After the memory of their first meeting, Aarohi didn't move for a while.
Her eyes were far away, her breathing uneven, her fingers shaking on her lap as if they still felt Riaan's warmth.
Arin watched her with a silent fear.
"Aarohi," he whispered gently, "please… don't look at the past so deeply."
But she shook her head slowly.
"I don't know how to look away anymore."
And that was the truth.
Her past wasn't knocking on the door.
It was walking into the room.
Sitting beside her.
Holding her hand.
Aarohi blinked slowly as another memory crept into her mind —
a different day,
a different moment,
but the same boy.
Riaan.
---
Aara sat at the farthest lunch table in the school courtyard.
A metal bench.
A tiffin she barely touched.
Wind rustling her loose hair.
She looked small.
Withdrawn.
A little broken.
Alone.
Always alone.
Students passed by, laughing, talking, living their lives —
while Aara picked at her food quietly, pretending not to hear the whispers.
"She's so weird."
"She never talks to anyone."
"I think she's scared of people."
"No… people are scared of her."
Aara lowered her gaze, heart tightening.
And then—
A tray slid onto the table beside her.
Aara looked up, startled.
Riaan sat down without asking, opening his lunch casually.
"Hi."
Aara blinked.
She pointed at the empty benches around them.
"There… are seats everywhere…"
Riaan took a bite of his sandwich, shrugged, and said:
"I like this one."
Aara frowned softly.
"You always sit here?"
"No."
He grinned.
"Only when you're here."
Aara's breath caught.
Her cheeks warmed.
She looked down again, pushing rice around her tiffin.
"You don't have to sit with me."
"I know."
Aara's hands froze.
Riaan continued, softer:
"You don't talk to people. People don't talk to you.
And honestly?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"I think they're missing out."
Aara blinked rapidly, not used to kindness.
Or attention.
Or someone choosing her.
She remained silent.
Riaan nudged her tiffin with his finger playfully.
"What did you bring?"
Aara shook her head shyly.
"It's… nothing important."
Riaan opened his tiffin.
"Trade?"
Aara looked at him in shock.
"What?"
"My sandwich for… whatever that is?"
He squinted.
"Is that rice? Or sadness?"
Aara choked on a small laugh —
the first small laugh she had let out in years.
Riaan grinned triumphantly.
"There it is. I knew you could smile."
Aara looked away instantly, embarrassed.
"You don't know anything about me."
Riaan rested his chin on his hand.
"Not yet."
Aara swallowed.
Not yet.
Two simple words.
But they wrapped around her like warmth she wasn't used to.
She whispered:
"Why do you sit with me?"
Riaan's expression softened.
"Because you always look like you're holding your breath."
Aara stared at him.
"And someone should remind you to breathe."
Aara's throat tightened.
Her eyes stung.
She whispered:
"No one's ever… noticed me."
Riaan shook his head.
"That's because you hide."
Aara blinked.
"But I see you," he said simply.
Her heart softened painfully.
And that was how it began.
Not with fireworks.
Not with a confession.
Not with chaos.
But with a boy sitting next to a lonely girl —
refusing to let her be invisible.
---
Aarohi snapped back into her room, gasping.
Her hand flew to her mouth as tears flooded her eyes.
Arin instantly moved to her side.
"Aarohi?! Another memory?"
She nodded weakly.
Her voice trembled:
"I saw… our first lunch together."
Arin froze.
His heart sank.
"What happened?" he whispered.
Aarohi broke into soft sobs.
"He sat with me every day, Arin… every single day.
He made me smile…
He noticed me when no one else did…"
Arin felt the ground shift beneath him.
Aarohi wiped her tears with shaking fingers.
"I was so lonely. So quiet. So scared.
And he just…
came and sat beside me."
Arin whispered:
"Aarohi… this isn't fair to you."
She nodded, crying harder.
"I know…
But remembering him feels like remembering the only part of Aara's life that wasn't pain."
Arin's chest tightened painfully.
"So he was important to you…"
Aarohi whispered brokenly:
"He was important to the girl I used to be."
Arin closed his eyes.
"And what about the girl you are now?"
Aarohi touched his cheek gently.
"You are important to me now."
Arin leaned into her touch, desperate, hurting.
But when her hand trembled…
he knew she was torn.
Aarohi whispered:
"I don't want to lose this life for a love I don't remember…
but I can't ignore the memories."
Arin hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder.
"Aarohi… please stay with me."
Aarohi held him back.
"I'm here," she whispered.
But her tears told the truth:
Her heart was no longer fully in the present.
Part of it was waking up in the past.
And in the quiet corner of the room…
a whisper brushed the air:
"You were never invisible to me."
Aarohi stiffened.
Arin felt her tremble.
The past…
was no longer just memory.
It was becoming real.
---