Raj got to school early.
The air was fresh, but his chest felt heavy.
He had made his decision. His bag was packed light, but his heart wasn't. Inside were two letters one for the school office, and one for Coach Murali.
He walked past the school building, the benches, and the cricket ground where everything had started.
Everything looked the same.
But it didn't feel the same.
Coach was sitting alone on a wooden stool near the nets, sipping tea from a steel cup. Raj walked up and stood quietly.
Without a word, he handed him the letter.
Coach looked at him, not surprised."You're going?" he asked.
Raj nodded.
Coach didn't say anything for a while. He just looked up at the sky."You'll face better players. Bigger crowds. More pressure."
Raj took a deep breath. "I want to face them, sir. I want to grow."
Coach finally smiled a small tired smile. "Now you're ready."
He opened the letter slowly. It wasn't long. Just a few lines written by Raj:
"I'm not chasing glory.
I just want to build something that matters.
For me. For others."
Coach folded the letter carefully and placed it into his shirt pocket.
"Make it worth," he said.
Back in class, Uday and Zayed already know his decision.
They didn't ask questions.
Zayed said, "Just don't forget to bring snacks when you come back."
Raj laughed. "Samosas and stories. Deal."
Uday added, "And don't forget who helped tape your first glove."
Raj looked at both of them and smiled. "I couldn't forget that even if I tried."
During lunch break, Raj sat under the neem tree near the school wall.
He thought no one would come by.
But Priya did.
She walked over slowly, hands behind her back."You're really leaving?"
He nodded.
Priya looked down, kicked a dry leaf, then looked back at him.
"I know this is big," she said. "But don't you feel like you're leaving something behind?"
Raj didn't answer right away.
Then he said softly, "Yeah. But maybe that's the price for chasing something bigger."
Priya gave a small smile. It didn't reach her eyes.
"Just… don't come back as someone we don't recognize."
Raj replied, "I won't."
But deep down, he wasn't sure.
After school, Raj stayed back.Not for packing. Just to walk.
He walked past every spot is something important to him - the steps near the lab, the corridor where his name was once mocked, the tree where he first saw that girl in yellow.
And then he saw her again.
Far near the back wall, near the temple steps.
She was there.
Still. Calm. Eyes watching the ground.
But this time, she didn't turn away.
She looked right at him.
Straight into his eyes.
Raj froze.
He didn't move. He didn't even blink.But just then, a younger boy ran past him, calling out to his brother.
"Anna, that's Spandana Akka, right?"
The words hit him like thunder.
He turned to look at the boy. Then back at her.
But she was gone.
[System Alert: Identity Matched – Spandana (Confirmed)]
Emotional thread confirmed.
She remembers what no one else does. But she hasn't spoken. Not yet.
Raj stood there quietly.
The name stayed in his mind like an echo.
Spandana.
He had never heard that name before in this life.
But somehow it didn't feel new.
It felt like something he had forgotten.
And now, it had come back to find him.