🌷"Sometimes the heart grows attached in silence, while the mind is still trying to understand why."🌷
Ajay replied, "Ohh, that's good to know!"
Sophia was secretly watching while the others were talking. Suddenly, a chat notification popped up, and her avatar appeared glowing with bright energy.
Sophia: "Hey Shakti, I forgot to introduce you to Bunty."
Shakti typed, "I am not interested in knowing him. Why should I know him?"
But he didn't press send. Instead, he quickly cleared the message. While he was still fighting with his thoughts, another message appeared.
Sophia: "Meet him. This is Bunty. He and Ajay are best friends, and Bunty is also from your country…"
Shakti: "Really?"
Sophia: "Yeah. I've known him for a long time. You can say it's been more than a year since we became friends."
Shakti's fingers moved toward the keyboard, then back again. He typed something, deleted it, typed again, and erased it once more. His mind was disturbed and restless.
Finally, he said in a slightly high and rough voice,
"Ohh hello, Bunty. It's nice meeting you."
Bunty stayed calm and replied with a gentle smile,
"Hmm, nice to meet you too ☺️."
Bunty looked curious.
Shakti seemed like a nice guy. His behavior felt similar to people from my state, he thought.
Bunty called out,
"Shakti, by the way, if you don't mind, which state are you from in India?"
Shakti felt a little uncomfortable. He was unsure whether he should tell him or not. His hands stopped over the keyboard for a moment.
Just then, another message appeared — this time in the private chat section.
He clicked it and saw a long message from Sophia.
Sophia (private):
"Shakti, I know you must be feeling a little uncomfortable around us. It's obvious. As you told me before, you don't like social gatherings. Maybe that's why you're feeling awkward."
Shakti thought in his disturbed mind,
Oops… she understood me. Stay calm. Don't lose yourself. They are just normal people like you.
He typed back:
Shakti (private):
"Ummm… no, there is nothing like that."
But she was right.
Sophia (private):
"You should go along with them. They are good people. As long as I'm here, they won't behave rudely with you."
Sophia (private):
"It's natural for you to feel uncomfortable because Ajay treated you rudely earlier. You are sensitive, and I know that is why you are feeling awkward."
Sophia (private):
"Come on, let's forget about it now. I am also sorry for Ajay's meaningless questions."
Shakti (private):
"Sophia, don't be sorry. It's fine. He has the right to ask."
After that, Shakti started feeling better, as if he had gained confidence. The heaviness that was hidden inside him slowly faded away. Sophia's understanding nature created a special place within his heart.
Returning to the group chat, he finally replied:
Shakti: "My native place is Odisha in India."
Ajay: "Wahhhhh!"
Bunty: "Wow, I thought so! Nice to meet you again, because I am also from Odisha."
Excitement rose inside Shakti when he heard that Bunty was also from Odisha. A desire sparked in him to know Bunty better.
Shakti: "What??? Are you sure?"
Shakti: "Which district are you from?"
Bunty: "My hometown is Rourkela."
Shakti:
"That's really good to know. My hometown is Dhenkanal, but I'm not living there right now. Because of my studies, I have to stay in a dorm."
Shakti:
"Anyway, what do you do for a living? Do you have a job or something?"
Bunty:
"No, no. I'm also doing a BTech degree, same as Ajay."
Shakti:
"Ohh okay, I understand."
After that, Sophia and Shakti remained silent for some time, while Ajay and Bunty continued talking in the group chat about assignments.
Then Ajay messaged:
Ajay: "Sis, are you there?"
She replied after a few seconds,
Sophia:
"Yes, I'm here. I'm just studying. Mom is around me, so my replies are late or sometimes none at all…"
She read all the previous chats one by one, then noticed that Shakti and Bunty were from nearby places.
Sophia:
"Hey Shakti, I saw that you both are from nearby districts. The distance between your cities must be small. Why don't you both meet in real life someday, if either of you is interested?"
Bunty:
"By the way, Shakti, have you ever visited Rourkela?"
Shakti:
"Yes, I visited about a year ago when I went there to visit my cousin."
Shakti:
"You're right, Sophia. Maybe next time I go there, I'll meet Bunty."
Ajay:
"I think Sophia is right. You both should meet if you ever get the chance."
Shakti became very comfortable with all three of them. Now he had three good teammates — Sophia, Ajay, and Bunty. Everything that was happening felt natural and smooth.
Shakti started thinking that maybe all this was God's will. This had never happened to him before. He had never enjoyed like this. And Sophia… she was such a kind and sweet girl. May God keep her happy and keep her nature the same forever.
Somewhere deep inside, he felt that Sophia might be a little overprotective. But his logical mind kept telling him she was simply fulfilling her duty as a friend — nothing more.
Shakti was lost in his thoughts. After a few minutes, when he came back to his senses, he saw that everyone had gone. Only he and Sophia were online.
Shakti:
"Ehhh, when did everyone leave? Sorry, I didn't notice when they left."
Sophia:
"Never mind. Now tell me, did you like them or not? Actually, both of them are good and they always protect me. Ajay acts like that whenever any boy tries to come near me, which is good because sometimes really bad guys come and start flirting. Now this game is starting to feel like a dating app."
Shakti:
"Wahhhh, so that's the matter! That's why he was a little angry and asking questions like that."
Sophia:
"Hahaha, exactly. That's what I wanted to tell you."
Then she added softly,
Sophia:
"But it's true that I don't defend everyone the way I defended you. Somewhere, I felt that you didn't deserve that rude behavior.
Sophia:
"I felt deep inside that you are a nice guy."
Her message felt less like a statement and more like reassurance as if she was trying to make a safe space for him inside her world.
Shakti stared at the screen. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but no words came out. No one had ever said something like that to him before — not in this tone, not with this softness.
So he simply typed,
"Oh… okay."
Although the words were simple, but they can't even determine the confued feelings behind them were not.