Aarohi's footsteps had become lighter over the years, but to Shadow, each one still echoed like music through the trees.
Now 17, she had grown taller, her voice more confident, her questions deeper. She no longer ran around chasing butterflies, she wandered thoughtfully, often sketching or scribbling into the small notebook she always carried with her.
Her home was nestled in a quiet hillside village, not far from the forest. Just a short walk away, the jungle had become an extension of her world.
Her father worked with the Forest Department, and from a young age, Aarohi had been raised close to nature, curious, unafraid, and deeply connected to the wilderness.
Shadow followed her every time.
He didn't know why, but something in her presence made the jungle feel warmer… calmer, less lonely.
One morning, Aarohi wasn't alone.
From behind the thick curtain of trees, Shadow watched her with someone, a boy, laughing, talking.
The two of them crouched by a stream, watching fish dance beneath the ripples.
The boy was Sameer, a new student in her class, who had joined her on a nature study project from school.
Shadow crouched low, golden eyes narrowing behind the leaves. He didn't understand what he was feeling, but it was sharp, hot, and unfamiliar.
Was this... anger?
No. It was something more bitter.
It was the first time he'd seen her smile like that, for someone else.
Aarohi leaned forward and playfully splashed water at Sameer.
Sameer laughed and flicked it back at her.
Shadow's claws dug quietly into the forest floor.
Then Sameer stood and offered Aarohi his hand to help her up. She took it.
In that moment, Shadow looked away.
That night, Aarohi sat on her terrace under the soft silver glow of the moon. There was a strange quietness in her heart.
She whispered into the night air,
"You didn't come today, were you upset?"
High up in the tree near her home, Shadow lay still, silent, unmoving.
He wanted to leap down, to let her know he had never left. That he was always there. That he always would be.
But he couldn't. He was just a beast.
A wild, voiceless watcher.
And for the first time in his life, He wished he wasn't.
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