Aarohi lay on her pillow, staring blankly at the ceiling, her pulse unsteady and her breath uneven.
Her fingers trembled against the bedsheet as another wave of emotions crashed through her — emotions she knew weren't hers, not from this life.
She whispered into the dim room:
"It's happening again…"
Arin sat up immediately from the floor, eyes filled with worry.
"Aarohi, tell me what you're feeling."
Aarohi swallowed hard, pressing a hand to her chest.
"Warmth…
Fear…
And something deeper…
something that feels like falling."
Arin's heart clenched.
"Falling into what?"
Aarohi closed her eyes, tears forming.
"Into a memory.
Into something Aara felt…
the day she realized Riaan meant more to her than she wanted to admit."
Arin froze.
"Aarohi… please, don't go back there."
But she already was.
Her breath hitched.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
And the world dissolved into memory.
---
PAST LIFE
Aara sat on the staircase behind the school building, hugging her bag to her chest.
Her hair fell across her face, and she used it to hide, as always. The day had been rough —
laughter at her broken tooth,
a teacher blaming her unfairly,
girls whispering behind her back.
She wanted to disappear.
But footsteps approached.
Slow.
Familiar.
Comforting.
Riaan.
He sat beside her without asking, thighs barely an inch away from hers.
For a moment, silence wrapped around them like a blanket.
Aara whispered, voice barely audible:
"You don't have to search for me every time."
Riaan rested his arms on his knees.
"I don't search for you."
Aara blinked in confusion.
He glanced at her.
"I find you."
Her breath caught.
Riaan's voice softened.
"You always hide where the hurt is strongest. So it's not hard to know where you'll be."
Aara swallowed.
"Why do you care so much?"
Riaan didn't answer at first.
He looked at her for a long moment — a look so deep it made her chest tighten.
Then he spoke slowly, as if choosing every word carefully:
"Because when you're hurting…
something inside me hurts too."
Aara's heart stuttered painfully.
She looked away quickly.
"That's… not normal."
Riaan laughed softly.
"Nothing about you feels 'normal' to me."
Aara frowned gently.
"What does that mean?"
Riaan leaned back, staring at the sky like he was afraid to meet her eyes.
"It means… I look for you.
Even when I don't plan to.
Even when I tell myself not to.
My eyes still search for you."
Aara's breath shook.
No one had ever said such a thing to her.
Ever.
Not family.
Not friends.
No one.
Riaan continued softly:
"You're the only person who makes the world feel less… loud."
Aara slowly lifted her gaze to his profile.
There was something in his voice —
something raw,
something vulnerable,
something she wasn't ready to understand.
She whispered:
"Riaan… I'm not special."
Riaan turned to her instantly, almost sharply.
"Don't say that."
Aara blinked.
"You don't know me."
"I know enough," he whispered.
"What?"
Riaan leaned his shoulder gently against hers — soft contact, but it jolted her entire body.
"I know you smile with your eyes before your lips.
I know you cry quietly so no one notices.
I know you look down when you lie.
I know you flinch when someone raises their voice.
And I know you don't believe that anyone could ever choose you."
Aara stared, stunned.
Riaan met her gaze, voice dropping to a whisper:
"But I do.
Every day.
Without meaning to."
Aara's throat closed.
Her eyes burned.
She turned away quickly, hiding behind her hair.
"Don't say things like that…" she whispered shakily.
"Why?" he asked softly.
"It makes me feel things I shouldn't feel."
Riaan's breath caught.
He swallowed hard.
"What kind of things?"
Aara couldn't answer.
Her heart was beating too fast.
Her body felt too warm.
Her lungs couldn't find air.
She whispered:
"Things that scare me."
Riaan's hand twitched — as if wanting to touch hers but stopping himself.
"Aara…"
His voice cracked.
"I'm scared too."
She looked at him then — really looked —
and saw something fragile in his eyes.
Something unspoken.
Something waiting.
Something dangerously close to love.
Aara whispered:
"We're just friends."
Riaan didn't respond.
Because lies didn't need answers.
Only silence.
The wind passed quietly between them, brushing her hair across his shoulder.
Neither pulled away.
Aara felt her heart fall out of place that day — falling toward someone she wasn't supposed to want.
Someone she was destined to lose.
---
PRESENT
Aarohi gasped sharply, hand flying to her chest.
Arin grabbed her instantly.
"Aarohi! What did you see?!"
Aarohi was shaking, tears spilling.
Her voice cracked into a whisper:
"They… felt it."
Arin's breath hitched.
"Felt what?"
Aarohi looked at him with breaking eyes.
"The beginning."
"The moment when they realized they weren't just friends anymore."
"The moment their hearts shifted."
Her voice trembled painfully.
"Riaan was scared of his feelings…
and so was Aara."
Arin looked away, jaw tight, trying to hide the hurt on his face.
Aarohi continued, crying softly:
"And now I feel it too…
not the love…
but the confusion.
The fear.
The falling."
Arin closed his eyes tightly.
"Aarohi… please don't fall into someone else's past."
Aarohi grabbed his hand desperately.
"I don't want to!
I don't want these emotions!
But memories don't ask for permission."
Arin held her tightly, voice breaking:
"I'm losing you to a boy who isn't even alive."
Aarohi shook her head violently.
"No! I'm here. I'm with you. I'm just… remembering something my soul lived once."
Arin whispered:
"And Riaan? What is he now? A memory? A ghost? Something else?"
Aarohi trembled.
"I don't know…
But he's getting closer."
Arin froze.
"How close?"
Aarohi's lips parted.
"Close enough to feel my heartbeat."
Arin's eyes widened with fear.
And then—
A warm breath ghosted across Aarohi's neck.
A whisper curled behind her ear:
"It wasn't just friendship, Aara…
You were the first person my heart ever chose."
Aarohi shivered violently.
Arin held her tighter.
But she knew—
Riaan's voice wasn't inside her memory anymore.
It was inside the room.
---