Aarohi woke up with a sharp inhale.
Not from a nightmare.
Not from a voice.
Not from fear.
From a feeling.
A hollow one.
A missing one.
A longing that didn't belong to her.
She clutched her chest, breath trembling.
Arin sat alert at the foot of her bed, eyes wide. He had been watching her the whole time — afraid to sleep, afraid to blink.
"Aarohi? What is it now?" he whispered.
Aarohi swallowed hard.
"I… miss someone."
Arin's heart dropped.
"Who?" he whispered, though he already knew.
Aarohi shut her eyes.
"A feeling…
A presence…
Someone who used to sit beside me, without speaking…
Someone who made silence feel warm."
Arin's breath hitched painfully.
"Aarohi… that's him again."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"It's not my emotion, Arin.
It's hers.
Aara's.
The first night she realized she missed Riaan."
Arin's jaw clenched.
"Tell me what you remember."
Aarohi closed her eyes.
And the memory swallowed her.
---
PAST LIFE
It was late evening.
Aara sat by her bedroom window, staring at the orange sky dissolving into purple.
Her room was quiet — too quiet.
Her heart felt restless.
Empty.
She didn't know why.
She hugged her knees to her chest, whispering to herself:
"What's wrong with me today?"
She tried reading.
She tried listening to music.
She tried focusing on anything.
But nothing felt right.
Her mind kept wandering.
Her chest kept tightening.
Her eyes kept drifting to her phone.
Riaan hadn't walked her home that day.
He'd left early for something urgent.
He hadn't smiled goodbye.
He hadn't said "See you tomorrow."
Aara felt it like a missing puzzle piece in her ribs.
She didn't understand it.
She barely spoke to people.
She didn't get attached.
She wasn't used to depending on anyone.
But now—
her heart felt unfamiliar.
Like it was searching for something.
Someone.
She whispered into the empty room:
"Why do I feel like this?"
The more she tried denying it, the heavier it became.
Her hand reached unconsciously to the bracelet Riaan had once fixed on her wrist.
The thread was frayed.
She never removed it.
Her thumb rubbed over it slowly.
A strange ache spread through her chest.
Not sadness.
Not fear.
Yearning.
Pure, aching yearning.
Aara gasped softly.
"What is happening to me…?"
Then her phone lit up.
Riaan: Did you reach home safely?
Her breath stopped.
Aara stared at the screen, her fingers trembling.
She typed slowly:
Yes. Are you okay? You left suddenly today.
Riaan replied after a moment:
I'm fine. I just… missed walking with you.
Aara's heart flipped.
Her vision blurred.
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat race in a way that scared her.
Not because it hurt.
But because it felt good.
Too good.
She typed:
I… missed it too.
The moment she hit send, she covered her face, embarrassed.
But Riaan's reply came quickly:
Then tomorrow, I'll walk you all the way home. I promise.
Aara's heart melted quietly.
Her whisper filled the dim room:
"I think… I miss you."
It was the first time she ever admitted that feeling to herself.
The night she realized she didn't just like his company—
she needed it.
---
PRESENT
Aarohi returned to herself with a soft cry, bending forward, her shoulders trembling.
Arin caught her immediately.
"Aarohi! Aarohi, what happened?!"
Aarohi couldn't speak at first.
She buried her face in her palms.
Her voice came out strangled:
"She missed him, Arin.
Not because she was sad.
Not because she needed saving.
But because her heart… had started choosing him."
Arin's chest tightened painfully.
"Aarohi…"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I felt it," she whispered.
"I felt her longing.
Her restlessness.
The way his absence changed the air for her."
Arin swallowed hard, his eyes dark with hurt.
"And what about you?" he asked quietly.
"Do you miss him too?"
Aarohi's body froze.
Silence.
A long, heavy silence.
Then she whispered brokenly:
"I don't miss him…
But I miss not feeling torn."
Arin looked at her with shattered eyes.
"Aarohi… this is destroying you."
Aarohi grabbed his hand tightly.
"You're my present.
You're the one I want.
These feelings… they're old echoes.
Not mine."
Arin pressed his forehead to her shoulder, trying not to break.
But behind her—
just behind her—
that warmth returned.
The air shifted.
Her breath hitched.
A shadow stood near the window.
A voice whispered, soft enough to feel, not hear:
"You missed me once, Aara…
And I still feel it."
Aarohi froze.
Her fingers tightened painfully around Arin's hand.
He didn't hear it.
But she did.
Because the past wasn't echoing anymore.
It was answering.
---