It had been twelve days since the hotel.
Twelve days since the storm, the room, and the girl who vanished before the morning sun.
Rohan Malhotra hadn't told anyone about it—not even Arjun, who'd returned home the next day and was still passive-aggressively liking Rohan's Instagram stories without speaking a word. Their friendship was on pause, maybe even broken. But Rohan didn't have the energy to fix it.
Too much was already weighing on his mind.
He'd told himself that the girl in the hotel room—Ishita—was a passing blur. A quirky stranger. An oddly timed character in a weird chapter of his life. A mystery that didn't need solving.
And yet...
She'd stuck in his memory like a line from a dream he couldn't stop humming.
Not her name. Not even her face clearly.But the vibe. The ease in her voice.The way she said, "You always sleep fully clothed in jeans and regret?"
That had lived rent-free in his brain.
And now, twelve days later, she walked right back into his life like a plot twist.
☕ Wednesday, 6:03 PM — The Bean Theory Café
Rohan didn't even like coffee.
But his office building was close, and the café had Wi-Fi, soft lights, and sofas that felt like home after a long day of chasing impossible clients. He was halfway through replying to a brutally vague email from a regional manager when the door opened, bells jingled, and the past walked in—carrying a lavender tote bag and wearing soft pink lipstick.
Ishita.
Rohan's fingers froze on the keyboard.
She didn't see him at first. She was smiling—smiling—and talking to another girl. A friend, maybe. Shoulder-length hair, confident eyes, heels that screamed old money.
The two girls walked in like they owned the place, which, Rohan feared, they just might.
Ishita's eyes scanned the room absently. Then paused.
Landed on him.
And widened.
Just slightly.
Then—
"Rohan?" she said, walking over with a grin that looked like it had been waiting to happen.
Rohan blinked. "I… uh. Hi?"
Ishita looked at him like he was both a surprise and an inside joke.
"Wow. You exist in daylight too. Who knew?"
"You're one to talk. You ghosted before breakfast."
"I left a note on the table."
"There was no note."
"Okay, I meant to leave a note. Same thing."
The girl beside her raised an eyebrow. "Ishita, are you going to introduce us or should I keep pretending I'm invisible?"
"Oh, right! Rohan—this is Rhea, my college roommate and chaos partner."
Rohan gave a polite nod.
"And Rhea—this is Rohan. We… shared a hotel room once."
The pause after that sentence was louder than the café music.
Rhea's face lit up. "Oooh. Do go on."
"It's not like that," Rohan said quickly.
"It's exactly like that," Ishita countered, smirking.
Rhea narrowed her eyes. "You disappeared for an entire day, came back with no explanations, and now I get to meet the mystery man. I approve."
Rohan's ears were warm. "I'm not—mystery anything. We just—look, it was raining, and the hotel had one room, and—"
"And he slept in jeans," Ishita interrupted. "Important detail."
They all laughed.
Rohan realized he hadn't done that in a while.
They sat down at his table. Just like that. No warning.
Ishita ordered a caramel macchiato, Rhea a black Americano. Rohan stuck to his untouched cold coffee and the half-written email draft that now felt embarrassingly irrelevant.
"So what brings you to this side of town?" he asked casually.
Ishita leaned back. "Oh, I live nearby. I come here when I'm avoiding… things."
"Work?"
"People."
"Sounds healthy."
"I try."
There was something about the way she said that—light, but layered. Rhea was busy scrolling on her phone, half-listening.
"You didn't even ask if I wanted to meet again," Rohan said, surprised by his own voice.
"Would you have said yes?"
He hesitated.
"No," he admitted.
"Exactly."
"But you're here now."
"Exactly again."
Rohan exhaled a short laugh. "You really don't play by any rulebook, do you?"
"Rulebooks are for board games."
"And you're the type who flips the board."
"Only if I'm losing."
There was a pause. Then—
"Give me your phone," Ishita said.
"Why?"
"So I can add my number."
"Confident."
"Well, next time you stalk me from the window, you can just call instead."
He handed her the phone. She typed something, smiled, and returned it.
Saved contact:"Ishita 🌧️🛏️"
He looked at her.
"Really?"
"Context matters."
Rhea interrupted with a smirk. "Well, looks like I'll leave you lovebirds to your weather metaphors."
"Rhea—" Ishita started.
"Nope, don't stop me. I have a pedicure appointment and a group chat to report this to."
She winked at Rohan before grabbing her tote and heading out.
Now it was just the two of them again.
The same silence from Room 709 returned, but this time… warmer.
"You know," Rohan said slowly, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"Did you want to?"
He looked at her. Really looked.
Her eyes were tired in a familiar way.
Her smile was still tilted like a secret.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I think I did."
She smiled.
And for the first time since that stormy night…She looked like she'd stayed.