Three years is a long time.
Long enough to forget voices, but not memories.
Long enough to grow into the person you once wished you were.
And sometimes, long enough to meet again… differently.
Ahaana Singh was no longer the girl who blended into corridors or second-guessed her place. Now, a first-year MBBS student at a private medical college, she carried herself with quiet pride. Her scar hadn't faded, but her fear of it had. She no longer needed filters or long sleeves. Her voice, once soft and hesitant, now carried weight in classrooms and late-night hostel debates.
Aditya was long gone. Their breakup wasn't dramatic—just overdue. What had started out as comfort slowly wilted into silence. They both knew it, and neither fought it. He had moved on with his life, and so had she. There were no lingering wounds. Only lessons.
Her 20th birthday was loud and full of chaos—exactly how she liked it. Her college friends had taken over a lively rooftop café, decorating it with fairy lights, handmade signs, and cupcakes with her initials on them. There was music, terrible dancing, and laughter spilling over every corner.
Then came the moment she didn't expect.
"Hey, table 3 just walked in," Simran whispered to her, eyes narrowing toward the entrance. "Do you see who that is?"
Ahaana turned casually—then froze for a heartbeat.
Ayaan Gazi.
He walked in with his college friends, taller now, more defined, more grounded. His energy wasn't loud anymore. It was calm. Mature. There was no boyish overconfidence in his step—but something more real. More lived-in.
Their eyes met across the café.
He smiled.
She smiled back, small and steady.
His friends noticed first. "Isn't that the girl from school? Ahaana something?"
Another said, "You used to talk to her, right?"
Before Ayaan could answer, one of them had already waved toward her table, laughing. In a surprising moment of boldness, they all walked over. Her friends looked at her for permission. She gave a slight nod.
"Mind if we join?" one of Ayaan's friends asked.
They pulled in chairs.
Ayaan sat directly across from her, cautious but warm.
"Happy Birthday," he said.
"Thanks," she replied, offering him a cupcake without thinking.
The table buzzed with laughter. Everyone talked—about college life, hostel chaos, career plans. But beneath the noise, there was a quiet space just for them. A space where memories stood quietly between their glances.
She wasn't trying to impress him. And he wasn't trying to charm her. They were just… there. Two people who once collided messily, now sitting in the same frame again—older, softer, and maybe finally ready.
"So," she said after a pause, "what now?"
Ayaan chuckled. "We start from the beginning. As strangers. But this time, with better timing."
She smiled.
The night went on.
They didn't exchange numbers.
Didn't make promises.
But something had shifted.
Some endings are really just waiting to be rewritten.
Sometimes, a soft hello after years of silence is magic enough.