The morning of Holi always brought happiness to everyone in the town. Music filled the streets, children ran with water balloons, and colorful gulal floated in the air like tiny clouds.
For Riya, however, Holi had not felt the same for the past two years.
She stood quietly on her balcony, watching people laugh and celebrate. Every color she saw reminded her of someone—Aman.
Two years ago, on a Holi morning just like this one, Aman had knocked on her door with a plate of bright colors.
"Come outside, Riya!" he had said excitedly. "It's Holi!"
Riya had refused at first. She never liked playing with colors.
But Aman smiled mischievously and gently put a little pink gulal on her cheek.
"Now you can't escape," he laughed.
That day became the happiest Holi of her life. They ran through the streets, threw colors at each other, and shared sweets with their friends. By evening, they were sitting on the steps near the park, their faces completely covered in colors.
Aman looked at her and said softly, "You know, every color reminds me of you."
Riya had laughed. "Why?"
"Because you bring color to my life."
A few months later, Aman had to move to another city for his studies. At first, they promised to stay in touch, but slowly life became busy. Calls became fewer, messages shorter, and eventually silence filled the space between them.
Since then, Holi felt empty.
As Riya watched people celebrating below her balcony, she sighed and turned to go inside.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
She opened the door and froze.
Standing there was Aman, holding a small packet of red gulal and the same warm smile she remembered.
"Happy Holi, Riya," he said softly.
For a moment, she couldn't speak. "Aman… you're here?"
"I promised something, remember?" he replied.
Riya looked confused.
Aman smiled and said, "That no matter where life takes us, I'll always come back to celebrate Holi with you."
Her eyes filled with tears.
Without saying anything more, Aman gently placed a little red gulal on her cheek—just like he had done the first time they met.
"This color never fades," he said quietly. "Just like my feelings for you."
Riya smiled through her tears and picked up some color from the plate near the door. She softly applied it to his face.
Outside, laughter and music filled the streets again. The sky was bright with colors, but for Riya, only one color truly mattered.
Because sometimes, love may fade with distance for a while—but the right person always comes back to color your world again.
That Holi, the colors were brighter than ever, because two hearts had finally found their way back to each other. 🌈💖