As the days drifted by, Anaya quietly finished watching the drama "Remember Me".
She didn't binge it in one go. she savored it, like letting soft petals fall one by one. The story lingered in her heart long after each episode ended, like an echo that stayed behind even after the music stopped. The actor's voice, his eyes, the slow-burning tenderness of his character… they stayed with her. Not as a crush. Not even as obsession.
Just as warmth.
It was something she kept to herself, tucked in the softest corners of her heart. When she lay on her hostel bed staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily, she would recall lines from the show, how he smiled under the peach blossom tree, how he looked away when he is shy. For her It wasn't love, but it was something close to it.
And then the holidays ended.
Classes started again.
The familiar clatter of students returning to campus echoed through the hostel halls. Morning alarms, shared notebooks, rushed breakfasts, the same benches, and the same professors filled her days once more.
Anaya slipped back into routine like she always did. Quietly. Softly.
She sat by the window in class, as usual. She listened when others spoke, smiled when spoken to, and laughed gently at her friends' jokes. Some things never changed.
But something inside her had. Slightly.
Like a bud that had turned its face toward sunlight without even knowing.
Days passed..
One evening after class, as she was packing her bag, suddenly Rhea nudged her with a grin.
"You know," Rhea said, "it's Feb already.
She continued, "oh! Its the month of love."
Anaya blinked. "Is it?"
"Mhm. Look around," Rhea teased, "Everyone's coupling up. It's like love is in the air or something."
Anaya looked around. And she realized it was true.
Everywhere she turned, her classmates were holding hands, sharing earbuds, whispering in corners. Even the quietest ones had found someone. It felt like the whole world was moving forward, falling in love, blooming in pairs.
Then, the classes are over and made their way out of the university.
Anaya stayed quiet. Finally leave the university with that quietness.
She had never chased love. It scared her. Confused her.
But watching them like her friends, her classmates. it stirred something in her chest. A flutter. A question.
"Would it be so wrong… to want to fall in love too?" She questioned herself.
And yet… deep down, a small voice of her's answered gently, No. It's not wrong at all.
For the first time in her life, Anaya allowed herself to imagine it. What it look likes to be in love. Not the kind she saw in loud movies or the flashy kind flaunted on social media. No, what she longed for was something different. Something quieter. Warmer. A kind of love that didn't demand attention but made her feel safe, seen, and gently understood.
From then on, she began noticing things she'd never paid attention to before. The way couples shared earbuds on the bus, one ear each, their music flowing between them like an invisible thread. The way someone smiled a little too long at their partner before saying goodbye. The way laughter sounded softer when shared with someone you love.
And in the middle of all that, Anaya found herself... longing.
So, in her quiet way, she tried.
She watched more dramas like romance stories with slow burns and lingering glances. The kind of stories where love didn't arrive all at once but grew slowly, tenderly, like rain soaking into dry earth. She let herself feel the ache in her chest during certain scenes and held onto the feeling like it was something precious. A seed.
During lunch breaks, she began noticing the little things. A boy handing his notes to a girl without being asked. A shy smile exchanged across the classroom. She wondered what it might feel like to be on the receiving end of that smile. To have someone's kindness be meant only for her.
As days passed..
Late one evening, she wrapped in a blanket with her laptop open beside her, she did something she never thought she would.
She downloaded a dating app.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she filled in the details. name, age, interests. She chose a soft picture, one where she was smiling faintly, caught in the sunlight, her hair slightly messy from the wind. It wasn't glamorous, but it was honest. It was her.
She scrolled through a few profiles. Some were funny. Some were awkward. Some looked like they belonged to another world altogether. And after a few minutes of silent panic, she closed the app. It didn't feel right. It felt too noisy. Too fast. Too far from what she dreamed of.
But she didn't delete it.
Instead, she left it there, tucked away like a quiet hope, like a window left slightly open, just in case.
She began reading more love stories. Not just in books or dramas, but in the spaces around her. In the way her friend Rhea's eyes lit up whenever her boyfrien's called. It was like a flower that had bloomed with queit happiness.
And then, just as her heart had begun to quietly wish… the news came.
That, Rhea had broken up with her boyfriend.
Anaya froze when she heard it. The words felt like a cold splash of water on a warm morning.
Rhea is so cheerful, so confident, the one who always said love was supposed to be magical had fallen out of it.
The hallway buzzed with whispers. Their friend group exchanged glances and theories. But Anaya just sat still, listening quietly.
A strange mix of emotions stirred inside her. Its maybe sadness for Rhea, confusion, and something else. Fear, maybe. Doubt.
If even Rhea couldn't make it work… then what did love really mean?
Still, deep inside her, the longing didn't disappear. It sat there, steady and small, like a candle burning in a corner of her heart.
Because even if love was uncertain, even if it hurt sometimes…
She still wanted to believe in it.
But, she doesn't what has happened between Rhea and his boyfriend...
Its felt like quite fishy, about what happens between them...