The days in Uttarakhand were growing colder, and with them, the bond between Vivek and Nisha grew warmer. Their morning meetings by the river had become a habit, a part of their lives that neither wanted to question.
Each morning, Vivek would find Nisha waiting for him on the same rock, her hair tied loosely, her face calm but thoughtful. And each morning, they would talk—not just about love, but about everything.
It was during one of these conversations that something inside Vivek began to shift.
The sun was hidden behind a layer of clouds, making the air crisp and cool. Nisha sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the gentle ripples in the river. Vivek sat beside her, plucking blades of grass absentmindedly.
“I used to think love was all about grand gestures,” she said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence.
Vivek turned to her. “Like what?”
“Like those scenes in movies where the guy runs through the rain just to tell the girl he loves her,” she said with a small smile. “Or the ones where someone writes long, emotional letters.”
Vivek chuckled. “Sounds romantic.”
“It does,” she admitted. “But after everything I’ve been through, I think love is in the little things.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
She took a deep breath, gazing at the river. “Like remembering how someone takes their coffee. Or noticing when they’re quiet and asking if they’re okay. It’s in the way they look at you when they think you’re not watching.”
Vivek listened carefully, his heart strangely light and heavy at the same time. “So, love isn’t about words?”
“It can be,” she said. “But words are easy. Actions… they show the truth.”
He nodded slowly, absorbing her words. Another lesson.
As the wind blew gently, lifting a strand of Nisha’s hair across her face, Vivek reached out without thinking and tucked it behind her ear. It was a simple, instinctive action, but the moment his fingers brushed against her skin, something inside him sparked.
Nisha turned to him in surprise, her brown eyes meeting his. For a brief second, neither of them spoke. The world around them blurred, the sound of the river fading into the background.
Then she cleared her throat and looked away. “We should head back,” she murmured.
Vivek withdrew his hand, suddenly aware of what he had done. “Yeah… okay.”
But as they walked away from the river, something had changed. And for the first time, Vivek wondered if the love he had been searching for had been right in front of him all along.
That night, as Vivek lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, he replayed the moment at the riverbank over and over again.
The way Nisha had looked at him. The way his heart had stuttered when their eyes met.
Was this love?
Or was it just a passing feeling?
He turned onto his side and exhaled. This wasn’t what he had planned. He had wanted to understand love, not fall into it. But now, every time he saw Nisha, something inside him stirred—something soft, something warm.
And the scariest part?
He didn’t want it to stop.
The next day, Vivek found himself looking for Nisha in the school corridors. It was unusual—before, they had only met at the river. But today, for some reason, he wanted to see her outside of that place too.
When he finally spotted her near the library, his heart did a little flip.
Nisha was sitting by the window, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on the wooden table. She looked lost in thought, unaware of the world around her.
Vivek hesitated for a moment before walking over. “Hey.”
She looked up, surprised. “Hey.”
He slid into the seat across from her. “What are you thinking about?”
She sighed. “Life. Love. The usual.”
Vivek smiled. “Any new lessons for me?”
She gave him a playful look. “Maybe. But you’re going to have to figure this one out on your own.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “Challenge accepted.”
Nisha shook her head, but her smile lingered. And as Vivek watched her, he knew—this was different. This was more than friendship.
Write a comment ...