The hallway buzzed with students returning to class, their laughter echoing against the freshly painted walls. Karthik and Ananya walked side by side, slower than the rest. Neither spoke, but the silence between them wasn't awkward—it was steady, comfortable.
Karthik's fingers still tingled from when she had held his hand. He glanced at her, wondering if she felt it too.
She did.
As they neared their classroom, Ananya stopped suddenly. "Karthik," she said, her voice low. "I need you to promise me something."
He turned to her. "What?"
"That you'll stop thinking you're not enough," she said, meeting his eyes. "Because you are. Even when you doubt it. Especially then."
Karthik's throat tightened. He wanted to say something poetic, something worthy of that moment—but all he could manage was a nod.
"I'm trying," he said.
"That's all I ask," she smiled.
Inside the classroom, the teacher was already scolding a few students for chatting. Karthik and Ananya slipped into their seats, ignoring the knowing smirks from their friends. The world kept moving, but something had changed between them.
Later that afternoon, as they walked home together under the canopy of blooming trees, Karthik found himself smiling more often. He still struggled with the shadows in his mind, but now, they didn't feel so heavy.
"Ananya," he said as they reached the crossroad near her house.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For not giving up on me."
She looked at him, her eyes reflecting the golden light of the setting sun. "You're easy to hold onto, Karthik. You just don't know it yet."
And with that, she waved and turned toward her street, leaving him standing there, heart full and hopeful—for once, not afraid of the light.
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End of Chapter 86