Aarohi sat on her bed, her breath uneven, her fingers trembling over her blanket like she was trying to hold onto something slipping through her hands.
Arin watched her with tight fists and tight breaths, feeling her slipping again — not physically, but emotionally, mentally, spiritually.
He whispered:
"Aarohi… you're about to remember something again, aren't you?"
Aarohi's lips parted.
A single tear slid down her cheek.
"Yes," she whispered.
"And this one… feels painful."
Arin moved closer.
"Aarohi, listen to me—if it hurts too much, don't force it."
She shook her head softly.
"I don't choose the memories.
They choose me."
And before he could stop her—
her eyes softened into that distant, lost look.
The world dissolved into her past.
---
PAST LIFE
Aara was sitting on the rooftop of the school building — the only place she could breathe.
But even up there, her chest felt tight.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Her teacher had humiliated her in class.
A group of girls had laughed at her tooth again.
Someone had spread a rumor she didn't understand.
Her brother had yelled at her before school.
And she felt…
so unbelievably tired.
The wind brushed her hair.
Her legs dangled off the edge of the concrete step.
She pulled her knees to her chest.
Her voice cracked into the empty air:
"I'm so tired of hurting.
Why is it always me…?"
She didn't hear footsteps.
She didn't notice the door opening.
But Riaan stood behind her, breathless, chest rising and falling like he had run through the entire school looking for her.
He knelt beside her slowly.
"Aara?"
Aara stiffened.
She didn't want him to see her like this.
Not today.
Not when she felt so fragile that even breathing felt heavy.
She turned her face away.
"Go away, Riaan. Please."
He didn't.
He sat beside her.
Quietly.
Close enough for her to feel his warmth through the cold wind.
Aara wiped her tears quickly with the back of her hand.
"I don't want you to see me crying."
Riaan's voice softened painfully.
"You've said that before."
"And you never listen," she whispered.
"Because it doesn't scare me," he whispered back.
"It scares you."
Aara swallowed hard.
Riaan turned slightly toward her.
"What happened?"
Aara shook her head.
"You'll think I'm stupid."
"I never think that," he said softly.
"You'll think I'm weak."
Riaan's jaw tightened.
"You're the strongest person I know."
Aara's breath cracked.
"Then why does everyone treat me like I'm nothing?"
Riaan's eyes softened with a kind of pain she didn't understand then.
He reached over, gently taking her wrist.
"Aara… listen to me," he whispered.
"You are not nothing.
Not to me.
Not ever."
Aara pressed her forehead to her knees, crying silently.
Riaan hesitated for only a moment—
then he wrapped his arms around her.
Aara stiffened.
Frozen.
Breath caught.
He had hugged her before…
but this was different.
This was full.
Complete.
Deep.
His chin rested gently on her shoulder.
His arms wrapped around her like he was trying to protect every broken part of her.
Aara whispered into his chest:
"Why do you stay?"
Riaan's eyes closed.
His voice cracked.
"Because I can't walk away from you."
Aara pulled back slightly, shocked.
"What…?"
Riaan looked directly into her eyes.
Raw.
Honest.
Terrified.
"Aara… when you cry, it feels like my heart is bleeding.
When you're hurt, I feel helpless.
When you disappear, I can't breathe properly until I find you."
Aara's breath shuddered.
It was the most honest thing he had ever said.
Riaan shook his head, exhaling shakily.
"I don't know what's happening to me…
but I know it has something to do with you."
Aara's heart pounded painfully in her chest.
Her voice trembled:
"Riaan… what are you saying?"
His grip on her tightened.
"Aara… I think I—"
But he couldn't finish.
He wasn't ready.
She wasn't ready.
The world wasn't ready.
So he swallowed the word.
But Aara heard the silence.
And in that silence,
her heart whispered the truth she didn't dare speak aloud.
She was falling.
And so was he.
---
PRESENT
Aarohi jerked awake, gasping so hard she nearly choked.
Arin caught her instantly, panic in his voice.
"Aarohi! Aarohi, talk to me—what did you see?!"
Aarohi clutched his shirt tightly, shaking.
Her voice broke:
"He almost said it…"
Arin froze.
"Said what?" he whispered.
A single tear slid down Aarohi's cheek.
"That he loved her."
Arin's face twisted with pain.
He looked away, but his voice trembled:
"And now you feel it too."
Aarohi sobbed into his chest.
"I don't want to!
I don't want these feelings!
I don't want to fall into a love that isn't mine!"
Arin wrapped his arms around her tightly, his voice cracking:
"Aarohi… please, come back to this life.
To me.
Stay with me.
Not with memories.
Not with him."
Aarohi buried her face into his shoulder, crying harder.
"I'm trying," she whispered.
"I'm trying so hard."
But then—
The air behind her went cold.
A warmth pressed against her back, gentle but undeniable.
A shadow lingered near her window.
And a voice whispered, low and trembling:
"I couldn't walk away from you then, Aara…
And I can't walk away from you now."
Aarohi froze.
Arin didn't hear it.
But she did.
And her heart broke quietly.
Because Riaan wasn't fading.
He wasn't memory.
He wasn't imagination.
He was coming back.
Piece by piece.
Emotion by emotion.
Breath by breath.
---