The rain from the previous evening had washed over Chennai, leaving the city drenched and soft. The school corridors still smelled faintly of damp notebooks and petrichor. Karthik walked in quietly, shoes squeaking on the tiled floor, but something was different in his steps—lighter, steadier.
He passed a group of boys cracking jokes near the stairwell. Normally, he would've ignored them. But today, he gave a small nod. One of them even nodded back.
Karthik found Ananya already seated in their classroom, her hair slightly frizzy from the humidity, pencil twirling in her fingers. She looked up and smiled—an unspoken greeting that reached him before any words could.
He sat beside her, heart still warming from yesterday's confession. He liked her. He had said it. And she hadn't run away.
"You're early," he said.
"So are you," she replied, arching an eyebrow. "Or are you stalking me now?"
He snorted. "Please. I'm way too awkward to be a proper stalker."
She laughed, soft and real.
There was a pause.
"Did you mean it?" she asked.
Karthik's fingers tightened around the edge of his desk. "Yeah. Every word."
She didn't reply right away, just looked at him, really looked.
And then she said something unexpected.
"Tell me something dark about you. One thing you've never told anyone."
He froze. "Why?"
"Because you trust me now. Right?"
He swallowed, the lump in his throat heavier than he expected. "Okay. Um... when I was younger, I used to hope no one would notice me. Like if I was invisible, I couldn't mess anything up."
Ananya blinked, then placed her hand gently over his.
"You're not invisible," she whispered. "Not to me."
The bell rang. Students flooded in. The chaos of the day resumed, but Karthik sat with a strange calm inside him.
After class, as they walked through the school garden, Karthik found himself noticing things—the way Ananya paused to admire the raindrops on leaves, how she tucked her hair behind her ear every few seconds. He wasn't just looking at her anymore.
He was seeing her.
And more importantly, he was allowing himself to be seen.
"You know," he said, voice soft, "I don't feel like I'm drowning in my thoughts as much these days."
She looked at him, surprised. "Really?"
He nodded. "When you're around... I don't feel dark anymore."
Ananya smiled, eyes shining. "That's because you're finally letting light in."
He glanced up at the sky, now washed clean and clear. No rain, no thunder—just warmth.
Karthik realized something quietly profound.
Maybe healing wasn't loud. Maybe it was just this—a morning with less fear, a classroom that felt less like a cage, a girl who didn't try to fix him, just stood beside him while he fixed himself.
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End of Chapter 56