Chapter 1: The Dust on the Envelope
The rain was drumming against the window of Zayn's apartment, a monotonous sound that matched the emptiness of the room. He was finally moving out, packing years of his life into cardboard boxes.
He reached for the top shelf of the old mahogany wardrobe, and that's when it fell.
A pale, cream-colored envelope, its edges yellowed by time. It hadn't been opened, but the ink on the front had faded slightly. In his own messy handwriting, it simply said: "To Maya."
Zayn froze. The cold air of the room suddenly felt heavy. It had been seven years, yet seeing her name written in his own hand felt like a sudden punch to the chest. This was the letter he never had the courage to post. The words he never said before she boarded that flight, leaving a void that no one else could ever fill.
He sat on the floor, the cold tiles forgotten, as he stared at the seal.
Should I open it?" he whispered to the silence.
Some stories are meant to be finished, but their story had ended before the first chapter was even over. Or so he thought.
The Bookstore Rain
Seven years ago, the world felt smaller, and life was simpler. It was one of those monsoon afternoons in Dhaka when the sky turned a bruised purple.
Zayn was hiding from the downpour inside a cramped old bookstore. He was scanning the shelves when he saw her. Maya. She was struggling with a huge umbrella, her yellow dupatta slightly damp from the rain. She looked annoyed at the weather but stopped instantly when she spotted a rare poetry book on the shelf. Her eyes lit up—a spark Zayn had never seen in anyone before.
He didn't know then that this girl, standing amidst the smell of old paper and rain, would become his entire world. And he certainly didn't know that one day, all he would have left of her was a faded envelope and a heart full of "what ifs."