friday evening.
Cold.
The kind that slips through clothes and settles in the bones.
Snow fell slowly under yellow streetlights.
The street was empty.
Wind sharp.
Laddu tightened his scarf.
Twice.
He pushed open the café door.
Warm air hit him.
His glasses fogged.
Music played somewhere inside.
Cinnamon.
Coffee.
Steam rising.
He rubbed his hands together.
Looked around.
Then—
He saw her.
Near the counter.
Stacking trays.
Already aligned.
Again.
Her back slightly bent.
Trying to take less space.
Very tall.
Pastel apron.
Hair tied in a neat bun.
Shoulders pulled in.
Eyes down.
Mochi.
She didn't talk much.
Didn't smile much.
Didn't look at customers unless she had to.
Quiet.
Still.
Laddu kept looking.
Something in that silence stopped him.
Mochi noticed him.
One quick glance.
Then her eyes dropped again.
She wiped the same tray.
Clean already.
She wasn't used to boys looking at her.
Especially not ones who smiled easily.
Laddu walked to the counter.
Maya was there.
Drying glasses.
"Who is she?" he asked.
Maya followed his gaze.
Smirked.
"Single. Shy."
"She thinks boys don't like tall girls."
"I like tall," Laddu said.
Maya looked at him.
"How tall?"
He didn't hesitate.
"I like very tall."
Maya paused.
Then smiled.
Closing time.
Customers left.
Chairs flipped.
Heater humming.
The café emptied.
Only three people remained.
Maya.
Mochi.
Laddu.
Mochi wiped a table.
Small circles.
Same spot.
Her sleeves covered her hands.
Nervous.
Laddu took a breath.
Walked toward her.
Behind him, Maya moved aside.
Watching.
"Mochi," he said.
She looked up.
Just for a second.
Then down again.
Shoulders tense.
"One day," Laddu said,
"a boy meets a girl like you."
Silence.
"He wants to take her somewhere colorful."
Mochi didn't move.
"A place where tall people don't feel tall."
She listened.
"Where the wind is loud."
"And the rides are louder."
She didn't understand.
He kept going.
"Maybe," he said,
"if goes amusement park on Sunday."
Pause.
"Around ten am in the morning."
Pause.
"Maybe that boy will be there too."
He didn't say date.
Silence.
Long.
Mochi's fingers twisted into her apron.
Her breathing uneven.
She tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
Minutes passed.
Her eyes watered.
She hugged herself.
Not from cold.
Laddu waited.
Didn't rush.
Didn't interrupt.
Finally—
"…Yes."
Barely a sound.
Behind them, Maya smiled.
Laddu smiled too.
Quiet.
Warm.
He didn't realize she didn't know where to meet him.
She didn't realize she had just agreed to her first date.
That would be handled later.