It wasn't just the beginning of a relationship. It felt like the beginning of something deeper—like a healing long overdue.
That weekend, Karthik found himself doing something completely out of character: standing awkwardly in front of a small juice shop near Besant Nagar beach, waiting for Ananya.
She had insisted.
"It's not a date," she'd said over the phone, "it's just… time. For us."
But it felt like a date.
He adjusted the collar of his navy-blue shirt for the fifth time. The sounds of the waves crashing in the distance calmed him a little, but his fingers still fidgeted against the plastic of the juice cup he'd bought just to look less nervous.
Then, she arrived—like she always did—effortlessly shifting the entire mood.
Hair tied in a simple ponytail, wearing a casual salwar and a confident smile, Ananya walked toward him like they'd been doing this for years.
"Orange juice?" she asked.
He nodded. "Vitamin C is good for… awkward boys."
She snorted. "You're lucky you're cute."
They started walking along the beach, the salt air curling through their hair. There was no dramatic music, no sudden confession. Just two people with hearts finally lighter.
"Do you remember how you used to avoid everyone?" she asked, playfully bumping her shoulder against his.
"I still do."
"But now you let me sit beside you."
"You're the exception," he said quietly.
She smiled but didn't respond immediately. Instead, she picked up a seashell from the sand and handed it to him.
"A memory," she said.
"For what?"
"For this day. The first time we walked like this—not as friends, not as classmates, but as something more."
He turned the shell over in his hand, brushing the grains of sand from its ridges. "How many memories do you plan to collect?"
"All of them."
He glanced sideways at her. Her eyes sparkled, her bare feet sinking slightly into the warm sand, and her voice sounded like the safest place in the world.
"I used to think love was dramatic," Karthik said, "loud, filled with grand gestures."
"And now?"
"Now I think it's this. Quiet. Easy. Like breathing."
She chuckled. "So poetic, Mr. Iyer."
"I'm serious."
She stopped walking and turned to face him fully. "So am I."
The wind picked up slightly, and her dupatta fluttered. He reached forward, without thinking, and tucked it gently over her shoulder. She didn't move away. Instead, she looked up at him with something deeper than a smile—something that said: I see you. I'm here.
They stood like that for a moment—on the edge of the ocean, on the edge of something beautiful and terrifying.
Then Ananya spoke, softly.
"Let's not rush this, Karthik."
"I'm not in a hurry," he whispered. "I just want to stay."
"With me?"
"Yes. Like this. Like we've always been here."
She nodded. "Then stay."
And they did. As the sun set behind the horizon, casting a soft orange glow across the sea, they sat on the sand. Close but not too close. Two hearts finally beginning to speak the same language—not through words, but through presence.
And for once, Karthik didn't feel like he was hiding in the shadows anymore.
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END OF CHAPTER 124