The door clicked shut behind Neha, leaving the room in near-darkness. Outside, rain poured hard against the windows, and the deep rumble of thunder rolled through the night.
Mina sat quietly, her heart still racing from earlier.
What now? Should I make a move? Or wait? What if she thinks I only want this… No, no… I can't wait anymore. If I take her hand… everything will just happen on its own. Yes… that's what I'll do.
She was just about to step forward when Nisha spoke, breaking the tension.
Nisha: "Looks like we'll have to sleep like this tonight… no fan."
Mina froze, startled.
No reaction? She just kissed me… and now she's acting like nothing happened?
The sudden coolness in Nisha's tone made Mina's chest tighten — a strange mix of frustration and longing.
Mina: "Yeah… the guard said the transformer won't be fixed until tomorrow. We'll have to manage like this."
Nisha: "Then let's just sleep, or we'll wake up late. I'll open the window — the breeze is nice, we won't feel too hot."
Nisha walked over to the window, letting in the smell of rain and cool night air. Then she slipped under her blanket, her back to Mina.
Mina sat on her bed for a moment, still replaying the kiss in her mind.
Mina: "Alright… good night."
She glanced at her phone — 3:16 a.m. — and finally lay down.
Five minutes later…
Nisha: "Mina… Mina."
Mina: "Yeah? What is it?"
Nisha: "Nothing… I just wanted to ask… have you ever slept without electricity before?"
Mina: "No… why?"
Nisha: "Just curious. I've done it plenty of times. Back in my village, we only had electricity for about ten hours a day."
Mina: "Wow… I couldn't last a day without it."
Nisha chuckled, about to say something more — but before she could finish, loud shouts erupted from the hostel hallway.
"Thief! Thief! Catch him! Someone's inside the hostel!"
The two of them shot upright in their beds, the sound of running footsteps and doors slamming echoing through the building.