After a few days—
they started talking more.
More calls.
More texts.
Their conversations—
became deeper.
More interesting.
More beautiful.
Aarohi wanted to talk to Aira.
And Aira—
wanted the same.
Aira started enjoying school more.
Not because anything had changed there—
But because she was happy.
Happier than before.
But in school—
there was still someone.
Dikshita.
She was still trying—
to get closer to Aira.
Talking to her.
Finding small reasons—
to be around her.
But Aira didn't want that.
She didn't hate her—
But she didn't let her come close either.
She kept ignoring her—
quietly.
Because Aira's thoughts—
were somewhere else.
With Aarohi.
Like nothing bad had ever happened.
Like everything was fine.
Like they never broke apart.
One day—
Aira posted a photo with her sister.
Something she never did.
She didn't like clicking photos.
She didn't like posting stories.
But her sister forced her—
so she clicked one.
And without thinking too much—
she posted it.
She didn't even know why.
Maybe—
she just felt like it.
Aira looked soft in that photo.
Simple.
Real.
After some time—
A notification came.
Aarohi liked the story.
Aira was surprised.
No one had ever reacted like that before.
Not to her photos.
And for some reason—
that small thing—
meant a lot.
Later that day—
Aira returned from tuition.
Crying.
Her teacher had scolded her.
Because her studies weren't going well.
And it hurt her.
More than she expected.
She felt heavy.
Lost.
And for the first time—
she wanted to share it with someone.
She called her sister.
But she didn't pick up.
She was busy.
And then—
Aira thought of Aarohi.
She paused.
"Should I tell her?"
"Will she understand?"
Because Aira never shared her problems.
With anyone.
But this time—
she couldn't hold it in.
So she told her.
Everything.
What she was feeling.
What she was going through.
Aira had panic attacks.
And she told her about that too.
And Aarohi—
listened.
Carefully.
Patiently.
Without interrupting.
She didn't judge.
Didn't ignore.
Didn't make it feel small.
She just stayed.
And for Aira—
that was enough.
For the first time—
Aira felt understood.
Even without someone being physically
there.
Because no one had ever tried—
to understand her like this.
And she loved that feeling.
That she had someone—
who listened.
Who stayed.
Slowly—
her tears stopped.
Her breathing calmed down.
Her mind felt lighter.
Aarohi made her smile again.
A real one.
Aira felt peaceful.
Normal again.
That childish version of her—
came back.
For a moment.
After the call ended—
Aira didn't move for a while.
She just sat there—
holding her phone.
Not crying anymore.
Not thinking too much.
Just… feeling lighter.
For the first time—
she didn't feel alone.
Even though—
no one was physically there.
She looked at the screen again—
their chat still open.
And a small thought crossed her mind—
"Why does she understand me… more than the people around me?"
Aira didn't have an answer.
But she didn't question it either.
Because right now—
it felt enough.
From that day—
Aira started noticing something.
Whenever something happened—
good or bad—
The first person she thought of—
was Aarohi.
Not her family.
Not her friends.
Just her.
Aira realized something—
but didn't say it out loud.
She was getting used to Aarohi.
Not just as a person—
But as a feeling.