Dhiran asked...
Dhiran leaned slightly forward from his seat and asked casually,
"Ah Maria… did you complete the homework English ma'am gave?"
The question caught her off guard.
Maria blinked, surprised. For a second, her mind went completely blank—not because of the homework, but because he was talking to her again.
She struggled to speak at first.
"H–huh?" she said softly.
"What homework…? I don't know about that."
Dhiran raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Did you forget?" he asked, smirking slightly.
"You have to write about the shops near your house."
Maria's eyes widened.
"Oh no…" she murmured.
"I totally forgot about that. And right now I can't even remember the shops… my mind is blank."
She let out a small, nervous sigh.
Dhiran laughed lightly.
"Oh god," he said teasingly, shaking his head.
"You're so forgetful."
Then he added, in a relaxed tone,
"Wait, I'll help you."
Maria looked at him, surprised.
"There's a supermarket," he continued, counting on his fingers,
"a salon, a tea shop…"
Maria froze.
She stared at him, completely stunned.
How…?
She looked at him in disbelief and asked,
"How did you remember all that? You visited only once. And the van was fully crowded too."
Dhiran leaned back comfortably, a playful smirk forming on his face.
"Even then," he said confidently,
"I know where your house is."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Before she could react, Dhiran turned to his desk mate and said loudly,
"Hey! Anan, her house is inside the forest da 😂"
Anan laughed.
Maria felt her cheeks heat up instantly.
Dhiran wasn't teasing her in a mean way—it was casual, friendly, comfortable. Like they had known each other longer than they actually had.
And that's what shook her the most.
Her heart felt strangely warm.
He noticed my house.
He remembered.
She liked it.
She liked it more than she wanted to admit.
But she didn't show anything on her face.
Instead, Maria gave him a mocking look, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Dhiran laughed again, clearly enjoying her reaction.
"Relax," he said with a grin.
"I'm just joking."
Maria turned back to her notebook, pretending to focus.
But inside—
her heart was smiling.
Maria wrote the shops slowly in her notebook, her handwriting uneven.
Supermarket.
Salon.
Tea shop.
Each word felt heavier than it should have been.(she felt different emotions)
She didn't look back again. She didn't need to. She could feel Dhiran's presence behind her—casual, easy, like he belonged there. Unlike her, who always felt like she was just… existing.
(She was worrying that, Dhiran can't understand her feelings and she is just existing)
*The next day*
The bell rang.
The class shifted. Chairs scraped. Bags zipped. Noise returned.
For everyone else, it was just another school day.
For Maria, it was another day of noticing someone who didn't notice her in the same way.
Days Move, Feelings Don't
Days passed quietly.
Dhiran became louder, brighter, more comfortable.
Maria became quieter.
She watched him from the front bench—not directly, but through reflections on the blackboard, through the corner of her eyes, through the sound of his laughter.
(See how she is putting efforts that are unnoticeable for Dhiran😭)
(This is the time that she realised that this is not a attraction this is a love💓)
(She started to fall for him slowly..!!!)
She learned a habit of loving silently.
No one noticed her feelings.
That was the point.
Sometimes he asked her for notes.
Sometimes he teased her lightly.
Sometimes he forgot she existed.
And every time, Maria adjusted herself
—not to be seen, but to not feel hurt.
A Small Hope
One afternoon, during class, Maria was absent-mindedly staring at the window when she felt a paper land softly on her desk.
She looked down.
It was her English notebook.
Dhiran's handwriting was on the corner:
"You forgot this."
That was it.
No smile.
No words.
No moment.
Yet her heart reacted like it mattered.
She held the notebook a little longer than needed.
*This feeling that can't understandable but yet it still hurts her more and more❣️*
Don't misunderstand, she told herself.
This means nothing.
But her heart didn't listen.
The school day ended like any other.
Noise. Bags. Running footsteps.
Maria walked to the bus line with her head down, holding her notebook tightly against her chest. The sky was slightly darker than usual. She didn't know why, but her heart felt heavy without a clear reason.
She stood in the line.
The bus arrived.
Students climbed in one by one.
When Maria reached the door, the teacher checked attendance and nodded. She stepped inside and walked toward the last seat—the one
she always sat in.
She sat down.
Only then did she realize something was wrong.
Dhiran wasn't in the bus.
She looked around once.
Twice.
The front seat was empty.
Maybe he's late, she thought.
The bus engine started.
Still no Dhiran.
The bus moved.
Her chest tightened slowly.
She looked out of the window as the school gate disappeared behind them.
For the first time since he joined, Dhiran wasn't there.
The Silent Blow
When the bus stopped near her house, Maria stood up automatically.
She stepped down.
Tall grass. Quiet road. Wind brushing past her.
Everything was the same.
Except her.
She took a few steps… then stopped...
It was Dhiran's watch that was on the road side
Maria was confused,
She thought,
" why his watch was in the roadside?"
"Isn't his home was far away and in opposite direction?"
"And today, why didn't he come to the van, where he went"
With these much of thoughts she took the watch with her...
——×——×——×——×——×——×—–
Let's see why his watch was near the the Maria's house in the part three...💖
Until then byee guys... thank you for supporting me and please please wait for the part 3 it will be way more better and interesting than this...💫
Secret★: This is the story that still it's happening in the present..!!!