The rain fell like it had a purpose—each drop striking the earth with a rhythm that matched the pounding in her chest. Aarvi stood beneath the flickering streetlight, her breath visible in the cold, her heart drowning in the noise of the storm.
She wasn't supposed to be here.Not in this city.Not tonight.Not after everything she'd tried to forget.
The street smelled of wet asphalt and broken promises. A car passed by, splashing muddy water onto her dress, but she didn't move. Her heels sank into the puddle, and her mascara mixed with the rain, tracing black rivers down her cheeks.
And then—she heard it.A voice, low and calm, cutting through the rain.
"You'll catch a fever if you keep standing there."
She turned, startled. A man stood a few feet away under a black umbrella. His shirt was soaked at the edges, his eyes dark and unreadable, like he'd seen too much of life and wasn't afraid of it anymore.
Their eyes met—and for a moment, time didn't move.
Aarvi's pulse stuttered. She didn't know him. But something in his gaze felt like recognition—like he already knew her pain, her silence, her storms.
He walked closer, offering the umbrella. "Here," he said softly. "At least pretend you want to stay dry."
She hesitated. "I'm fine."
"You're not," he replied."No one stands in the rain this long unless they're breaking."
That one sentence cracked something inside her.The tears she had held back for weeks broke free, blending with the rain. He didn't say anything more—just lifted the umbrella over her head and stood beside her, letting half his shoulder stay in the storm.
For a while, neither spoke. The world was nothing but thunder, cold air, and the quiet sound of two souls learning to breathe next to each other.
Finally, she whispered, "Why are you here?"
He smiled faintly. "Maybe for the same reason you are."
Aarvi looked up, confused. "And what's that?"
"Trying to forget someone I shouldn't have loved."
Her lips parted slightly. The answer was too raw, too close to her own truth. The rain slowed, but her heartbeat didn't.
Their shadows merged on the wet pavement—two broken silhouettes meeting in darkness, touching for the first time.
And though neither knew the other's name, it already felt like the beginning of something they'd both regret... and crave forever.