As the weeks bled into months, their bond deepened. They moved from the library to coffee shops, and then to long walks through the city's botanical gardens.
Jannat was a dreamer. She spoke of traveling to the Silk Road, of painting murals in forgotten villages, and of finding the "soul" of every city she visited. She lived in the abstract, while Leo lived in the concrete. Yet, somehow, they fit. She gave his structures a purpose, and he gave her dreams a foundation.
One evening, while sitting under a canopy of weeping willows, Jannat grew quiet.
"Do you ever feel like you're waiting for something, but you don't know what it is?" she asked, her voice small.
Leo looked at her—really looked at her. The way the sunset caught the amber in her eyes, the way she traced the spine of her book. "I used to," he said softly. "But I think I stopped waiting a few months ago."
The air between them changed. It was no longer just friendship; it was the heavy, sweet tension of a story about to begin its best chapter.
Their relationship wasn't a fairy tale—it was better. It was real. It was Jannat bringing him lukewarm coffee at 3:00 AM when he was finishing a project. It was Leo learning how to cook her favorite traditional dishes, even if he accidentally used too much saffron every single time.
He learned that "Jannat" wasn't just a name; it was a feeling. Being with her felt like coming home to a place he'd never been but always recognized.
However, life has a way of testing foundations. When Leo received an internship offer in a city three hundred miles away, the "dream" began to face the reality of distance.
"You have to go," Jannat told him, her voice firm despite the tears she was trying to blink away. "You've built this dream, Leo. You can't let it crumble because you're afraid of a little space."
"But what about us?" he asked.
She took his hands in hers. Her skin was warm, a grounding force in his sudden storm. "We aren't built of glass, Leo. We're built of the things we've promised each other. I'll be your secret room, remember? The place you go when the world gets too loud."