One day during lunch ti, Nami and I had to bring so stationery items, so we were about to cross the school road to go to the shop across the street, but before we could start walking...Our steps ca to a halt.
He was standing right in front of us—Riyan.
The sa old face, but his eyes were tired.
There was a helplessness in his gaze, as if soone had drained the breath from his bones.
"Naami. Aira," his voice carried no weight.
As if every word died the mont it fell.
We turned around.
Dust was swirling on the road, as if it wanted to wrap our silence and carry it off into the sky.
I rembered—he once said that promises are like sand; they slip through your fingers.
Maybe that's why he was here today.
"What are you doing here, Riyan?"
There was neither complaint nor question in my voice.
Just a silence that didn't wait for an answer.
He wavered a little, as if his legs could no longer bear the weight.
"Look, Aira... forgive ."
His voice slipped through.
"I want to apologize to both of you. I believed in rumors... I made a mistake."
His words were like an old man taking his last drag from a cigarette, rubbing it out.
The smoke still lingered in the air—hazy, lifeless.
"But you didn't even try!"
Suddenly, his voice found strength.
"You didn't try to talk to again either."
Naami's face hardened.
"That's not true, Riyan."
Her words dropped like stones.
He smiled, defeated, as if accepting that saying anything further was pointless.
"Fine. I ca here to apologize sincerely."
His face looked like a shattered mirror—every crack filled with regret.
I looked at him, but I felt nothing.
No hatred, no love.
Just silence that swallowed his words.
"Why now?"
There was neither sharpness nor anticipation in my question.
"Because I need to apologize," he said, as if soone had tied stones around his neck.
"Please... forgive ."
Naami crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's not that easy."
And ?
I turned away.
"I don't want to talk to you."
But he took a step forward.
His lips parted, and what he said made the air suddenly heavy.
"It's about Shubh. I need to tell you sothing."
The world stopped.
As if soone had paused the ga in the middle.
Shubh?
Where did he co from?
Riyan's eyes t ours.
"Yesterday, I went to et Shubh's parents. On the way back, I t a boy. He said Shubh had gone to the village with him."
He kept talking.
We kept listening.
Words floated in the air, like the pages of an unheard story flipping one by one.
Riyan paused, took a deep breath.
"But to understand everything... you need to co with . In the evening. Behind the school."
And then he left.
Leaving us there.
Dust kept swirling.
We stood there, as if we had beco part of the road.
Naami looked at . Her eyes held questions she couldn't ask .
"We will go."
Her words floated over, like a broken boat finally finding the shore.
I nodded.
And on that dusty road, we waited—for evening.
For a naked truth.
One that was going to squeeze the life out of our souls.
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