The college campus had returned to its rhythm-laughter echoing through corridors, the aroma of street food near the gates, and the nervous chaos of students juggling assignments and social life. A week had passed since Rishi's incident. He had healed physically, but something still lingered behind his usual silence.
Raj. of course, had had enough.
"Boys. listen up!" he declared one morning in the canteen, holding a crumpled form like a trophy. "We are performing in the annual cultural fest."
Rishi looked up from his barely touched cold coffee. "We?"
Raj grinned. "Yes. us. You. me. Rajiv. The Three Tornadoes."
Rajiv nearly choked on his samosa. "Dude, I thought we retired that name in tenth grade."
"Well, it's back from retirement! And we're gonna blow the stage up!"
Rishi raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly signed us up?"
Raj proudly tapped his chest. "Yours truly. Don't thank me yet. I even volunteered us for the closing act. Full house. full drama."
Rishi sighed. "Do we even have a plan?"
"Of course not. That's what makes it fun."
The next few days were a blur of rehearsals. The trio decided on a fusion skit: part dance, part comedy, part satire. Rishi handled the dialogues, Raj choreographed. and Rajiv managed props and transitions.
Raj. as always, was full of extra flair. "Bro, when you say your monologue, don't just speak it-breathe it. Let it travel through your soul."
Rishi blinked. "Raj, it's a joke about canteen food."
"Exactly. Deliver it like Shakespeare would talk about poison."
Rajiv, holding a fake skeleton, mumbled. "Can we just finish before I grow old?"
Despite the chaos, something began to shift. Rishi started laughing more. The sharp edge in his eyes softened during rehearsals. Maybe, just maybe, he was finding pieces of himself again.
The day of the performance arrived.
Backstage was a warzone of glitter, nerves, and noise. Performers scrambled for costumes, last-minute scripts were being memorized, and the energy was infectious.
Raj paced like a general before battle. "Okay.
The auditorium was still echaing with cheers and laughter. The trio-Raj, Rishi, and Rajiv-had just stepped off the stage after delivering a performance that left everyone stunned. Applause roared from all directions, professors gave nods of approval, and students couldn't stop whispering about how unexpectedly good it was.
Raj took a bow. dramatically wiping imaginary sweat
from his forehead. "I told you, gentlemen, talent like mine can't be taught it is a divine curse," he said, striking a ridiculous pose.
Rajiv chuckled, patting Raj's back.
"You tripped twice and forgot your lines once, genius."
Rishi, unusually calm bat wearing a rare smile, quietly looked around the auditorium, his eyes scanning the moving crowd. There was something about the energy. The
The buzz in the air-it reminded him of moments he couldn't explain, fragments of something unfinished.
Then suddenly... he froze.
Across the hallway, near the far exit, stood a girl. Her face was hidden beneath a pale pink scarf, just like her. The one from that day. The girl who had caught him before he fell. The girl whose eyes were now burned into his memory.
For a second, his breath hitched.
Without a word, he darted through the crowd, ignaring the confused calls of Raj and Rajiv bekind him.
"Where's he going now?" Raj muttered, frowning. "Wait." Rajiv said, eyes narrowing. "He saw someone."
Rishi pashed past groups of students, his eyes locked on the figure ahead. The scarf. The posture. The silence around her. It all screamed familiar.
He stopped just a few steps away.
The girl turned slightly, sensing someone behind her.
Their eyes met
And instantly he knew.
Those eyes... they were kind, but not hers.
Not the ones that had haunted his dreams. Not the ones that had looked at him with quiet fire on the day of the fight.
This wasn't her.
A wave of disappointment washed over him. Not just disappointment, but something deeper. Like watching a dream dissolve into the air before you could reach it.
The girl blinked, confused. Rishi offered a small, polite nod and stepped back,
"Sorry," he marmured.
She walked away, leaving Rishi standing amidst the crowd, a lone figure among celebrations.
Raj and Rajiv finally reached him.
Raj was panting. "Bro! Are you okay? What just happened? Why did you bolt?"
Rishi didn't answer immediately. He glanced back one last time at the direction the girl had vanished into.
"I thought it was someone else." he said quietly.
Rajiv gave him a long, thoughtful look but didn't push.
Raj, being Raj, placed a hand on Rishi's shoulder. "You sure you're not seeing ghosis in scarves. Romeo?"
Rishi smirked faintly, the corners of his lips twitching. "Maybe I am."
They walked back to the common area in silence. Around them, the college buzzed with laughter and energy. but Inside Rishi-something had shifted again. He wasn't sure what he was chasing. A memory? A face? A moment that may have meant nothing to anyone else... but meant. everything to him.
Back at the dorm that evening. Raj was sprawled across the couch, flipping channels like a bored king. Rajiv sat with a notebook in his lap, sketching something mindlessly.
Rishi stood by the window, watching the sun dip below the Indore skyline. The orange sky made the world look like it was holding its breath.
"You really think it was her?" Rajiv finally asked.
"No." Rishi replied. "I knew it the moment I looked in her eyes."
Raj stretched lazily.
"Then maybe it's time to stop chasing shadows, bro."
"I'm not chasing," Rishi said. "I'm... waiting."
Raj made a lace. "Waiting for what? Some mystery giri with magical eyes to just show up again and say "HI, remember when I saved your life?"
Rishi turned from the window, his gaze unreadable..
"Maybe," he said softly. "Or maybe just for the feeling she left behind."
Rajiv tapped his pen against the notebook. "What feeling?"
Rishi's voice was almost a whisper.
"Like I wasn't alone."
There was silence in the room after that. Noi uncomfortable-but thoughtful. Heavy, but needed.
Raj finally stood up, breaking the mood.
"Alright, enough emotional monologue. Let's order food. I' m starving, and I need something spicy to match the drama."
Rishi smiled faintly as Raj walked off already debating biryani vs. pizza.
Rajiv remained seated, still watching Rishi, He didn't speak, but something in his eyes said he understood. Sometimes, silence was the loudest support you could give.
And as night settled in one thing was certain-
Rishi wasn't chasing love.
He was chasing a moment that reminded him of who he used to be before life pulled him in too many directions. And maybe, just maybe, that girl-whoever she was-wasn't just a stranger.
Maybe she was the key to something deeper.
Something furgotten.
To be continued....