Aira was enjoying her trip with her friends and teachers.
At least… that's how it looked from the outside.
She laughed with them, walked with them, clicked pictures of the sky, the desert, the quiet beauty around her.
But somewhere in between those moments
—
her mind kept drifting back to one person.
Aarohi was busy with her schedule.
Still, in between everything, she kept checking her phone.
Waiting.
For a message.
Aira stared at her screen for a long time.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Maybe I shouldn't text today.
We should talk less.
It's better this way.
Around noon, her phone lit up.
A message.
"Hey… why aren't you texting?"
She paused.
She knew the answer.
But she didn't want to say it.
"Sorry… I was a bit busy."
"Don't take it seriously, I was just kidding,"
Aarohi replied.
"Okay."
After a moment—
"Did you click your photos?"
"No… I just take photos of nature."
Aira sent a few pictures.
The sky, the dry land, a quiet road, a distant sunset.
"Wow… this is so beautiful," Aarohi replied.
Aira looked at the message for a second longer than usual.
"Yeah… I like it very much."
There was a pause.
A calm moment.
Then—
"Today, I talked with my boyfriend."
Aira froze.
Her eyes didn't move from the screen.
"Oh."
"We talked for many hours."
Something shifted inside her.
A strange feeling.
Tight.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
She didn't understand it.
Was it anger?
No.
Was it sadness?
Not exactly.
It was something in between.
Something she had never felt before.
She didn't want to talk about it.
Didn't want to feel it.
"Hmm."
She quickly changed the topic.
"Have you listened to 'Laal Ishq'?"
"Yes."
"Laal Ishq, Ek Dil Ek Jaan, and Saiyaan… they're my favourite songs."
"I like them too."
They talked for a while.
But something had changed.
The conversation felt… different.
That night—
everything felt quieter.
Aira lay on her bed, staring at her phone.
She missed her.
More than usual.
Her fingers slowly opened the chat.
She wanted to text.
Wanted to say something.
Anything.
But she didn't.
Instead, she kept reading their old messages.
Scrolling up.
Then down.
Then up again.
She stopped at random lines.
Smiled at some.
Paused at others.
It felt like she was trying to find her—
inside those words.
She opened the chat again.
But didn't type anything.
Her chest felt heavy.
Something inside her felt… shattered.
Not completely broken—
but not okay either.
Her mind kept going back to that one message.
"I talked with my boyfriend."
She tried to ignore it.
But it stayed.
Again and again.
She closed her eyes.
And without realizing—
she started imagining things.
Moments.
Conversations.
Herself… with her.
She opened her eyes immediately.
This is wrong.
She knew it.
She understood it.
But she couldn't stop.
She wanted to talk to her.
Wanted to hear her voice.
Wanted to forget everything else.
But she didn't text.
Because now—
she was afraid.
Afraid of what she was feeling.
Afraid of what it meant.
She got up and walked towards the window.
The night outside was calm.
The air was quiet.
She stood there, looking out—
trying to distract herself.
But her thoughts didn't stop.
Every time she saw something beautiful—
the sky, the lights, the stillness—
she recorded it.
And sent it.
Not because she wanted to share the view—
but because she wanted to stay connected.
Because both of them loved nature.
And somehow—
that was their language.
From the outside—
she looked fine.
Calm.
Normal.
But inside—
there was a storm.
Loud.
Confusing.
Uncontrollable.
A storm she couldn't explain to anyone.
Not even to herself.