Anna was already tired, and the day had barely started.
She walked through the college hallway with quick steps, her bag hanging loosely from one shoulder. Her mind was busy, not with classes, but with a design idea that had suddenly appeared while she was walking. She stopped near the wall, pulled out her sketchbook, and started drawing without thinking about anything else around her.
Lines. Curves. Colors in her head.
She didn't notice the people passing by. She didn't notice the noise. She was completely lost in her world.
Sid was coming from the opposite side.
He had just returned a book to the library and was reading another one as he walked, careful but distracted. He knew he shouldn't read while walking, but the page had reached an interesting part, and he didn't want to stop.
That's when it happened.
Anna stepped back without looking. Sid stepped forward without looking.
They bumped into each other.
Not hard. Just enough to surprise both of them.
"Oh—" Anna said quickly, holding her sketchbook before it fell. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Sid replied at the same time, adjusting the book in his hand.
They both looked up.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Anna noticed how calm he looked. No anger. No irritation. Just quiet eyes and a soft expression. Sid noticed the sketchbook in her hand, filled with unfinished drawings, and the pencil resting behind her ear.
"It was my fault," Sid said after a second. "I wasn't looking."
Anna shook her head. "Neither was I."
There was an awkward pause, not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar.
Sid glanced at her sketchbook. "You draw?"
Anna followed his eyes and smiled slightly. "Yeah. That's kind of my thing."
"It's good," he said honestly. "From what I can see."
She didn't hear compliments often that felt real. This one did.
"Thanks," she replied. Then she noticed the book in his hand. "You read while walking?"
Sid smiled a little, almost embarrassed. "I try not to. But sometimes I forget where I am."
She laughed softly. "I forget where I am too. Just in a different way."
That was it. That was how it started.
They didn't exchange dramatic words. They didn't promise anything. They just walked in the same direction, talking lightly, like people who felt strangely comfortable around each other.
Sid told her his name. "Siddhart. But call me Sid."
"Anna," she said. "Just Anna."
They talked about classes at first. Normal things. Then the conversation slowly changed.
"You really don't like books?" Sid asked, surprised but curious.
Anna shook her head. "I've tried. They're not for me. I need to see things, not imagine them."
Sid nodded. "I like imagining."
She smiled. "I figured."
They reached the classroom door before either of them realized it.
"This is me," Anna said, pointing inside.
Sid nodded. "Same."
They walked in together and sat in different seats, but something had already changed.
After that day, they started seeing each other more often.
Sometimes they talked. Sometimes they just shared a look while passing by. Sid noticed Anna's designs during class. Anna noticed how Sid always stayed calm, no matter how stressful things became.
They were still very different.
Anna was expressive, full of energy, always moving. Sid was quiet, thoughtful, steady. She spoke with her hands. He spoke with pauses. She lived in the moment. He thought about meaning.
But somehow, those differences didn't push them apart.
They pulled them closer.
One afternoon, they sat in the cafeteria, sharing a table without planning to. Anna talked about a fashion idea she was excited about. Sid listened without interrupting, his full attention on her.
"You listen really well," she said suddenly.
Sid looked confused. "Is that unusual?"
She nodded. "Very."
He smiled at that.
Slowly, comfort turned into something else. Something warmer. Something deeper. Neither of them said the word love. They didn't need to.
They just felt it growing.
Still, both of them held back.
Because meeting someone is easy.
But understanding them takes time.
And both Anna and Sid were about to learn that loving someone doesn't always mean knowing everything about them.
Not yet.