Today is a beautiful day. The sky is blue. The sun was shining brightly and provided warmth to all creatures on Earth. The cool breeze blew, providing coolness in the air this morning. The birds sing merrily. It's a perfect morning for everybody; oh, correction; for almost everybody except the one and only Prathna Gujral.

Yes, she is the only one who is not in a good mood. Her eyes were slightly red from lack of sleep, or more precisely, she deliberately stayed awake a little longer because she was waiting for someone to contact her. Today is her special day because it's her birthday. Usually, her beloved boyfriend, Veer Oberoi, would call her at midnight every time and be the first person who would greet her with a happy birthday. Unfortunately, this is the first time he failed to do that.

She hoped he would call her a little late last night, so she waited for almost an hour, but he did not call her. Disappointment, confusion, and worry played with her mind all night and succeeded in making her stay awake for the next hour because she had her inner battle either to call him first or keep her pride and wait for him to call her first. When the inner battle still happened in her mind, her tired body forced her to fall asleep. In the morning, her good mood seemed to disappear. Well, who can blame her? This is her birthday and her boyfriend had not contacted her… yet.

She received so many texts and calls from her parents, best friends, colleagues, and even her boyfriend's best friends, and family. But still, no words from Veer. She forced herself to wake up from her bed and walk lazily to the bathroom. She took a shower and changed into casual clothes. She is free today but has nothing special to do on her special day. Bad combination. So, to lighten her mood she decided to do some shopping and maybe spoil herself in a spa trying to forget her disappointment in her boyfriend.

She grabbed her purse and opened her apartment door just to find a red rose and an envelope with her name on it lying on her doorstep. She takes the rose and the envelope as she searches for a sign of the person who put it there. Curious, she brings the rose and the envelope back into her apartment and settles herself on her couch. She opens the envelope and pulls out a piece of paper. A smile starts to form on her face once she recognizes the owner of the neat handwriting on the paper.

Happy Birthday, Prathana…

I know you must be upset with me for not calling you. But, I did prepare something better than a phone call. Are you interested in an adventure on your birthday? I hope you do because I have a big surprise for you at the end of your adventure. Ready?

1st clue:

This place harbors a priceless treasure for everyone. Some people worship this place as if this place is their heaven meanwhile some will think this place is not their type of place. But, once you are inside this place, you can find everything you need or the best part is you can find things that you might never know before. And finding things that you never know will add value.

OK, so that is the 1st clue. The next clue will be given to you once you arrive in this place.

Happy hunting Prathna…

Veer Oberoi

She was stunned for a while after reading the letter. "Adventure? This is going to be interesting" she said as she read the clue once again before she starts to think about a lot of possible places referred to in the clue.

"Ahhh…what place is it?" she asked to herself

She stayed on the couch for almost thirty minutes but she still doesn't know where to go.

"Wait… there must be a hint in this clue," she said while she read the clue for the nth time.

"Priceless treasure…worship this place but not cool for some people…can find everything I need and things I never know before and will add my value…" her words trail off as her brain starts to absorb the clue.

"Add my value. What will add to my value? Can't be jewelry so something else…priceless treasures…what is more precious than jewelry? I think I heard about this before… Wait…I think I know where to go" She grins as she grabs her purse and emerges out of her apartment.

Within thirty minutes, she arrived in front of a building, which she thinks is the right place, referred to in the clue. She stands in front of the Landsdale Library. Library? Yup, that's right. Here are some of the facts. Some people will say that priceless treasures are knowledge. One of the ways to learn about something is from a book. Books can open your mind and bring a piece of new knowledge for you. The places that will be full of books are bookstores, but people will not say the bookstore is a place to hang out, considering that the word 'hang out' implies that people will stay in one place for some time and enjoy themselves there. So, the bookstore is not likely to call a place to hang out. The other option that could fit the description is none other than a library. All kinds of books can be found here. Books about history, science, language, art, law, business, and other fields of knowledge; novels, papers, poems even some huge libraries will have a special place for antique books collection. The library is heaven for all of those who love to read but some people think that those who spend their time in the library are nerds. So, the library fits the clue, right?

Prathna takes a deep breath before she enters the library. She's standing at the doorstep as her eyes roam the room full of books that are organized neatly. "Where can I find the next clue?" she mumbles to herself.

"Excuse me, miss" Suddenly someone greets her

"Yes?"

"Someone told me to hand this to you once you arrive" the librarian, said as he hand over an envelope to her

"Oh…thank you," she said to him in confusion but shrug it off since Veer can do anything

She opens the envelope only to find another piece of paper in it.

Great job, Prathna…now, ready for the 2nd clue? Here we go.

2nd clue:

You can find it in this place. Solve this code to find it:

Happy hunting…=) and no cheating.

"Eh? What is this?? Veeerrr…" she said as she makes her way to sit on one of the chairs in the library. "What else I can find in this place other than a book? So, do you want me to find a book using this code? Cheat? Hufftt…what do you mean by cheat?"

She looks at her surrounding once again trying to figure out how to solve the code. As she looks around, she sees the signs with a number written on them hanging right above each book cabinet.

"Is it could be the code?" she mumbles to herself as she goes to the cabinets. She checks again the code written on the paper and looks for the sign number 3. She goes to cabinet number 3 and stares at it blankly. "Then what? Number 4 means…row…or book with number 4? Wait it's not fit. Hmmm…"

She walks in front of the cabinet over and over again trying to find another clue or something to help her. After five times she walks in front of the cabinet, she decided to walk around the cabinet until she found a piece of paper taped on the side of the cabinet. She smiles widely as she claps her hands due to excitement. The paper guides how the books are classified and stored in the library. Unfortunately, the codes stated in the paper only consist of two numbers; the cabinet number and the row number; meanwhile the code she needs to solve consists of four numbers. She frowns in front of the paper as she thinks hard about the code.

She tries to find other clues hoping they will help her to solve the code. After a while, her eyes catch a staircase that reminds her that the library has three floors. "Is it possible that the first number is the floor number?" to think of the possibility she smiles again and makes her way to the third floor.

Once she arrives on the designated floor, she looks at her surrounding and read the number sign. She bites her lips in anticipation as she walks to cabinet number four. In front of the cabinet, she read the code again. "3 is the third floor, 4 is the cabinet number…so 2 is the row," she said as she looks at the cabinet intently.

"Second row from the above or from below? And number 25 is the…" she thinks for a while as she walks in front of the cabinet looking for a book with the title consisting of the number twenty-five but to no avail. So she walks back to her first spot and tries to count the book from the second row below. Once she comes to the twenty-fifth count, she pulls out a book and checks if there is another envelope for the next clue. "Not here, so it must be the second row from above," she said as she starts to count the book one by one and pulls out the twenty-fifth book. She opens the book and heaved a sigh of relief when she found the envelope.

She opens the envelope and starts to read the next clue.

Did you enjoy your adventure, Prathna? I hope you did. Because your first birthday present will be hidden in this book. But, as usual, you have to solve the code. So here's the code.

Prathna's eyes widen as she sees a lot and very long code with numbers written on the paper. Just seeing it already brought a headache to her but she also can't deny that she is excited about it.

When you solve the code, find me…

"Gosh…Veer Oberoi is something. Do I have to solve these codes? These codes are so…Ahh" she muttered and decided to read the rest of the clue.

Since the codes are pretty long, I suggest you eat your lunch first before working on the code. Don't ever skip your lunch…just because of this. I'll feel guilty.

If you already solve the codes, you know where to find me Prathna…and I'll give you the second birthday present. Again, no skipping lunch…

She frowned when she read the last part of the clue, "No skipping lunch, eh? I still have about thirty minutes before lunch. So I think I'll check the codes first" she said once she finishes reading the clue.

She goes to the nearest chair and settles herself there as she looks for a piece of paper and a pen in her purse. She eagerly solves the codes so she can get her first birthday present. "Okay, these codes are different from the code to find the book. Hmmm… I think I know how to solve this code" she said as she starts to open the book.

"171.10.2 is…' the'; 180.12.5 is…' love'; 135.25.10 is…' I'…" she said as she used the codes and write down word per word every time she solves the codes. The codes are simple, these codes are usually used for a 'word search' game. The codes consist of three numbers. The first number refers to the page of the book, the second number refers to the line on that page and the third number refers to the words in that line.

She now totally forgot about her lunch and kept looking for the words using the codes. One by one the words revealed themselves and started to form a sentence. As time went by, she finally finished the code and now she is reading the words that were revealed from the codes.

The Love I wish you had is the love I have for you.

If you had this love we would be forever.

We would never grow apart.

If something came between us,

It would just make us closer to each other's hearts.

If I could have one thing in the whole world

It would be for this wish to come true.

If this wish came true,

I would never ask for anything else in my life.

I would do anything to have your love.

If you loved me as I love you

I would be the happiest man alive.

I would slave for a thousand years, just so you would love me.

The touch of your lips upon mine almost sends a single tear

Down my cheek, because I know we will never last forever.

This kiss only makes me want you to love me even more

Just as I love you

But as you see it, we will never last forever.

The Love I wish you had is the love I have for you.

If you had this love we would last forever.

We would never grow apart.

If something came between us,

It would just bring us closer to each other's hearts.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she read the poem that lay hidden in the codes. "Thank you, Veer," she whispers more to herself. She stays in the library for a moment to compose herself when suddenly she can hear her stomach protest. "Oh no,…what time is it?" she asks as she looks at her watch

"No wonder I'm so hungry. Sorry, Veer. Your suggestion is not working for me right now. I just skipped my lunch" she said to herself and chuckled.

She gasped when the realization hit her. She grabs the clue and reads once again. "So there's still another birthday present but I still need to find Veer. Where will he be?" she casually dial his number but his phone seems been turned off. "So you want me to get the adventure, eh?" she murmured as she put her phone in her purse. "Where will you be, Veer Oberoi? The studio? No…can't be that easy considering the whole code he gave to me. So where could I find you?" she tries to concentrate to find the answers but to no avail since her stomach growling asking for her attention.

"I think I should eat something first before looking for him," she said as she gets up from her chair and leave the library. Once outside the building, she looks at her surrounding looking for a place to have a quick snack but then she remembers there is their favorite restaurant nearby. It's a traditional Marashtrian food restaurant which was owned by an elder couple who welcomed their customer and treated each of them just like their own children or grandchild. The restaurant is very far from Veer's favorite place to eat which usually has a luxurious interior and an expensive menu, but once they eat there, Veer declared that this particular restaurant was his favorite place to eat and decided to do something memorable in that restaurant.

"Is it possible he is there right now?" she mumbles to herself and rushed to that restaurant. Within a few minutes, she arrives at the restaurant and her eyes widened to see the decoration. Usually, the restaurant has some tables but now there is only one table in the middle of the room complete with tablecloths, candles, and red roses.

"Happy birthday, Prathna" a familiar voice surprised her from behind

"Veer," she said as she turns around to meet the person who stood close behind her, grabbed his collar, pulled him towards her, and kissed his lips. On the other hand, Veer is a little bit shocked by her sudden bold action but he responds to her kiss after a few seconds. After seems forever, Prathna broke their kiss as her face reddened like a tomato and tries her best to avoid Veer's gaze.

"Prathna…" he tried getting her attention since she was finding her shoes more interesting than her boyfriend, and he succeeded because slowly she raises her head to meet his eyes.

"Are you ready for your second birthday present?" he asks and receive a small nod from her.

He smiles sweetly at her as he knelt in front of her. Prathna who was watching him intently with widened eyes. He pulled out a heart-shaped velvet box from his pants and opened it.

Prathna gasped on seeing the white gold band ring with a heart-shaped diamond adorning the ring. "Veer…" she whispered his name with teary eyes.

"I know I made a lot of mistakes in the past. I know it's never been easy for you to stand by my side all this time. But you are the only person who can prove to me that love exists and I'm a different person from my old version. You're the only person who can teach me about regret and at the same time inspire me to become a better person. After these years, I realize that I would do anything to have your love. Today I offer my heart only for you. Prathna Gujral, will you receive my heart and stand by my side forever?"

"Yes," she said as a lone tear ran down her cheek.