Shruti Kaushal

For me, it has always been the smallest things, the ones the world dismisses as trivial, yet somehow, they hold everything.

It is in finding reasons to see me, in creating excuses just to hear my voice, in seeking glimpses of me as though they are enough to soften an entire day.

It is walking beside me, hand in hand, our steps falling into rhythm without thought, like something meant, not forced.

It is in his foolishness, the kind he wears lightly, only to draw a smile from me.

In the gentle way he tucks my hair back when my words tumble out in restless chaos, never silencing me, never dimming my excitement, never asking me to be less.

It is in the way he notices, the little things I hold dear, the quiet pieces of my world that matter to no one else, yet to him, they are sacred because they are mine.

It is in the way my tears become his ache, in how he gathers me into his arms and holds on until I am ready to let go.

In the patience with which he steadies my overthinking, reassuring me, again and again, without weariness.

It is in how he turns to me, not just in joy, but in the smallest inconveniences, as though I am both his refuge and his return.

In how, in loving me, I become his home.

And maybe, just maybe, it is in the quiet ways he chooses me, over and over, even if it means changing, growing, becoming softer because a life without me feels unimaginable to him.

A love that is not loud, yet deeply consuming. Not demanding, yet effortlessly constant.

So yes, for me, it has always been the little things.

They talk about everything, about how maybe I’m the one. But that’s when I hold myself back. To some, I might be a nerd; to others, I might sound dumb. Some think I’m mature, while others believe I can never be enough for them. They carry all these perceptions, some true, some imagined, but the truth remains unknown.

And when they begin to see it, they shut me down. The conversations they once loved suddenly turn into reasons to define everything about me. They discover that I’m an overthinker, and so they leave me alone with my thoughts at midnight. When all I wanted was reassurance, someone telling me that they’ll be here always and sometimes maybe a hug; I was called ignorant and immature. They told me I disturbed their peace, and I’m free to believe and think about anything I wanted.

Suddenly, nothing is the way I imagined it would be. Everything feels fragile, and nothing feels right. I regret opening up to them, because they called me selfish for speaking about myself. I regret falling in love with the words they spoke, because in the end, they left me alone because they believed I was too much for them.

But I know somewhere, there will be someone who won’t leave when they see that I’m hurting. Someone who will talk again and again until I feel at ease, without saying they’re exhausted. Someone who knows how to stay when my mind feels like a battlefield, and won’t walk away claiming I need space or that I’m making things harder for them. Someone who won’t think I’m being mean by talking my heart out, but someone who holds me close even when escaping feels like the only way out. Someone who makes me feel worthy of love, and never guilty for loving them in a way they’ve never been loved before.

This nothingness creates a void in my heart. It keeps on proliferating, making me loose my kindness and trust on humanity. For how long do I have to witness such encounters? My mind, body and soul has reached a point where it can’t take such setbacks anymore. Do I have to live with this fact that things I seek don’t exist anymore, they just don’t.

But every ending marks the beginning of something new. And beginnings, they come with two faces, they can either turn out better, or worse.

I guess everything in life is a double-edged sword. No matter how hard you try, there will always be days when things don’t unfold the way we hoped.

Does that hurt? The idea of death sometimes feels quieter, more plausible, than being repeatedly exposed to such pain.

There’s a very fine line between reality and a dream, yes, you read that right, a line so thin, it’s often invisible. And that line is crossed by just one trait: the willingness to act.

Some people dream relentlessly, wish endlessly, pray desperately, and hope constantly, yet they lack the will to pursue what they want.

But here’s my question: do they really not want to overcome that inertia? Or is something, or someone, holding them back?

I’d say they are people burdened by responsibilities, haunted by fears, and shaped by traumas. People who’ve never truly lived for themselves. And when life finally starts aligning with what they once longed for, they retreat. They walk away.

Because walking away is their only known escape.

They fear happiness. A person who has spent their entire life surrendering pieces of themselves to others is rarely ever taught that they, too, deserve to live for themselves.

Living with that mindset is suffocating ,it breeds guilt so heavy that it ends up hurting not only them, but also the people they love.

I occasionally dwell on the thought of being vulnerable around others, and how I keep trying to overcome it. But maybe… maybe vulnerability isn’t something we’re supposed to overcome.

We tend to overcomplicate our presence around people who affect us. And yet, there have been so many moments where letting go felt surprisingly painless.

It’s like asking a woman who’s quietly falling for a man to act unbothered in his presence,she suddenly becomes the most awkward version of herself, someone unfamiliar, almost foreign.

The more we try to remain unaffected, the more it consumes us.

And it always brings us back to the same aching question

But you,you’ve trapped me in this maze where all I see is us enduring pain. I might have liked you for the person you’ve always been, but I remember the exact moment I realized it was more than I ever thought, ever wanted, or would ever have. It’s my heart. My chest hurts, and my heart cries in guilt, pounding with such fear that it feels like it might break my ribs apart and rip out of my body, unless I dig my hand deep into my chest to make it stop.

Why does it feel this way? It’s not like I haven’t been loved before, or haven’t seen pain. But why does every inch of my body burn when I even imagine you hurting because of me? I try running away from you, try concealing my thoughts, try convincing myself that I don’t deserve you. But all of it goes in vain, only for you to end up loving me more.

Your love for my mere existence, your affection for my flaws, your devotion to our future, and your resilience through every obstacle make me fear your emotions.

You see something blooming between us, but I see something slowly withering away. The consequence I foresee is something you refuse to see. And the future you envision is something I resist. It’s like the confluence of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, two great forces pouring all their energy into becoming one, yet their differences keep them apart.

I fear watching you lose yourself when all you ever wanted was to love me. And I fear being loved so deeply that it ends only in pain and grief, for both of us.

I am a body, hopeless, lifeless, heartless, and helpless. I breathe each day, and with every breath, I await death. I’ve lost all my strength, courage, dreams, and aspirations. How could I ever look you in the eyes again if you had to live the way I do? It’s not easy to pretend in a room full of people you love that nothing affects you—that you’re happy, still full of hope and love.

For me, falling in love is a gradual process. It just happens. You don’t even realize when the other person becomes the center of all your emotions, all your desires, the reason behind your existence. It gives you strength, but it also makes you fragile.

It doesn’t ask where they come from, what they look like, what they hold, or what the consequences might be. It just happens. And it’s a feeling I’d never want to escape.

But does loving you mean choosing you?

Loving you isn’t something I could control. But choosing you is.

Loving you doesn’t follow any logic. It will always sound senseless, no matter how clearly I understand the truth. Love takes you beyond logic—from being smart to acting like a fool. And that’s the best feeling in the world.

But choosing-that’s a decision. A decision that takes courage. A decision that has to feel right.

If I had to decide only for myself, I wouldn’t have spoken about any of this. I would have ended it, as if it never happened.

But my decisions now include you. Everything I think or do would affect you. And I cannot allow anyone to hurt you.

If I ever become the reason for your pain, I wouldn’t survive a day after.

You gave me a reason to be happy again, after being deprived of it since I was a child.

I don’t want to lose that happiness. But I don’t want to be hopeful again.

Some days it’s hard to still believe, That your love for me chose to leave. It was unlike any I’d ever known, Without touch, without sight, just a voice of our own.

Chuckles, giggles through late night calls, A love that rose without ever meeting at all. It ended not how either planned, Yet I still hold dear how it began.

I write of you so often still, My phone suggests your name at will. Infinity was our secret sign, Two twisted Ss, yours and mine.

I avoid it now when it comes in view, Because it only brings me back to you. No matter how far I try to stray, You return in words I write each day.

Call me crazy, if you must, But loving you felt raw and just. Even now your memory stings, Yet shows how deep my love still clings.

Before I could show you all I hid, We parted, and so I never did. So I keep it locked inside my chest, Loving, crying, hurting, my unrest.

It’s hard to believe your love is gone, When I believed you'd fix it all along. But space reshaped what we became, Two souls now strangers with the same name.

It made me fragile, searching wide, For pieces of you in others I tried. But you grew cold, distant, reserved, With rules and walls I never deserved.

It’s as if we switched our hearts and ways, Yours now locked, mine lost in haze. They say, “What makes you can destroy,” And so did distance, that once brought joy.

It gave us laughter, endless night talks, But ended in silence and tear-stained walks. I know how to forgive and mend, To move along, to make the end.

I'll forgive you, and forgive myself, For not loving loud, for putting us on a shelf. But forget? How can I forget you so? The one who ran to me when winds would blow.

You cried the first time you held me tight, Said my touch pulled your soul to flight. You’d starve when I was mad and cold, Drive back and forth, in sun and cold.

You made sure I was never alone, Fed me love I had never known. I hated my birthday as much as I do today, But you still stayed up, just to let me see a happy ray.

That someone could care that much, so loud, Cheering for me in every crowd. You taught me how to reach my school, Travelled with me, breaking every rule.

I’m sorry, but I won’t forget The you who loved me, no regret. We had our flaws, I must confess, You sought a partner, I a friend, no less.

You aren’t him anymore, I know, But I’ll keep you in that loving glow. Maybe you knew we were never meant, And maybe now your heart’s content.

You said, “We’re impossible, you and I,” I knew it too, but chose to try. Your promises built my hope anew, So I flew, even when I knew.

Now I’m lost in what we were, This maze of love that won’t deter. It hurts, but I still feel blessed, For every smile, each warm caress.

I wish it lasted longer still, But I bow to fate and time’s hard will. Let me dwell in days once kind, Where love and light were easy to find.

This is the last I write for you, A note to free both me and you. Let my heart be heavy one final time, And release this ache that once was mine.

The hope I held has turned to dust, Destroyed by distance, doubt, and rust. But you, my love, were proof enough, That love exists, however rough.

May you find what brings you peace, And may our memories gently cease. I wish for you the life you seek, The love, the joy, the voice you speak.

Song: Tum Bin (Shreya Ghoshal) playing on loop.

I don’t know where to find you anymore. Once, you were so close that I could hear your heartbeat, feel the warmth of your presence, even in your absence. But now, you've left for a place where our paths will never cross again, and I don’t know how to live with that.

Living without you isn’t just painful; it feels unnatural, like forcing myself to exist while every part of me aches for you. Every breath feels heavy because we no longer share the same air. My body sinks beneath the crushing weight of missing you.

Each morning, I wake up with an unbearable emptiness, searching for something I already know I will never find. I held onto you so tightly, yet you slipped through my fingers like sand. You were here, right here; where did I lose you?

Something inside me is broken and shattered, and it’s not just my heart. My hands feel colder without yours to hold, my body trembles without your embrace, and my eyes reflect nothing but emptiness without you to look at.

I won’t ask you to stay forever. I won’t beg you to love me again. But can I look at you just once more, until my heart is full? Can you hold me one last time so I can have a final piece of you before you disappear completely? I wish I could see you again, run my fingers through your hair, and watch you fall asleep with your head resting on my chest.

You could have told me you were hurting. You could have let me in instead of shutting me out. You could have fought for me instead of walking away. I never realized the depth of the love you brought into my life until it was gone, and I had no idea how to nurture it with patience and compassion. I gave you every chance, every right to prove your love. You could have given me a chance to love you again, too. I thought love deserved a second chance; but maybe love was never enough.

I wanted to show you what it meant to be loved by a woman who truly cared. To hold you in a way that made you feel safe. To bear the weight of my own pain so that you would never have to suffer.

It’s past midnight, and your absence is louder than ever. It haunts me, suffocates me, takes away a piece of me every single day. I lived for years with the hope that you would return, but you took away that last hope, and now I’m merely existing without you.

The nights stretch into eternity, yet the mornings vanish in the blink of an eye. I never spoke my heart out, but when I finally did; you left. The person who once couldn't bear to see me cry is now the reason my pillow is never dry.

How could those deep brown eyes; the same shade as the Lindt chocolates you loved, ever lie? I once saw myself as your entire world reflected in them. They held everything you never said aloud, everything I thought was mine to keep. And now, I can’t even remember the last time you looked at me with love.

Your arms were once my safest place, yet those same arms pushed me away. You walked away from every promise you made. Your words, once warm and certain, became nothing but hollow excuses.

You told me you couldn’t suffer because of me; but all this time, I thought I was easing your pain. You said you couldn’t take any more hurt, but I believed I had been healing you. You claimed the world wouldn’t approve, but I thought you would fight the world for us. You told me I wasn’t what you needed, but all I ever did was pray for you to stay.

I gave away my everything, healing from one wound only to reopen another. And still, it wasn’t enough. I failed again.

And this time, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fix it.

How do I move on from this pain when I had found so much reassurance in him every day? When his eyes spoke louder than his words ever could? When his warm hands, wrapped around mine, felt steady and unshakable?

What should I believe, his words or the way he once looked at me?

Either way, we lost each other. We gave up on each other and couldn’t reciprocate the love we both expected.

He said he would roam aimlessly without me, but he found his future, while I remained trapped in an unwanted reality.

Once again, compromises, sacrifices, and differences won. Once again, love, despite all its promises; wasn’t enough.

And as I stand here, broken and unsure, I wonder, how many times will I lose myself in someone else before I finally realize that no matter how much I give, it was never meant to be?

Addiction, a state of compulsive engagement of a substance, despite harmful consequences. While addiction to drugs can be fatal, addiction to humans can be even more so. The withdrawal symptoms, though similar: racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, anxiety, agitation, insomnia, restlessness, sweating and chills all over your body. But, the duration differs. Drug withdrawal may last weeks to months. However, withdrawal from human attachment can span months, years, or in some cases, a lifetime.

You write, talk, listen and think about them in an attempt to release all the pent-up emotions, but nothing seems to alleviate the pain. The more you try to escape, the more you find yourself trapped in thoughts of them. And this is when your body responds- an intense, stabbing pain your chest, as if a sharp blade has pierced your heart, you feel the sweat trickling from the back of your head, down your neck, and all along your spine. Your stomach folds and unfolds mercilessly. It becomes difficult to breathe, and your heart races in an attempt to compensate for that suffocation. And this is the moment when you stretch your hand out, yearning to return to that person.

Mirtazapine, Citalopram and Ativan are a group of antidepressants that work by increasing the amount of mood-enhancing chemicals called noradrenaline and serotonin in your brain. These chemicals seem insignificant, but they would help you survive this phase. So what exactly did you do? To overcome one addiction, you fell into another. The former case abused you, but the latter you would.

You force yourself to do daily tasks like eating, bathing, talking and even sleeping- yet, it all feels like mere existence. You won't recognize the person you've become: either speaking for hours on trivial matters or just remaining silent in a crowd. You would either crave every food imaginable, or sometimes starve yourself. Either sleeping for hours, avoiding the world, or would stay up all night just to wait for another chance at your destruction.

Allow yourself the freedom the cry, so give yourself a good one stat, and random loud laughs prn. In the end, its your emotions fighting against the addiction. You are so enriched with it, that no amount of emotional abuse or loot can ever be enough to prevent you from feeling. A person who always gives love, can never be deprived of it. This phase, though temporary, will leave an indelible lesson. You may be scared to get attached to another human again, but in time, you will heal. The key lies in recognizing that your worth is not defined by the addiction you overcame or the one you fell into- it's found in the strength you gained from the journey.

There have been moments in my life when I was forced to believe that kindness no longer existed. The world is full of betrayals and selfishness. Despite those experiences, I treated all my patients with the same amount of love and care. But you were different; you were special to me.

I lost my grandfather at an early age, and your uncanny resemblance to him created a soft spot in my heart. I’ll admit, I was a little biased toward you compared to my other patients. At 99, you taught me what it truly means to care for others.

I still remember our first meeting; it wasn’t the most pleasant one. You had been admitted to the orthopedic ward and made your presence known by shouting in Mandarin, a language no one around could understand. You were so loud and disruptive that it frustrated the entire floor, including me. I thought you lacked empathy for the other sick people around you and felt irritated by how you interrupted the staff as they cared for others.

But everything changed the next time I met you. I discovered that you spoke Hindi, a language I know well. I couldn’t have been happier—because I love talking to elderly patients! Slowly, in bits and pieces, we began to communicate, and I started seeing a different side of you.

Your love for food was remarkable; and your insistence on eating everything warm always made me smile. I’ll never forget how you used to call me over with gestures to check on the woman lying in the next bed. Even though you had no connection to her, you couldn’t bear to see her in pain. You showed such genuine concern for her well-being, always asking me to make sure she was okay, even when you were struggling with your own pain.

You reminded me of a true gentleman, someone who probably spent his youth taking care of others. I still think about the stories I shared with you; like how clumsy I was as a child, constantly injuring myself. You listened so intently and always asked if those old injuries still bothered me.

How can someone who is suffering so much, with no family or friends by their side, and nobody to talk to, still have such a kind and pure heart? If I were in your place, I might have given up on humanity. But because of you, I won’t.

You taught me to remain kind, even in the face of betrayal or disappointment. The hardest part of this journey was watching you weaken toward the end. It broke my heart to see you left alone, refusing food and water as life slipped away. I still remember how much you looked forward to your meals. I cherished those moments when I could take time to feed you, ensuring your food was warm, chatting with you to make you smile.

No one else seemed to notice those little things that mattered to you; but I did. And when you aspirated three times, I was told I could no longer feed you. It was devastating for me; the one task I always looked forward to was gone.

In such a short time, you made me feel the presence of my grandfather again. Thank you for playing games with me, for laughing at my silly stories, and for wiping away my tears when I couldn’t hold back my emotions. I’m trying my best not to cry as I write this.

You’ve given me a reason to be a better human. You showed me that kindness doesn’t need a language. I promise to care for every soul around me with my whole heart, just as you would.

In a world that normalizes selfishness and prioritizing oneself, you reminded me that living for others is what truly makes a life worth living.

Until we meet again, Li, it was an honor knowing a soul as pure as yours.

there aren't many people I come across who impress me. a few of them do amuse me.

amusement may spark an interest. but it takes so much more to brew love.

tonight I don't yearn to be loved. tonight I crave the feeling of falling in love. there wasn't much I knew when I was eighteen, but I knew one thing right- you cannot fall in love, the true kind of love, if in that equation you are not loved back.

love is energy. that energy is an exchange. it is not one sided.

and tonight that's the love I seek. the man I will fall in love with. whose existence will make my heart happy, my soul calm, and my mind elated.

yes, that's what I look up to. just falling in love.

its equal in its presence, in its intensity, in its gentleness. even though its one- sided, I wish for it to stay. watching him from distance, his eyes were blue as bilberries, nature was calm as virtue, aura hushed as midnight, and a face innocent as grace itself. how can even a soul like him exist?

I've felt the spark one too many times but it always flickered too soon- either extinguished if I was lucky or charred everything around me if I was not.

when did the spark get to evolve fully? never, not once.

but maybe now I know how to keep the spark evolved. by being the only one in love. no complains, no demands. the love I have isn't shared but just belongs to me. I can dream of anything, hope for anything and all of it belongs to me.

it might seem as if I'm running away, and avoiding his presence, but I really am. its the fluttering of heart, the goosebumps and a weird sensation deep inside my heart from which I'm trying to escape.

he may be the reason why I've started to smile again, and why not? his smile so contagious that I wish everyone had immunity, except me. but he is even the reason why my heart aches. and that's equally hurting.

so maybe I would gradually learn to live with it until I see him happy with someone else. or until I completely get over him, knowing that he deserves more. but there's one thing which I would still keep on humming inside my heart and I know I'm nobody to say this.

it wasn't late enough when I was certain about the fact that we see our own reflection in everyone. We think of them the way we are, good and evil, the happiness and the feeling of abandonment, we believe everyone around feel and see through the lens we see the world.

might sound trivial and gibberish, but this is again me hoping that anyone who reads it would feel exactly what I am feeling right now.

so what exactly I have this time to throttle deep inside my throat in the name of happiness? hope.

no matter how hard life pulls me down, hope begs to be noticed. the light inside me still flickers, I swear. and I hate it, trust me; but this is the only thing that keeps me living. watching shows and reading fiction to escape reality, not going out and writing such blogs during midnight is what keeps me distracted.

is there anyone who feel like escaping but actually wants to be heard? is there anyone else aching deep down the ocean bed and is enduring silently? even thinking about it bring tears to my eyes, how hard a life can be?

there are wounds, there are scars, there are bruises and there is unbearable pain. healing isn't possible but concealing them with a face lit up by a bright smile is a way out.

laughing till your stomach hurts? I don't know what it feels like, but crying till you feel a sharp needle like pain in your chest is an emotion which lives rent free inside me.

what do I actually seek is the question. and the answer is still unknown. maybe because nobody ever asked me what I want. and maybe nobody ever would. this is my life where I am obliged to be responsible, cautious, fragile, risk-averse, and philophobic.

She had been hurt before, left in agony.

She met him, his aura captivating,

But the thought of love left her hesitating.

It had been two years since the last heartbreak,

Her shattered heart was still at stake.

She couldn’t bear to feel that pain once more,

Her love was a door she couldn’t explore.

She tried to push her feelings aside,

To convince herself she was just being naive and shy.

But the more time she spent with him,

The more she knew her heart was in a whim.

She didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t reciprocate,

His love for her, she couldn’t duplicate.

So with a heavy heart, she let him go,

Hoping he would find someone to Love and Grow.

As he walked away, her hope shattered in two,

Wondering if Love was something she could pursue.

But for now, she would hold back her heart,

Keeping the wrecked and painful memories aside, I see some parts of the love we shared was nothing, but beautiful. Am I suppose to unlove the person I fell in love with in order to be able to fully love someone else?

The answer, like all answers, lies in the wait, in the spaces between years that speak only of the things that can not be touched anymore. I wrap myself around these memories of you and realise that I no longer feed off them. Instead I cherish what they embody. A few winters ago, you and I loved. And lifetimes aren't enough to forget what that tasted like.

I think this is how we love again. By accepting how things are, and knowing that their are homes we built inside each other that will remain unabandonded. I have to accept that despite the love I have for someone is powerful, I can not ensure their stay in my life forever. Some of them will fade into memories, and a few will become a part of it.

Sitting alone quiet and distressed,

with eyes all swollen and red.

I asked my teenage daughter,

To address the reason behind the tears she shed.

“How would you help me out?

When you’ve never fallen in love.

You married dad as a compromise,

Considering the wish of your father all above”.

Listening to the words she just spoke,

I was filled with agony and resentment.

So far I was unaware of the thoughts my daughter had for me,

But now I believe that all I ever gave her was a disappointment.

I leaned forward, held her hands tight.

Ruffled her hair affectionately with my fingers,

And told her she needs to get her facts right.

I’ve drowned in the ocean of love before,

still swimming in those memories in solitude.

How easy it is for people to give up,

When you tend to keep tonnes of broken dreams in your heart glued.

Our love was so naïve, unsophisticated and immature,

Filled with arguments resulting in pain, tears and so much more.

Besides all the pain we gave each other,

I always believed our love was so charming, buoyant and pure.

He used to capture the best moments of his life on his camera,

While I kept accumulating them deep inside my heart.

Maybe that’s the reason I still am into his thoughts,

Even after it has been more than a decade since we lived apart.

Now when I look back in time, all of the memories feel eidetic,

All of the fightings seem so sweet,

Reminiscing our meetings of love and pleasure,

Makes me feel how much he was everything that I ever need.

All the nights, with highs and lows, we always had each other’s support,

But then on a filthy unpleasant day, he decided to leave me at bay.

For him, promises were meant to be broken.

However, for me, it was something to be forever kept as a token.

I gave up on our dreams which we saw together.

Where we wished of a small house on a vacant beach,

And watching the sunset with our kids altogether.

“You’ll find someone better, who would reciprocate the love you give”,

He said and left, sabotaging billions of dreams inside me,

Being blissfully aware that he’s the ‘better’ for whom I live.

“What you did with all the love you had for him then?” my daughter asked eagerly.

I poured all my love into words, to make my love eternal,

And this way I realized a lot of things so easily.

What I did learn is that I deserved better, and I found one.

He is your father, who might not be the first person to love me,

But I’m glad he’s the last, who loves me more than anyone.

You can love a person and still let him go,

Learn that love can neither be forced nor begged,

The distances are over, and I’m right here. No demands and no restrictions. No matter how hard you try, I’ll always remain the secret of your life which you can never hide and the love of your life which you can never escape. 

Don’t get amazed if I’m still echoing inside your heart, because that’s the way how my love for you is supposed to sound. Listen the rhythms of your heart every night before you go to sleep, and you’ll realize I’m right here. I’ll stay in your thoughts, answers and every unsettled question. I’ll inhabit all your dreams, and the sights of your open eyes. You’ll see me everywhere your vision reach, and you’ll force yourself to correlate everything around with our memories.

You’ll have lovers, in fact great lovers. But the perfection is something you’ll appreciate was always inside me. I’m the reason you believed that love has the power to heal the wounds and scars which seemed incurable. Neither you, nor almighty can ever make me leave this place in your heart, as this is where I tend to stay forever .