Aarohi sat upright in her bed, clutching her blanket as if it were the only thing keeping her in this life.
Her heartbeat thudded too loudly, too fast, too warm —
like someone else's heartbeat was beating inside her.
Arin reached for her hand.
"Aarohi… look at me. Please look at me."
She lifted her eyes slowly.
The look in them wasn't entirely hers anymore.
"Arin…" she whispered shakily,
"I think I'm about to remember something big."
Arin's pulse stopped.
"What kind of memory?"
Aarohi swallowed hard.
"The one where Aara first understood she wasn't just attached to Riaan…
she was falling in love with him."
Arin's fingers tightened around hers.
"Aarohi… don't go there. Please. Not that one."
Her breath trembled.
"I can't stop it."
And then her vision blurred—
the room faded—
and memory dragged her under again.
---
PAST LIFE
It was winter.
Aara sat in the library, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her sweater, her breath fogging the cold air as she read quietly in a corner no one else ever used.
Except one person.
Riaan.
He walked in, his hair messy from the wind, his jacket half-zipped, his fingers red from the cold.
He carried a steaming paper cup.
Aara looked up.
"What's that?"
Riaan sat across from her.
"Hot chocolate. You looked cold today."
Aara blinked.
"You noticed?"
Riaan smiled softly.
"I always notice."
Aara looked away, cheeks warming.
He pushed the cup toward her.
Aara held it between her hands, feeling warmth spread slowly into her fingers.
"You should drink too," she whispered.
Riaan shook his head.
"It's for you."
Aara hesitated, her heart tightening.
"Why are you always so nice to me?"
"Because I want to be," he said quietly.
Aara looked down at the cup, her breath uneven.
Riaan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Let me see your book."
Aara slid it over shyly.
He flipped through it.
"You read such sad stories," he murmured.
Aara whispered:
"They make me feel less alone."
Riaan closed the book softly.
"You're not alone."
Aara's heart stumbled.
She tried to speak—
but someone entered the library, laughing loudly.
Aara flinched instinctively, grabbing her bag.
Riaan immediately noticed.
He reached across the table
and took her wrist.
Aara froze.
He wasn't squeezing.
He wasn't pulling.
He was grounding her.
"You're okay," he whispered.
"They aren't looking at you."
Aara's eyes filled with tears.
Riaan's thumb brushed gently over her wrist.
"Breathe," he murmured.
She tried.
Her breathing shook.
Her heart pounded.
Riaan watched her carefully.
"Does this help?" he asked.
Aara nodded weakly.
"Yes."
"Then… can I keep holding you?"
Aara didn't answer with words.
She just let him.
And that was enough.
Minutes passed.
Their silence changed.
It wasn't awkward.
It wasn't empty.
It was warm.
Comforting.
Alive.
Aara stared at his hand on hers —
the warmth,
the steadiness,
the safety.
Her heart whispered something she wasn't ready to accept:
This feels like home.
Riaan cleared his throat suddenly, pulling his hand back gently.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to—"
Aara stopped him by placing her hand back in his.
Riaan froze.
Aara whispered:
"Don't move."
He swallowed hard.
"Aara… what are we doing?"
She looked down.
"I don't know."
Riaan leaned closer, voice low.
"But it doesn't feel like… just friendship anymore."
Aara's heart thudded painfully.
"I know."
She finally met his eyes.
Something shifted then.
Something undeniable.
Something both of them felt —
but neither had words for.
His fingers curled around hers slowly, like he was afraid the moment would break.
"Aara…"
His voice was raw.
"I don't want to lose this."
Aara's breath trembled.
"You won't."
Neither confessed.
Neither defined it.
But in the quiet of the library—
with the smell of old books, cold air, and hot chocolate—
their hearts found each other.
Silently.
Softly.
Completely.
---
PRESENT
Aarohi inhaled sharply as the memory released her.
Her entire body shook with the weight of it.
Arin grabbed her instantly.
"Aarohi! Are you okay?!"
She looked at him with trembling eyes.
"Arin… that was the moment."
"What moment?" he whispered.
Aarohi's voice cracked:
"When they fell in love."
Arin froze.
His hands dropped from her arms.
Aarohi continued, voice breaking:
"They didn't say it.
They didn't even understand it.
But their hearts… they changed.
They reached for each other without thinking."
Arin stared at her, shattered.
Aarohi pressed a hand to her chest.
"And I felt it, Arin.
I felt her heart falling…
and his heart catching her."
Arin stepped back, unable to breathe.
"Aarohi… you're falling into feelings that aren't yours."
Aarohi shook her head desperately.
"No! I don't want this!
I don't want to love someone from a past life!
I just… remember it so deeply it feels like my own."
Arin whispered, voice breaking:
"And where does that leave me?"
Aarohi grabbed his shirt, crying.
"You are my present. You're the life I want."
Arin closed his eyes, tears slipping silently.
"But he was her everything," he whispered.
Aarohi cried harder.
"It wasn't my choice!"
Arin pulled her into a tight, painful embrace.
"I'm scared I'm losing you."
Aarohi shook as she whispered:
"I'm scared too."
But as Arin held her…
a familiar warmth pressed against her back.
A cold breath slid across her spine.
And a voice whispered beside her ear:
"It wasn't just love, Aara…
It was the only place my heart ever learned to live."
Aarohi went still.
Arin felt her freeze.
He didn't know why.
But she did.
Riaan wasn't just remembering.
He was returning.
---