Aira was trying to avoid talking to her.
She missed her—
but still chose distance.
A notification appeared on her screen.
"Hey. How are you?"
She stared at it for a moment before replying,
"I'm good. What about you?"
"I'm good. Just chilling. Are you enjoying your trip?"
"Just enjoying nature."
"Oh… well. Enjoy."
The conversation felt short.
Dry.
Not like before.
Aira didn't want to talk.
But she couldn't say that either.
After a while—
she opened her gallery.
Looked at the pictures she had taken.
The sky, the silence, the quiet beauty.
And then—
she selected a few.
And sent them.
"How are these?"
Aarohi saw the photos.
Reacted to them.
But didn't say anything.
Aira waited.
A few seconds.
Then minutes.
Still nothing.
A strange uneasiness grew inside her.
She finally texted,
"You didn't like my photos…?"
"I clicked them for you."
After a pause, a reply came.
"No… I liked them."
"I'm just not feeling well."
Aira's expression changed.
"Why? What happened?"
"I had a fight with my mom."
"I'm not talking to her."
Aira didn't know what to say.
Her fingers hovered over the screen.
"Will you not talk to her?"
"I will… after some time."
"I just don't want to talk right now."
"Okay."
And just like that—
silence returned.
Aira wanted to ask more.
Wanted to understand.
But she stopped herself.
So she chose silence.
And on the other side—
so did Aarohi.
Something had changed.
The conversation didn't feel the same anymore.
It lacked warmth.
It lacked… them.
To distract herself, Aira went to her friends.
Tried to laugh.
Tried to stay normal.
Aarohi got busy too.
With her work.
With her thoughts.
But even in silence—
they missed each other.
Aira couldn't stop thinking.
Is she okay?
Is she still upset?
Did she miss me?
Questions kept filling her mind.
But she didn't text.
Because she was afraid.
Afraid that her own feelings—
might ruin everything.
That night, she opened her stories again.
Read them slowly.
Trying to find her—
between the lines.
She imagined her.
Her voice.
Her presence.
Her.
A part of her knew—
this wasn't right.
But she still couldn't stop.
At night, it became worse.
When everything around her slowed down…
when the noise disappeared…
when she was finally alone—
she couldn't escape it anymore.
She closed her eyes.
And somehow—
even in her dreams—
she was there.
Her voice.
Her smile.
The way she talked.
The way she understood.
It all felt so real.
Too real.
She woke up in the middle of the night once.
Her heart beating faster than usual.
For a moment, she didn't understand why.
Then she realized—
she had seen her.
Again.
She turned to her side, staring at her phone.
Wanting to text.
Wanting to say something.
Anything.
But she didn't.
She just stayed there.
Quiet.
Lost in her own thoughts.
She was in her mind.
In her heart.
In every little thought that crossed her.
And the more she tried to ignore it—
the stronger it became.
She didn't know how to stop this.
Didn't know what to call it.
Didn't even know if she should stop it.
But one thing was clear—
She hadn't even tried to let her go.