The Next Day
The school reopened. The sa crowd, the sa voices. The bell rang, girls got lost in their conversations, and the boys kept laughing carelessly. Everything was the sa—as if nothing had happened.
But for , everything had changed.
I stood by the stairs, staring at my locker. The cold tal surface lingered under my hands. My fingers trembled. I hadn't slept well last night. Shubh's voice still echoed in my ears.
"Aira!"
Nami's voice snapped out of my trance.
She ca running, concern etched on her face. "Are you okay? I called you, but you didn't answer."
I looked at her. The words barely escaped my lips. "I... I saw him in my dream. He asked about Suhina."
A thin layer of pain appeared on Nami's face. She hugged tightly. Her hands rubbed my back gently. "It was just a dream, Aira. Just a dream. You're not alone."
I was in her arms, but inside, sothing was empty. A silence that was screaming.
Just then, a voice called out—
"Hey."
We turned to look.
Suhina.
She... she looked better. Her hair was tied up, faint lines of exhaustion under her eyes, but her face seed stronger. There was a strange confidence in her walk.
"I told my parents everything," she said. "All of it. What happened. How I felt."
I blinked. "You... you told them?"
She nodded. "Yes. I don't want to hide anymore."
There was a strange glow in her eyes. There was pain, but maybe... relief too.
I tried to speak, but no words ca out. I felt sothing break inside . That guilt I had been suppressing. That scream I never let out.
Suhina looked at . There was sothing in her eyes—perhaps understanding, perhaps a question. "You don't have to say anything now. I understand. But when you're ready... I'm here."
She walked away. Her steps steady, head held high.
Nami took my hand in hers. Her grip was firm. "We'll get through this," she said.
For the first ti, I believed her. Maybe we really could.
---
On the Rooftop:
The classroom walls were suffocating. Whispers, questioning eyes—they were all crashing down on . I silently climbed the stairs until the breeze on the rooftop touched my face.
The clouds were thick and heavy, as if the sky itself carried the weight of sorrow.
"Aira?"
I turned around.
Arin.
He stood a few steps away, hands in his pockets, that familiar coldness on his face. But today, there was sothing else—maybe silence, maybe sothing more.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I didn't reply.
"A stupid question," he added himself.
He walked over and sat down by the wall. "Sit," he patted the spot next to him. "You don't have to say anything."
I sat down. My legs felt like they had lost their strength.
We just sat there. The sound of the wind, the rumbling of the clouds, and the silence that stretched between us.
After a while, he spoke, "I heard about your dream. Nami told ."
I looked at him. He was staring at the sky. Maybe searching for answers, or maybe running from them.
"I've seen things too," his voice was quiet. "When my cousin passed away."
He took a long breath. "You start to wonder if it's just your mind playing tricks or if soone really ca to say goodbye."
For the first ti, I felt like Arin was human too. Not a hero, not a villain. Just a person, filled with pain.
"How did you... deal with it?" I asked.
He let out a small laugh—bitter and tired. "At first, I didn't. Then, little by little, I stopped fighting the pain. Let it be... until it beca less."
I didn't fully understand, but I felt that maybe... I wasn't alone.
He looked at . His eyes held no mask. "You don't always have to be strong. Sotis, just surviving is enough."
I felt sothing catch in my throat. "Thank you," I said.
He nodded slightly. "Whenever you need."
That day, for the first ti, I didn't feel alone.
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