The library was unusually quiet that afternoon. Sanya sat by the window, her notebook open, though her pen had stopped moving long ago. Her eyes drifted outside, watching students gather in small groups, laughing and chatting.
Ram slid into the seat across from her, dropping his books with a soft thud. "You're lost again," he said with a teasing smile.
Sanya startled, then laughed nervously. "Was it that obvious?"
"Very," Ram replied, leaning back in his chair. "Who's haunting your thoughts this time?"
Her lips curved into a shy smile. "Akhil."
Ram's smile froze, though he quickly masked it with a playful roll of his eyes. "Of course. Who else?"
Sanya lowered her voice, her fingers tracing absent circles on the page. "You know, he's not just good at sports or studies. He's… gentle. Even when he rejects people, he does it without hurting them. How many people can do that?"
Ram forced a chuckle. "So you've been studying his kindness now?"
She looked up, meeting his eyes with a seriousness that caught him off guard. "Ram… do you think it's silly if I say he's always on my mind?"
His chest tightened. For a moment, he wanted to shout yes—it's silly because you don't see the one who's always been by your side. But instead, he swallowed the ache and managed a quiet reply. "If it makes you happy, then it's not silly."
Her face brightened at his words. "You always understand me, Ram. That's why you're my best friend."
Those words pierced him deeper than any rejection ever could. Best friend. The invisible boundary she had drawn between them, the one he never had the courage to cross, stood tall like a wall he could not climb.
Later that evening, as they walked home under the fading orange sky, Sanya's excitement bubbled over again. She spoke endlessly about Akhil—his smile during the race, the way he helped carry books for a teacher, how he laughed with his friends.
Ram walked beside her silently, his hands shoved into his pockets. His heart felt heavier with every step, but he didn't let it show. He nodded when she expected him to, smiled when she laughed, and listened to every word even though each one cut deeper than the last.
When they reached Sanya's house, she paused at the gate. "Ram?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think… I should tell him how I feel someday?"
The world seemed to stop around him. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
But Sanya's eyes were wide with hope, and he couldn't bring himself to crush it. So he smiled, though his throat burned. "If he makes you this happy… then yes. You should."
Her face lit up, and she hugged him tightly before rushing inside.
Ram stood frozen, her warmth lingering on his arms, her scent clinging to him. His chest ached, but his lips curved upward in a bittersweet smile.
As he walked home alone, he whispered into the empty street, "I'll always be happy for you, Sanya… even if it breaks me."