And it was...
Dhiran..!!
Maria's heart jumped into her soul.
For a second, she thought she was imagining it.
But he looked up.
"Hey," he said casually, as if nothing strange had happened.
Maria's heart skipped a beat at his voice.
"You… didn't come to school."
"Yeah."he replied
Silence hung between them.
She wanted to ask everything at once.
Why were you here that day? Why did you leave? Why my notebook? Why this road?
But the words tangled inside her.
So instead, she held out his watch.
"You dropped this."
Dhiran looked surprised.
"Oh. So that's where it went."
He took it, brushing off some dust.
"Thanks."
Just that.
No emotion. No explanation.
Just normal.
Like she was any other classmate.
Which she was.
Maria swallowed her disappointment.
Still, curiosity won.
"Why were you here?" she asked softly.
Dhiran shrugged.
"Nothing big. I got down at the wrong stop."
Maria frowned.
"But this road is not even—"
He interrupted lightly,
"Sometimes it's nice going the wrong way. Less crowd. Less noise."
He looked around at the quiet road.
Then added casually,
"Also… I wanted to walk alone that day. Too many things at home."
Maria stayed silent.
She suddenly understood.
He didn't come here because of her.
He just needed somewhere quiet.
And her lonely road happened to be that place.
Nothing special.
Just coincidence.
Her heart felt stupid for hoping otherwise.
Dhiran slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Anyway, I'll probably leave soon," he said, as if talking about the weather. "Dad's transfer."
Maria nodded, pretending it didn't matter.
"Okay."
He smiled slightly.(This smile hiddened her pain from Dhiran)
"See you in school… if I come."
And just like that, he walked away.
Not turning back.
Not knowing someone stood there watching until he disappeared at the corner.
Maria walked home slowly.
A strange emptiness settled inside her.
Not dramatic. Not loud.
Just quiet acceptance.
That night, Maria emptied her bag onto the bed, trying to focus on homework.
A folded paper slipped out from between her books and fell near her pillow.
She frowned.
She didn't remember keeping any paper there.
Slowly, she opened it.
Dhiran's handwriting.
Her heartbeat quickened.
The note read:
"Don't think too much about yesterday. I just took a different route. Anyway, see you… maybe."
That was all.
Simple. Casual.
Like everything about him.
Suddenly Maria broke out and started to cry silently in her room that no one in the house heard her sound
And she said this to herself–
Don't think too much.
How easily he wrote that.
As if thoughts could be turned off.
As if feelings had switches.
She lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling with swollen eyes.
He knew where she lived. He had walked that road. He remembered things casually she held onto seriously.
Yet to him, she was just—
another classmate.
Another person in class.(This thought made her pain more)
Someone whose notebook he borrowed, whose homework he asked, whose existence blended into the crowd.
Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away.
Crying felt stupid.
Nothing had actually happened between them.
No promises. No misunderstandings.
Just feelings growing on one side.
She turned off the light and closed her eyes.
But sleep didn't come easily.
Memories replayed instead—
His laughter. His teasing. The way he casually helped her with homework. The way he said her house was inside a forest and laughed.
Small things.
Meaningless to him.
Everything to her.
The next morning, as she got ready for school, her phone buzzed.
A message in the class group.
Anan had sent it.
"Guys Dhiran left early morning. Shifted today itself."
Maria's fingers froze.
Left?
Already?
No goodbye.
No last day.
Nothing.
She stared at the message for a long time.
Then slowly locked her phone.
In school, his seat remained empty.
And for the first time, Maria felt how loud absence could be.
During the last period, while opening her English book, something slipped out.
A small torn piece of paper.
Different from the previous note.
Old. Crumpled.
She didn't remember seeing it before.
Confused, she unfolded it.
Only one line was written.
In Dhiran's handwriting.
"You're quieter than everyone, but you notice everything. That's rare."
No date. No context.
She didn't even know when he had written it.
Or why.
Was it meant for her?
Or was it just random?
Had he noticed her more than she thought?
Or was she just overthinking again?
Questions filled her mind.
Answers didn't.
Maria slowly folded the paper again.
A strange ache filled her chest.
Not fully sad.
Not fully happy.
Just… incomplete.
Because now she would never know what he really meant.
And maybe—
he never meant anything at all.
That evening, Maria walked home alone again.
Same road. Same wind. Same silence.
Only one thing had changed.
She finally understood:
Some people enter your story, leave without explanation, and take the
answers with them.
And the hardest part?
You keep searching for meaning in moments that meant nothing to them.
Maria walked forward slowly.
And behind her, the quiet road remained.
Like it was still waiting for someone who wasn't coming back.
Suddenly...her phone buzzed up with a notification, and it was about the...
——×——×——×——×——×——×—–
Thank you so much for your support guysssss✨🌹
Let's see what is the notification ...in chapter 5
Secret★:In real life there is more painful truth than in this chapter and previous chapter
So if you need that truth in real life then message me...byeeee🤗✨
Next part I will upload tomorrow at sharp 7 o'clock 🎀✨