It had been a week since the school cultural festival, yet the memories clung to Karthik like the scent of fresh rain on dry earth. The echoes of laughter, applause, and Ananya's hand gently finding his in that fleeting moment of chaos—it was all still fresh. But something had shifted since then.
They hadn't spoken much.
It wasn't distance, exactly. More like… a pause. Like the quiet moment after a song ends, before the next one begins.
Karthik sat alone at the corner bench near the playground, chewing on his pen cap, half-heartedly flipping through his textbook. Around him, students bustled through the morning prep routine, energy crackling with leftover festival excitement. But Karthik felt oddly still, like he was standing in a slow-motion world.
He looked up as a familiar voice called out.
"Hey. You're early." It was Ananya, her voice softer than usual.
Karthik blinked. "You're never early."
She gave a small shrug. "Felt like walking slow today."
She sat beside him, brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. She wore a simple kurti today, light blue with tiny white flowers—something different from her usual bold fashion. She looked tired, but peaceful.
For a moment, they just sat in silence.
Karthik wanted to speak, to say something meaningful or witty. But the words felt heavy in his throat.
She spoke first.
"I've been thinking a lot lately," Ananya said, her eyes fixed on the patch of sky between the school buildings. "About the festival, about us. About everything."
Karthik turned to her, alert but cautious. "Good thoughts… or the kind that keep you up at night?"
She smiled faintly. "Both."
He chuckled. "Same."
Ananya sighed, pulling her knees up onto the bench. "You ever feel like you're on the edge of something, but you don't know if stepping forward is going to lift you up or send you falling?"
Karthik stared at her, heart skipping. "Every single day."
She turned to him, and for once, her expression wasn't guarded. "You've changed, you know?"
"I have?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"In good ways," she said, nudging him. "You talk more. You smile more. You let people in. That day at the festival… I saw a different version of you. One that wasn't afraid."
He looked down, unsure how to respond.
"But," she continued, "I also see the part of you that's still hiding. And I get it, Karthik. I really do. I hide too. Just with more glitter."
That drew a soft laugh from him.
Ananya reached into her bag and pulled out a folded paper. "Here."
He unfolded it—her handwriting scrawled across the page. A poem. One she hadn't posted online. One that spoke of loneliness, stars that never blinked, and the wish to be understood.
"It's beautiful," he murmured.
"It's real," she corrected. "And scary to share."
Karthik folded the paper carefully and placed it in his notebook. "I'll treasure it."
Their eyes met. No teasing, no awkward jokes. Just honesty.
Ananya broke the moment with a light pat on his shoulder. "Come on. First bell's about to ring."
As they walked back toward the main building, side by side, Karthik felt the weight in his chest ease a little. Whatever this was—friendship, something more—it was theirs. And for now, that was enough.
The silence wasn't empty anymore.
It shimmered with understanding.
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End of chapter 91