The morning light was unusually soft.
The storm from last night had passed, but its shadow still seemed to linger around. The river was calm, yet within that calmness lay an unknown depth.
Arian was standing in a corner of the ship's deck. His eyes kept searching for one face.
Neela.
He himself couldn't understand how, in just one night, a stranger had taken so much space inside him.
But some feelings cannot be explained… they can only be felt.
"Are you looking for me?"
A voice came from behind.
Arian turned around.
Neela was standing right behind him.
Today she looked different. A white dress, her wet hair now dried, but the depth in her eyes was the same—perhaps even deeper.
"I thought… you might not come again,"
Arian said.
Neela smiled lightly and said,
"I don't get lost easily… at least not yet."
There was a strange hint hidden in her words.
Arian stepped a little closer.
"What you said last night… you said you had drowned. What did you mean?"
Neela remained silent for a while.
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the river.
"Have you ever felt… that you are alive, but something inside you has died?"
Arian paused.
The question strangely struck deep within him.
"Yes,"
he said softly.
Neela nodded.
"Me too. One day I suddenly realized I was no longer the same person I used to be. There was laughter, there were words… but everything felt empty."
The air became a little colder.
"Then?"
Arian asked.
Neela slowly said,
"Then one day, I truly drowned."
Arian's chest trembled.
"Did you…?"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Neela looked at him.
"No, I didn't die. But after that day, I changed. It felt like a part of me remained in that water."
Silence fell between them.
Both were looking toward the river.
Suddenly, Neela extended her hand.
"Come."
"Where?"
Arian asked in surprise.
"To the very end of this ship,"
Neela said,
"where standing there makes you feel like you're at the edge of the world."
They both began walking.
The path was narrow, surrounded only by water and air. No one was around. It felt like the whole world existed just for the two of them.
Reaching the end, Neela stopped.
She again placed her hand on the railing.
"When you stand here… you realize life and death are very close,"
she said.
Arian stood beside her.
"But still, people want to live,"
he said.
Neela looked at him.
"Do you want to live?"
she asked.
Arian stayed silent for a moment.
Then he said,
"Maybe… if I find something worth living for."
Neela's eyes softened slightly.
"What if I say… I could be that reason?"
The wind seemed to stop.
Arian's heartbeat increased.
"You don't know what you're saying,"
he said softly.
Neela stepped closer.
There was almost no distance between them now.
"I know very well,"
she whispered.
A moment passed—
where time seemed to stop.
Their eyes met.
Arian felt that this girl hadn't just entered his life… she was lighting up the darkness within him.
Suddenly—
A strange sound came from somewhere in the distance.
The ship trembled slightly.
Both of them were startled.
"What was that?"
Arian asked.
Neela didn't respond.
Fear suddenly appeared in her eyes.
As if she recognized that sound.
As if she knew—it was only the beginning.
"We should go back,"
Neela said quickly.
For the first time, clear panic could be heard in her voice.
Before Arian could understand anything—
the ship shook again, this time much harder.
People could be heard screaming in the distance.
The calm river suddenly seemed disturbed.
And in that moment—
Arian realized,
Their story was not just about love…
It was the beginning of a story of drowning.