The rain that day felt different to both of them.
Harsh walked slowly beside Indu, holding the umbrella carefully so that not a single drop would fall on her. The road was muddy, small streams of water flowing down the sides, and the cold Darjeeling wind made the moment feel almost unreal.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Harsh was too nervous.
Indu was too aware of his presence.
"You live in the hostel?" Indu finally asked, breaking the silence.
Harsh looked at her, surprised that she started the conversation.
"Y-yes… boys' hostel, near the old market," he replied.
She nodded. "I live in the girls' hostel near the library."
Another silence.
But this silence wasn't awkward anymore.
It was… comfortable.
When the bus finally arrived, it was almost full. They both got in, standing close because there were no seats. The bus moved with a jerk, and Indu almost lost her balance.
Without thinking, Harsh held the railing with one hand and slightly moved closer so she wouldn't fall.
"You can hold here," he said, pointing to the railing near him.
"Thanks," she said softly.
Harsh's heart was beating so loudly he was sure she could hear it.
Say something… say something… he told himself.
But his mind went blank.
Indu looked at him from the corner of her eyes. She could see he was trying very hard to speak but couldn't.
She smiled a little.
"You're very quiet," she said.
Harsh scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I… I don't talk much."
"I noticed," she replied.
He felt embarrassed. "Is that bad?"
Indu shook her head. "No. Quiet people usually think more. I like that."
Harsh looked at her, surprised again.
No one had ever said something like that to him before.
From that day, things slowly started changing.
Not suddenly.
Not dramatically.
Just… slowly.
They started sitting in the same row sometimes. Not always together, but closer than before. They began talking about studies first, then about teachers, then about small things like food, weather, and hostel life.
Harsh learned that Indu was from Manipur, and she had come to Darjeeling for studies just like him. She was one of the top students in class, but she never showed off. She loved reading novels and waking up early to watch the sunrise.
Indu learned that Harsh loved his family more than anything. He talked about his grandparents a lot, especially his grandfather.
"He always says one thing," Harsh told her one day. "He says, 'If your heart is clean, life will be hard, but God will always help you in the end.'"
Indu listened quietly.
"Do you believe that?" she asked.
Harsh smiled a little. "I don't know about God… but I believe in having a clean heart."
Indu looked at him for a long moment after that.
She didn't say it.
But that was the moment she truly started falling for him.
But love stories are never easy.
Harsh still felt that Indu was out of his league. She was beautiful, intelligent, popular. Many boys in the class tried to talk to her, sit near her, help her with notes.
Harsh saw all that.
And every time he saw another boy talking to her and making her laugh, something inside his chest hurt a little.
So he started keeping distance again.
Not because he didn't like her.
But because he liked her too much.
If I stay too close… I'll fall too deep, he thought.
Indu noticed the distance immediately.
One day after class, she stopped him in the corridor.
"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked directly.
Harsh was shocked. "I'm not avoiding you…"
"You are," she said. "You don't sit near me anymore. You don't wait after class. You don't talk like before."
Harsh didn't know what to say.
He looked down and said quietly, "You have many friends… you don't need me."
Indu frowned slightly. "And who told you I don't need you?"
Harsh looked up.
That was the first time she had said something like that.
"I like talking to you," she continued. "You're different from others. You don't try to impress. You don't show off. You just… talk honestly."
Harsh didn't realize it, but at that moment, his importance in her life had already begun to grow.
"Friends?" she said, extending her hand.
Harsh looked at her hand for a few seconds, then slowly shook it.
"Friends," he said.
But both of them knew…
They didn't want to be just friends.
That night, in their separate hostels, both of them were thinking about the same thing.
Harsh looked at the ceiling and whispered to himself,
"I think I'm in love with her…"
In the girls' hostel, Indu sat near the window, looking at the moon and thinking,
"Why does my heart feel so calm when I'm with him…?"
Neither of them knew what the future held.
They didn't know about the fights.
They didn't know about the breakups.
They didn't know about the pain.
They didn't know about the tragic ending waiting for them years later.
Right now, they only knew one thing—
They had met someone…
Who felt like home.