[RISHI AND ANANYA]
Rishi and Ananya walked across campus, hand in hand.
It was a lazy afternoon. Classes were done for the day. The sun was warm but not unbearable.
Ananya sighed. "Want to grab coffee? I'm exhausted."
"Yeah, sure. That café near the Botany Department?"
"Perfect."
As they walked, Ananya glanced at Rishi.
"Have you seen Shant today? He wasn't in class."
Rishi shook his head. "No. He texted me this morning saying he wouldn't make it. Didn't say why."
"Huh." Ananya frowned. "And Aradhya said she was busy today. I thought maybe she was nervous about classes starting next week."
Rishi raised an eyebrow. "Think they're together?"
Ananya laughed. "I mean, they did hold hands for like a full minute when we introduced them. So maybe."
"True."
They reached the café.
Rishi opened the door for Ananya, and she stepped inside.
And stopped.
Through the crowded tables, near the window, she saw them.
Shant and Aradhya.
Sitting at the corner table.
Leaning toward each other.
Laughing.
There were yellow flowers on the table between them.
Ananya's hands flew to her face.
"Ohhhhh. Rishi. Look."
Rishi followed her gaze.
His eyebrows shot up.
Then he grinned. "No way."
"Are they on a date?"
"Looks like it."
Ananya grabbed Rishi's arm. "Should we...?"
Rishi's grin widened. "Absolutely."
They exchanged mischievous looks and headed toward the corner table.
[SHANT AND ARADHYA]
Aradhya was mid-sentence.
"...and that's why I think sunflowers are overrated. They're just too…"
A voice interrupted.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Aradhya looked up.
Ananya was standing at their table, arms crossed, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Rishi was beside her, eyebrows raised, looking way too amused.
Shant's eyes widened.
"Ananya! Hi!" Aradhya said, her voice a little too high.
Rishi crossed his arms. "Shant. Didn't make it to class today, huh?"
Shant cleared his throat. "Uh. Yeah. I was... busy."
Ananya looked pointedly at the flowers on the table. "Busy. I can see that."
Aradhya's face heated up.
Rishi leaned against the table, grinning. "So. Date?"
Shant and Aradhya spoke at the same time.
"No!"
"It's not…"
They looked at each other.
Ananya laughed. "Oh my god, you two are adorable."
Aradhya buried her face in her hands. "We're just... having coffee."
Rishi nodded slowly. "Right. Coffee. With flowers." He gestured at the yellow marigolds. "Very casual."
Shant's ears were turning red. "They're just…"
Ananya leaned in, eyes sparkling. "Friendship flowers, right? Yellow means friendship." She winked at Aradhya. "Very thoughtful."
Aradhya groaned. "Oh my god."
Shant was trying not to laugh, but his face was flushed.
Rishi straightened up. "Alright, alright. We'll leave you two alone."
Ananya grinned. "But Aradhya, I expect a full report later."
"There's nothing to report!" Aradhya said, still hiding behind her hands.
"Sure," Ananya said, clearly not believing her.
Rishi pulled Ananya toward the counter. "Come on, let's get coffee and let them breathe."
As they walked away, Ananya looked back and mouthed: Call me later!
Aradhya groaned louder.
[RISHI AND ANANYA AT THE COUNTER]
Rishi and Ananya stood at the counter, ordering coffee.
Rishi glanced back at the corner table.
Shant and Aradhya were laughing now, both looking relieved and embarrassed at the same time.
"I've never seen Shant like that," Rishi said quietly.
"Like what?"
"Relaxed. Happy. He's been so tense lately. Like he's carrying the weight of the world."
Ananya nodded. "Aradhya seems really into him too."
"Think they'll actually make it?"
Ananya watched them for a moment. Shant was saying something, and Aradhya was leaning forward, smiling.
"I don't know," she said. "But I hope so. They're really cute together."
"Yeah," Rishi said. "They really are."
The barista handed them their coffee.
Ananya glanced back one more time. "Should we stay?"
Rishi shook his head. "Nah. Let's leave them alone."
"Good call."
They took their coffee and left.
[SHANT AND ARADHYA: AFTERMATH]
After Rishi and Ananya left, Shant and Aradhya sat in silence for a moment.
Then they both started laughing.
"Oh my god," Aradhya said, wiping her eyes. "That was mortifying."
"Completely," Shant agreed.
"Ananya is never going to let this go."
"Rishi either."
They looked at each other.
And then Aradhya said it.
"So... is this a date?"
Shant paused.
His eyes met hers.
Then he smiled.
"Do you want it to be?"
Aradhya's heart was pounding.
She felt like she was standing at the edge of something. A cliff. A choice.
"Maybe," she said softly.
Shant's smile widened.
"Then yeah. It's a date."
Aradhya smiled back.
And just like that, something shifted.
The air between them felt different. Lighter. More open.
A date.
They went back to talking.
But now there was something new in the way they looked at each other.
After a while, Aradhya hesitated.
"Can I ask you something else?"
"Always."
She took a breath.
"Yesterday, after we met... I went to a café. This café, actually."
Shant looked up, surprised.
"And I saw you here."
His eyebrows rose.
Aradhya quickly added, "I wasn't following you, I swear. I just... I needed to think, and I ended up here. And you were sitting at a table. Then you got a phone call and left really quickly."
Shant was quiet for a moment.
"Why didn't you come say hi?"
"I was going to. But then your phone rang and you looked... upset. And I didn't want to intrude." She laughed nervously. "Also, I thought you might think I was stalking you."
Shant smiled. "I wouldn't have thought that."
"Really? Random girl shows up at the same café right after meeting you?"
"I would have been happy to see you," Shant said simply.
Aradhya's heart did something stupid in her chest.
"Was everything okay?" she asked. "With the phone call?"
Shant nodded. "Yeah. My mom needed help with something. It's fine now."
Aradhya didn't push.
Then she said, "The weird thing is... when I was here yesterday, this café felt so familiar. And when I saw you sitting at that table..." She gestured to where they were sitting now. "...it felt like I'd seen you there before. Sitting exactly there."
Shant went very still.
Because she had.
In the fortune teller dream. In Chapter 6.
But she didn't know that.
"Maybe you have," he said quietly. "In another life."
He said it seriously. Not as a joke.
Aradhya looked at him.
"Do you believe in that? Past lives?"
Shant was quiet for a moment.
"I don't know," he said finally. "But I believe in this. Right now. You and me, here."
Aradhya's heart was pounding.
She wanted to ask: Have you been dreaming too? Do you feel this too, this impossible sense that we've done this before?
But the words stuck in her throat.
So she just nodded.
And whispered, "Me too."
A few minutes later, Aradhya took another breath.
"Can I tell you something?" she asked.
"Always."
"Something weird. If you promise not to judge me."
Shant leaned forward. "I won't judge."
She looked at him. Really looked at him.
His eyes were warm. Open. Honest.
And she felt it.
He wouldn't judge her.
She could trust him.
"I had a dream about you," she said quietly. "The night after we met."
Shant went still.
"What kind of dream?" he asked, his voice careful.
"We were here. At this café. At this table." She gestured around them. "And we were... happy. Comfortable. Like we'd known each other forever."
Shant's hand, resting on the table near hers, shifted slightly.
His fingers brushed hers.
Then his hand covered hers. A gentle squeeze.
Grounding. Steady.
"I believe you," he said.
Aradhya's throat tightened. "You don't think it's weird?"
"No." His thumb traced small circles on the back of her hand. "I think... sometimes the mind knows things before we do."
She didn't know what he meant.
But it felt true.
His hand was still on hers.
Neither of them moved.
They stayed at the café until the sun started to set.
Aradhya checked her phone and groaned.
"I have to go. Dinner with my parents."
"Yeah. I should get going too."
They stood, reluctant.
Shant picked up the flowers. "You're taking these, right?"
"Obviously."
He smiled.
They walked out together.
The street was quieter now. The evening crowd thinning out.
"I'll walk you to the metro," Shant said.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
They walked in comfortable silence.
Aradhya held the yellow marigolds carefully, like they were something precious.
At the metro entrance, they stopped.
"Thank you," Aradhya said. "For the flowers. For today."
"Thank you for texting me," Shant said.
A pause.
"Text me when you get home?" she asked.
"Yeah."
They stood there for another moment.
Then Aradhya turned and walked toward the entrance.
She looked back once.
Shant was still standing there, watching her.
She waved.
He waved back.
And then she disappeared down the stairs.
[ARADHYA: THAT NIGHT]
Aradhya got home just as the sun was setting.
Her mother was in the living room, reading.
"How was it?" she asked without looking up.
"Good."
Her mother glanced at the flowers in Aradhya's hands and smiled.
"Just coffee with a friend, huh?"
Aradhya ignored her and went to her room.
She found a small vase, filled it with water, and arranged the yellow marigolds carefully.
Set them on her desk.
Then she sat on her bed and pulled out her phone.
Got home. Thanks again for today.
Shant's response came quickly.
Anytime. Sleep well.
She stared at the message for a long time.
Then typed: You too.
Aradhya lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She was smiling.
She couldn't stop smiling.
This is ridiculous, she thought. I barely know him.
But it didn't feel that way.
She turned her head and looked at the yellow marigolds on her desk.
Friendship and joy.
That's what they meant.
But it felt like more than that.
She closed her eyes.
And fell asleep smiling.
[SHANT: THAT NIGHT]
Shant got home just after dark.
The apartment was quiet.
His father's door was closed. His mother was in the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner.
She looked up when he walked in.
"How was your day?" she asked.
"Good," Shant said.
She smiled. "Good."
Shant went to his room and closed the door.
He sat at his desk and opened his diary.
Stared at the blank page.
Then started writing.
September 2nd.
I saw her again.
We talked for hours. About everything. About nothing. She told me she dreamed about me. I wanted to tell her everything. About my dreams. About the patterns I'm terrified of. About the breakup I keep seeing.
But I didn't.
Not yet.
For now, I just want to enjoy this. Whatever this is.
Rishi and Ananya found us at the café. Teased us. Asked if it was a date. And after they left, Aradhya asked me the same thing.
"Is this a date?"
I said yes.
It's a date.
She makes me feel like maybe the pattern doesn't matter. Like maybe this time, reality will be different.
I hope I'm right.
He closed the diary.
His phone buzzed.
Got home. Thanks again for today.
Shant smiled and typed back.
Anytime. Sleep well.
He set the phone down and lay back on his bed.
For the first time in months, he wasn't afraid of dreaming.
Because reality was better than any dream he'd ever had.
He closed his eyes.
And fell asleep peacefully.