Ananya saw the mail notification at 6:17 a.m.
She didn't open it.
She rolled onto her side, pulled the blanket closer, and stared at the wall of Hostel Block C where a small crack ran from the switchboard to the corner like a tired line on a face.
Pulse Youth Network.
She already knew.
The subject line had been enough.
Regarding your audition.
Her phone lay on the bed beside her, glowing softly, waiting.
She closed her eyes.
For the first time since Mumbai, she didn't feel excited.
She felt… fragile.
It was strange. She had stood on stages. Faced crowds. Taken criticism. Handled chaos. But this felt different. This wasn't about performance. This was about direction. About whether the world she had cautiously started walking toward was even real.
From the other bed, Pihu's alarm rang and was slapped into silence.
"Ugh," Pihu groaned. "If mornings were a person, I'd block them."
Ananya smiled faintly but didn't move.
Nandini got up quietly, already tying her hair, already inside her soft, observant calm. Meher's side of the room was empty. She'd left early for another meeting the night before.
The room felt… paused.
Pihu noticed. "Why are you lying like a tragic poet?"
Ananya hesitated.
Then held up her phone.
"I haven't opened it."
Nandini's movements slowed. "From them?"
She nodded.
Pihu sat up. "Open it. Whatever it is, it can't bite you."
Ananya swallowed. "Yes, it can. Just… internally."
She pushed herself upright and leaned back against the wall.
This city had taught her to act quickly. To respond. To move.
But this… this deserved to be felt.
She opened the mail.
Her eyes moved.
Once.Twice.
Then she went very still.
Pihu's voice softened. "Anu?"
Nandini stepped closer. "What does it say?"
Ananya read it again, slowly this time.
They thanked her.
They appreciated her perspective.
They were not moving forward with her for the current project.
But.
They wanted to stay in touch.
They saw potential.
They encouraged her to keep creating.
The words were gentle.
Professional.
Kind.
And they fell like weight.
Ananya exhaled, a long breath she hadn't known she was holding.
"Oh," she said.
Pihu's face fell. "Oh… like oh-oh?"
"Like…" Ananya searched for the word. "…like not yet."
She expected disappointment to crash into her.
Instead, what came first was something quieter.
Doubt.
Maybe she had misunderstood the door.
Maybe it had never really been hers.
She handed the phone to Nandini.
Nandini read it carefully. Then again.
Then looked up. "This is not a rejection."
"It feels like one," Ananya said.
Nandini shook her head gently. "It's a delay."
Pihu crossed the room and sat beside her. "You know how many people don't even get a reply?"
"That's not comforting," Ananya murmured.
Pihu shrugged. "It's reality. And reality says you were seen."
Ananya stared at her hands.
"I thought…" she said slowly, "…I thought I had finally stepped into something that fit."
The door creaked open.
Meher walked in.
Hair slightly messy. Blazer over a simple top. Phone in hand. A woman's life already sitting on her shoulders.
She took one look at Ananya's face and set her bag down.
"What happened?"
Ananya didn't want to repeat it.
Nandini did.
Meher listened without interrupting.
Then she walked over, pulled a chair, and sat in front of Ananya.
"Look at me," she said.
Ananya did.
Meher's eyes were steady. Clear.
"You didn't lose a door," she said. "You met a wall."
Ananya blinked.
Meher continued, "Real doors don't open because you knock once. They open because you keep standing there when it's uncomfortable."
Ananya's throat tightened.
"I didn't come to Mumbai to be chosen," Meher added. "I came to become. Those two things don't happen on the same timeline."
She reached forward and turned Ananya's phone face down.
"This doesn't decide you," she said. "It informs you."
Ananya felt something ease.
Not the hurt.
The meaning of it.
Later, when the room had emptied and college noises had begun, Ananya sat alone on her bed with her notebook.
She wrote one line.
If they won't build the space I need, I will start with the floor.
And for the first time since morning, she smiled.