Yalna's final school exams were approaching – boards. the big one the kind that determined more than she liked to admit.
Sky was in his first year of college. Assignments were piling up, deadlines tightening, and his once—endless free time was slowly slipping from his grip.
They still met. But now it wasn't under stars – it was between classes, in hushed phone calls, in exhausted texts that read : " I MISS YOU TODAY".
"ME TOO. JUST …HEAVY DAY".
One afternoon , she came out of school slower than usual. Sky noticed immediately – her steps dragging , her eyes distant.
"hey," he said , falling in beside her . "you okay?"
"just tired," she mumbled. "my physics teacher said we, re behind . mom's been on edge. I didn't sleep last night.
"you should've told me. I could've helped".
"with what?" she snapped , a little sharper than intended "you are drowning too."
He paused, caught off guard. She rubbed her eyes and sighed.
" sorry. Thet wasn't at you. I just …. Everything feels like too much."
He did not take it personally. He just nodded, quietly offering her his hand. She didn't take it this time. Not out of anger – just exhaustion.
They walked in silence for the first time, it didn't feel warm.
Over the next few days their meetups become shorter.
" can't today. Extra class".
" got a project due. Tomorrow maybe?"
"I mis you. But I need to focus."
They still cared. Desperately but love doesn't always shout over pressure – it often folds, gently, under the weight of reality.
One night sky send her a sketch of her asleep on her desk, imagined from memory.
"you looked like this last week. Thought I, d draw you resting, since you don't do it enough."
She stared at it for a long time. Then replied.
"I miss you sky. Even when I, m talking to you."
He didn't respond immediately and when he did, it was simple.
"same. But we'll be okay. Won't we?"
She didn't answer. She didn't know how to.
It was Friday
They hadn't seen each other from many days. Not really. Not the way they used to. A few rushed calls, some tired messages – but not them. And today, sky had waited outside her school again, even though she hadn't promised to come.
She did late. Eyes rimmed red, brown tense. He smiled when he saw her, but she didn't smile back.
"what's wrong?" he asked ,stepping closer.
"everything," she said, her voice flat. "school, home, myself, you."
He froze " me?"
"it's not your fault," she said quickly. "I just…I don't know how to be anymore. I feel like I, m being pulled in fifty directions and I, m failing them all."
Sky reached for her hand. She pulled it back. "I need space this week, sky. And you kept asking if I was okay, and I wasn't but I didn't want to talk, I just wanted to breathe.
He looked down, chest tightening.
"I was just trying to be there."
"I know," she whispered, but sometimes it feels like even you need me to be okay, so you don't start falling too."
The words hurt not because they were cruel – but because they were true.
Sky exhaled, his voice quieter now. " I miss us. But I don't know how to carry you if you won't let me close."
Yalna shook her head. "I, m not asking to be carried. I, m asking to not have to explain everything when I don't even understand what's wrong."
The silence between them thickened. Finally, she said it – gently, but tembeling.
"maybe we rushed this. Maybe we should've just stayed friends."
Something in sky's face changed. Just for a second. But he nodded, slowly. "if that's what you need."
She looked away "I don't know what I need."
"okay," he said, barely above a whisper "then I'll wait. But I won't pretend this doesn't hurt."
They part ways without a goodbye. Not because they stopped loving- but because love wasn't enough to quiet the noise anymore.
After that day, YALNA vanished from SKY,s world.
No texts ,no replies, no more waiting outside the gate.
She had shut the door—not with anger, but silence.
Sky tried, at first.
"I know you need space. Just wanted to say I miss you."
"I saw something today that reminded me if you."
"please just tell me you, re okay."
No response. Not even a "seen."
Eventually, he stopped texting. But he never stopped checking.
He was in college, yes – but his world shrank.
Her absence became a constant presence, every place they went felt heavier. Every drawing turned into her. He sketch her from memory until even her face began to blur.
Nights were the worst.
That's when he cried. Quietly, fists clenched, heart aching like it had nowhere left to break. He whispered her name in prayers. Some nights, he didn't even ask for her back—he just begged she be happy.
" OH GOD…. If she's better without me, let her forget. But if there's even a space in her heart left for us… guide her back.
Days passed. Her birthday, his
Each one like a sharp breath with no exhale, and still silence.
Yalna poured everything into her studies day and night, books and notes, she locked herself into a version of herself that doesn't have room for sky. She told herself it was discipline, growth, strength.
But on the day her board results come in—and she saw she had topped—she felt…. Nothing.
Her parents were thrilled. Teachers proud. Friends buzzing, but in her chest it was just this quiet ache.
She found herself wanting to tell him. JUST HIM.
"you were right. I could do it."
But she didn't
Her pride was too loud, her fear of unraveling—louder.
One late night, sky sat in sujood longer than usual.
His forehead pressed to the prayer mat, tears falling freely, soaking the fibers beneath him.
"YOU GAVE ME FEELINGS I NEVER ASKED FOR, OH GOD… AND THEN YOU TOOK HER AWAY I AM NOT QUESTIONING ,I AM JUST TIRED."
He sat back, eyes closed, voice cracking.
"if she's not mine in this life….. then please …. Take this ache away."
But somewhere deep down—he wasn't ready to let go.
Not yet.
The unexpected collision
It was a regular afternoon. Sky was walking down a quiet street near his old neighborhood nothing special. He was supposed to meet an old friend for tea at a roadside café.
He wasn't expecting to see her. But then -- there she was. Across the street holding her mother's hand. A tote bag of library books on her shoulder hair longer now. Thinner , a little more grown—but still her.
His world stopped.
He pulled his headphones out, heartbeat thundering in his ears. She hadn't seen him yet.
He could've turned away. He almost did. But then she looked up – and their eyes met.
Instant.
Time didn't slow—it snapped.
She froze. He froze.
And for a moment, all the months between them melted away. They were just two people, standing on either side of everything that had gone unsaid.
Her mother tugged her sleeve, saying something. She nodded absentmindedly, eyes still on sky.
He stepped forward. Slowly.
She didn't move
Finally, just before she crossed the road—he raised his hand in a silent, unsure wave.
She paused.
And then, for the first time in nine months—
She smiled.
Not wide. Not bright.
Just… soft, familiar like a door cracking open.
It was late again. Sky couldn't sleep as, usual.
He scrolled aimlessly through facebook--- memories, reels, status updates he didn't care about—when a message popped up.
From: "luna. Sky -19"
"hi, I came across your profile… u seem familiar"
No profile picture. Barely any friends, brand new account.
Sky blinked. For a second, his heart kicked up—but he said nothing at first. Then slowly, he typed:
" maybe I do. Maybe you just forgot me"
Luna: " so …. Do you usually talk to strangers?"
"only when they don't feel like strangers."
And just like that, the conversation breathed open.
Three days passed.
They talked about books, rain, music, art.
She avoided direct personal questions, but something in her tone – her phrasing, her pauses-- he knew.
Sky didn't say it. He wanted her to come forward. In her own time. On her terms. But on the forth night, she shifted.
Luna: " can I ask something personal?"
" always"
Luna: " are you… committed?"
Sky read the question twice. His chest tightened. He smiled faintly. Fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"yes"
A long pause.
Luna: "then…. You, re cheating on her."
" why"
Luna: " because you, re talking to me from past three days"
He stared at the screen. Silent, then calmly, he replied
" I knew it was you from the very first message, yalna."
Seen.
She didn't reply immediately.
Then—
Yalna: " why didn't you say anything?"
"because I wanted you to come back in whatever way you could. Even if you were just testing me."
"even if it was just for a little while."
" even if it hurt."
The typing bubble blinked. Stopped. Blinked again.
Yalna: " I didn't know you would still care."
" I never stopped"
Another pause.
Then she sent one word:
"sky"
And just reading it—his name, from her fingers---
After nine long, aching months—broke him.
It's strange how life can feel familiar, yet completely him.
Yalna was now in college—her first year. New campus, new clothes, new notebooks filled with dreams she was finally ready to chase. And waiting outside the gate, every afternoon. Without fail…..
Was him
Sky....
No sketchbook in hand just earbuds in, leaning against his bike, the same calm presence she once found in--- between chaos.
"you really don't drew anymore?" she asked once, tilting her head as she sat behind him."
" no," he said. " you were the last thing I ever drew."
" why."
He stared the engine. Glanced back at her.
" because now I don't need to imagine you. You, re hear."
It wasn't grand gestures that defined them now. It was small things.
Like sharing water bottels under the sun. like him walking his bike alongside her instead of riding ahead. Like her texting " I am tired today" and him showing up anyway, just to sit in silence beside her.
One evening, as they watched the sky melt into soft pinks, she said:
" let's promise something"
" okay".
" no matter how busy we get. No matter how far life throws us. We don't let silence win again."
Sky nodded.
" no silence. Ever."
" and no goodbye without goodbye." She added.
"deal"
They shook hands like kids. Then locked pinkies like lovers. And in the moment, it didn't matter what the future held—because right now, they were together.
And this time, they weren't chasing each other through memory.
They were walking side by side.
For the next three months, life moved in rhythm.
Not rushed. Not fragile. Just … real
Every day after yalna's college ended, sky would be there—leaning against his bike, headphones looped around his neck, a smile already waiting for her.
"you, re late." He'd tease.
" you, re early," she'd counter.
And somehow, that little exchange became their daily routine. Like a secret handshake only they understood.
They didn't need much to be happy now.
A chai stall with wobbly chairs.
A park bench where they could sit in silence. Shared playlist. Whispered stories. Laughter over stupid memes.
Him watching her talk with stars in his eyes. Her stealing glances when he wasn't looking.
"my professor said my writing has potential today." She grinned.
"see? I told you. You, re dangerous with words," he smiled.
" are you?" she asked " anything new?"
" yeah," he nodded, " every day I get to see you is new."
Yalna started sleeping better.
Sky stopped crying at night.
Neither of them talked about the past anymore—not because they were avoiding it, because it had softened.
They were building new memories on top of the old ones. Strong ones. Warmer ones.
Sometimes, yalna would say:
" I wish we never broke."
And sky would gently answer.
"if we hadn't … we wouldn't be this."
It was love, now. Not a crush. Not fantasy. Not desperation.
But sometimes steady, something that filled them without shaking them. For the first time in a long time, they felt something that had once seemed impossible----- SAFE.