmedabad’s major bus station, known as Gita Maddie bus stop. It’s biggest bus station in Ahmedabad , where the majority of buses depart.

Slowly bus started filling with passengers. I was sitting beside the window. i could see the bus driver and conductor drinking tea and talking with their colleagues.

They must be discussing how some idiot driver’s cut them. very common in India.

I was waiting for my co-passenger, knowing I was going to spend the next 7 to 8 hours with them. So, I was praying to God, “Please, no grumpy uncle.”

Do you know? I truly believe that a few things in our life are already scripted. I have experienced it many times. You plan lots of things, but nothing goes according to plan. In the end, things just turn into something far better.

A similar thing happened with me also. When our universe wants us to connect with someone, it will connect us no matter what. It just finds its own way.

A girl came and sat next to me. Girls, I want to tell you one thing: you guys have some kind of fragrance in you. You guys are like flowers. Trust me.

She asked me, “Excuse me, can you please help me put my bag on the upper rack?”

I didn’t say anything. I was feeling shy. I just nodded my head and helped her out.

“Thank you so much,” she said with a beautiful smile.

“Welcome.”

Let me tell you how she looks. Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful white rose; she is just like that. She was breathtaking, with fair skin and beautiful, expressive eyes filled with warmth.

I just wanted to keep looking into her eyes.

Then, I heard the loud sound of a big door closing — it was our bus driver. This is how my story began.

I was listing my favorite country songs. Inside, I just felt good (or relaxed/happy). I think you must have watched the movie Cars. The song from that movie, “Life is a Highway,” right? Ahhh… that song perfectly matches this journey of mine. Sing with me: “Life is like a road that you travel on…” Yeah, back to our story.

For a while, there was silence between the two of us; no one spoke. Our bus was heading in the direction of the sunrise, and so the golden rays of the sun were coming inside the bus.

Umm, roughly after twenty minutes, our bus entered the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway. It’s a 99-kilometer long express highway where the bus cannot stop anywhere. The bus only made one last stop so that the passengers could freshen up.

The girl took out her laptop and started typing something. I noticed that she is also a writer. Nature seemed to be giving me hints: “Muffin, seal the deal now.”

Gathering courage (or Mending my hesitation), I asked:

Me: “Hey, sorry to disturb you, may I ask you something?”

She: “Umm, yes, sure.”

Me: “Are you a writer?” (I said this because she was writing something.)

She: “Umm, no, I’m not. I just like to write whenever I’m free, that’s it.”

Me: “Ohh, okay. What do you like to write? I am a writer myself.”

She: “Really? Umm… I like to write poetry and daily observations, nothing big.”

Me: “Ohh… okay. If you don’t mind, would you like to share some of your work?”

(Brother, I couldn’t figure out how to continue the conversation. I was confused.)

She: “Umm… sure. Here you go.”

She handed me her laptop. There were many poems written in it. (Keep it a secret, I don’t understand poetry much, but I tried my best.)

The poem was something like this:

I long to hold the wind so

I may know the weight of thoughts,

For both can bend the trees yet,

Shy away from being caught.

But nets woven from wishes

Only scatter their direction,

While some blink out forever

To avoid closer inspection.

Perhaps if I am lucky

I can pin some in my ink,

But they are just tiny ripples,

In the ocean that I think.

For even though they are endless,

They are not easy to share,

Most are only born to dance

With breezes through my hair.

But maybe that’s their secret,

Why they are so hard to record,

Is like the wind, their magic

Lies in being unexplored.

The poem was very simple and easy to understand. I really enjoyed reading it.

Me: “I love your poem. The way you connected your thoughts with the metaphor of the wind is absolutely flawless.”

She: “Thank you for the compliment. This was my first poem.”

Me: “It seems like you were born to be a poet!”

I know that was a bit of a dumb compliment, but it worked.

She: “So, what do you enjoy writing about?”

Me: “Honestly, I enjoy writing about daily observations, philosophy, and the many questions that come to my mind.”

She: “Oh, can I read your work?”

Me: “Yes, sure.”

She started reading my work. A faint smile appeared on her face. I had written an article, or rather, just the introduction.

She: “Are you from Bardoli?”

Me: “Yes, and you?”

She: “Me too. Well, similar to you. I was born in Bardoli and then shifted to Ahmedabad.”

Me: “Oh, I see. By the way, I completely forgot to introduce myself! I am Harsh.”

She: “Oh, of course! My name is Priya. Nice to meet you. Are you heading to Bardoli now, or somewhere else?”

Me: “Yes, I’m going to Bardoli now. I also have a wedding to attend a few days later.”

She: “Me too. The wedding season has just started.”

Me: “That’s absolutely right. And here’s an interesting thing: the groom in the wedding I’m attending is from Hyderabad.”

She: “Wait… are you going to Nikita’s wedding?”

Me: “How do you know? Yes, exactly. She’s the daughter of one of my grandfather’s very close friends.”

She: “What a coincidence! Nikita is my cousin. What is your grandfather’s name?”

Me: “My grandfather’s name… people call him P.D. Chaudhari.”

She: “He is your grandfather?”

Me: “Of course.”

She: “It seems like our families are closely acquainted.”

Me: “Hmm?”

She: “Vijay Uncle speaks very highly of your grandfather.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Vijay Uncle… I know, Nikita’s father. Wow, what a movie-style meeting this turned out to be!”

She: “Do you think we were meant to meet? Like, the universe decided that these two people have to cross paths?”

Me: “I mean, I’m not sure, but it’s possible.”

She: “Are you a believer in destiny (or fate)?”

Me: “Yes, I mean, a little bit, because I have experienced it once.”

She: “Oh, really? May I ask how?”

Me: “Sure. What happened was, when I was in 12th grade, I needed to find a tuition class.”

She: “Okay, then what?”

Me: “So, someone told me that there was a teacher near the bus station. I went to look for them.”

She: “Alright…”

Me: “Yes. I reached one house and asked, but the people there said, ‘No teacher like that lives here.’”

She: “So, someone gave you misinformation?”

Me: “Then, surprisingly, they said, ‘But I have a friend who is a teacher.’ And that’s how I found my teacher. And the Sir himself said that our meeting must have been written in the stars.”

She: “What a story! Did that really happen?”

Me: “Yes, truly! Pinky promise!”

She: “Oh, okay. Do you know, I think I’ve experienced something similar.”

Me: “How?”

She: “Well, I was supposed to go to Bardoli with my sister two days ago.”

Me: “Hmm, okay.”

She: “Then, I suddenly got a message from the university saying that we needed to submit a project, and the deadline had been shortened.”

Me: “Oh God. And then?”

She: “Yes, so I submitted it yesterday, and then I booked a ticket on the first bus this morning.”

Me: “Oh! The universe wanted us to meet!”

She: “I guess so, haha. Your grandpa is a very religious person, am I right?”

Me: “Yes, you are right. He has a lot of knowledge in spirituality.”

She: “Are you not interested in it?”

Me: “Hmm… my point of view is a little different.”

She: “How so?”

Me: “I mean, I believe in God, but I believe that it’s an energy — the universe, which just keeps everything balanced.”

She: “Hmm, I understand. So, you don’t follow many rituals?”

Me: “I do, but mostly I only follow what I feel is right.”

She: “Oh. I also believe that there is an energy. I feel the same way — some rituals don’t make sense to me.”

Me: “I know. Like, I don’t like it when people pray and expect God to be a genie who will fulfill all their wishes.”

She: “This happens a lot in my house too. They pray, but they are only thinking of their own self-interest.”

Me: “Exactly.”

We were chatting like this when my gaze went outside the window. I suddenly realized that the bus hadn’t been moving forward at all. We were stuck in the same spot.

Me: “Priya, it looks like the traffic is really heavy. Look ahead.”

She: “Hmm, yes. We’ve been here for quite a while now, haven’t we?”

Me: “Yes! It’s been over 20 minutes.”

She: “Hmm…”

Me: “The opposite side of the road is moving. Wait, let me check the map.”

She: “Yes, check it.”

I checked the map, and there was no new information. We were very close to Vadodara city.

Me: “Oh, it looks like there’s an accident up ahead. I’ll go talk to the driver quickly.”

Saying this, I went to the driver. I got the information from the driver that there had been an accident ahead, involving a tanker carrying flammable fuel, and no vehicles were allowed to cross. Feeling dejected, I walked back.

Me: “Whoa… whoa… Ms. Priya! That’s my seat.”

She: “I know, but now it’s mine.”

Me: “Oh.”

She: “Yes. Please sit here.”

Me: “Okay, haha. It’s your seat.”

She: “Thank you so much. What did the driver uncle say?”

Me: “He said that there was an accident up ahead involving a tanker.”

She: “Oh God.”

Me: “Yeah. So, until they can safely remove it, we’re stuck right here.”

She: “Oh, okay. How much time will it take?”

Me: “I don’t know. I’ll get off and go check.”

She: “No, no, absolutely not!”

Me: “Hey, nothing will happen.”

She: “No need! Just sit quietly.”

Me: “Okay. Want a sandwich? I made them.”

She: “Hmm. I think you should save it for later, because we won’t reach Bardoli until the evening.”

Me: “Yeah, that’s true. We’ll eat later.”

She: “Okay.”

Me: “That tanker just had to have an accident right now.”

She: “Hey, why are you so frustrated?”

Me: “Hey, I’m not frustrated, but…”

She: “But what? Hmm, you were just talking so positively.”

Me: “Was that a taunt?”

She: “It’s not a taunt. I’m just telling you that… what’s done is done.”

Me: “You’re right.”

She: “Exactly. Why are you getting sad because you’re frustrated?”

Me: “I think I should tell my parents, otherwise they’ll get worried.”

She: “You’re right.”

We both called our parents, and even talked to each other’s parents. They were happy that we were on the same bus; it eased their tension. After all, if not now, we were going to meet at the wedding anyway.

The problem is: the bus will be stuck here for two hours. Then it will go into Vadodara city, where it will take another hour.

And after that, there is usually heavy traffic from the next city all the way to Surat. So, I was getting worried. (Don’t tell Priya.)

She: “Harsh, what’s your favorite song?”

Me: “Hmm, Priya, I have many favorite songs.”

She: “Okay. Can you suggest a song to me right now? Like, is there a song coming to mind right now?”

Me: “Yes, right now… Do you know the song ‘Afreen Afreen’?”

She: “Yes.”

Me: “I really love these lines from that song.”

She: “Which ones?”

Me: “I would love to dedicate this to you.”

She: “Oh…”

Me (singing/reciting): “Chaar’ha ek phool ki tarah saada tab hai… Chaar’ha us ka ka hai, yih koi matlab hai… Chaar’ha kaise ghazal…”

(This part is a rough transcription of lines from the song, often interpreted as praising beauty/simplicity.)

She: “Oh, umm… Thank you so much. You sing quite well.”

Me: “Thank you. I felt a little awkward, so that’s why I stopped.”

She: “No… no… it’s alright.”

Me: “Thank you so much, haha.”

(My Inner Thoughts)

I want to share a few things with you. I don’t know why, but while talking to Priya, it felt like I had known her for years.

The conversation was flowing so smoothly — I didn’t have to force anything at all. A warm feeling was building inside me.

Her voice was like the sweet song of a bird, and her eyes were like the ocean, full of care. Yes, my heart was falling for her (or: making plans for her). Every single moment with her… I wished this traffic jam would never end.

I mean, outwardly, I was showing that I was frustrated with the traffic, but inside, I was overjoyed. If I have to be completely honest with you, I’ll tell you this: when school vacation ended and we used to come back from our grandparents’ house, we always secretly wished that the road journey would never end.

I was having a similar feeling now. I just wished her conversation wouldn’t end. Maybe God wanted the same thing.

Me: What do you do for a living?

She: I’m doing my Master’s in Psychology.

Me: Me too, but I’m in my final semester.

She: Oh, that’s cool! You’ll have to help me with my studies then.

Me: Of course. How are you planning on traveling to the wedding?

She: Probably by train… but my sister, Ankita, and I want to go by road, I mean by car. What about you?

Me: I want to go by car too, but Mom says we can’t drive that far.

She: That’s the same thing my mom said! She has a point.

Me: Do you know how to drive?

She: No, I don’t.

Me: Then how will we manage?

She: But the feeling of a long road journey is just amazing!

Me: I know! If I mention your names, maybe they’ll let us go.

She: We can try. My dad wants to go by car too.

Me: That’s perfect then! If there’s an elder with us, we’ll get permission.

She: Hmm… let’s see. Can you drive for eight hours or more?

Me: Of course! Easily.

She: We could take our car.

Me: Which car do you have?

She: Guess!

Me: Hmm. Is it a luxury car?

She: Haha, no, no! We are not that rich. We have an XUV700. I hope you know it.

Me: Oh, perfect for a long journey! Cool.

She: Really? It’s a diesel car.

Me: That’s perfect! I love diesel cars.

She: Don’t tell me you are a car guy.

Me: Yes, of course, I am! We have the Tata Altroz diesel version.

She: Oh God, I think my dad is going to enjoy spending time with you then.

Me: Why? Does he love cars?

She: Of course! And the complete opposite is true for me, my mom, and my sister — we don’t understand anything about them.

Me: Yay! I would love to meet your father then.

She: I figured as much. The amount of passion you car guys have just for a car!

Me: Cars are such a lovely comfort, though.

She: Oh, really? They cost so much to maintain!

Me: Well, girlfriends cost a lot to maintain too!

She: Oh, really? You have a girlfriend?

Me: No. I haven’t even dated anyone yet.

She: How will you date anyone? You’ll date only when you take your heart out of cars first!

Me: Hey, hey!

She: What “hey”? Hmm…

Me: Okay, can we talk about something else?

She: Of course. You’ve never dated anyone? Seriously?

Me: Nope. Never.

She: May I ask why?

Me: Because I want to stay loyal to my future wife.

She: Really?

Me: Honestly, I never got the chance. The situation just never favored me. What about you?

She: What do you think?

Me: You might have had two or three boyfriends. I mean, you are beautiful.

She: Was that a compliment or a jab? But I’ve only dated once. It lasted two months.

Me: How was the experience?

She: Hmm… I was in the 12th grade. What are you even expecting?

Me: Okay, haha.

She: Tell me the truth — you don’t have a girlfriend? You seem like a sensitive person.

Me: I am sensitive! No, I really haven’t. Please don’t rub salt in the wound.

She: Why? What did I say?

Me: I only had one friend, and he just got married. Now I’m completely alone.

She: Oh, okay. Don’t worry, I’m here for you.

Me: Thank you.

She: Look how the time flew by! We didn’t even notice. The bus is now approaching Vadodara.

Me: I didn’t notice either. Yay! I was thinking of taking a small nap, so please wake me up when the bus leaves the city.

She: Okay, sure. Do you want to take the window seat?

Me: Oh, no, you enjoy it!

She: Thank you. You are sweet.

Let’s talk about something… Yes, we were comfortable with each other, which, of course, was a good thing.

You might think this is a story without any twists, but just wait. Isn’t a twist inevitable in every story? Hmm. Yes, life is full of ups and downs.

So far, there hadn’t been any trouble, which made me happy. When we connect with a new person, it feels like an achievement. It felt like, “I did something.” However, I must admit that we had to face many problems later on.

You might be wondering when the two of us started dating. The answer is that there was no dating scenario in the beginning because she wasn’t ready.

She didn’t want to date because of her past relationship. Keep reading, and you will find out more.

I took a fantastic nap — I think it was a bit too good! I had slept soundly for roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes. Our bus stopped for a refreshment break at what looked like a restaurant.

She: Harsh… Harsh… Wake up.

Me: What happened? (I said, yawning.)

She: Come on, we’ve reached the refreshment stop. Get up.

Me: Yeah, okay.

After waking me up, she went to get fresh. I was still completely groggy. You know that meme where a guy sleeps for eight hours but still feels sleepy? That was exactly my condition.

Priya came back in about 10 minutes.

She: Harsh, come on, let’s go downstairs. Get a little fresh air.

Me: Yeah, sure. Are you going to eat anything?

She: No, later. You still have those sandwiches, right?

We took our bags and went down to just walk around the bus. I think we had been sitting and talking for more than four hours straight. There were fields all around, and I could see a village in the distance. It’s quite rare to see a village these days.

Then, something happened that bothered me a little — it felt strange. Right where we were walking, there was a toll plaza.

I mean, we had just crossed it when the bus suddenly stopped. Two police cars zoomed past with their sirens blaring. A VIP was passing through.

The thing that upset me was that ordinary people had to wait for this VIP. Plus, they didn’t even pay the toll! What kind of system is this?

I have observed a trend where certain individuals move around as if they are VIPs.

I respect the hard work and positions these people have earned. However, what I don’t understand is why other ordinary people are inconvenienced because of them. Should the government support people who misuse their power?

They seem to develop an ego, which is often portrayed on social media as a positive or aspirational attitude.

In my opinion, the government should prioritize supporting individuals who genuinely want to do good for the country and who are talented.

Unfortunately, the government appears to be preoccupied with election marketing and the ethanol mixing program. Meanwhile, truly good and deserving people are respected and welcomed by citizens in other countries.