When I entered my room, everything looked unusually neat. My clothes were folded perfectly, my table was dust-free, and even the bedsheet smelled freshly washed.
For a moment, I just stood at the door, confused. I didn't remember cleaning anything.
I took a slow breath and smiled faintly. "I should really start cleaning my room every week," I murmured to myself. "Can't keep leaving all the work for Aunty."
The room was quiet, sunlight filtering through the curtains, painting golden lines across the wooden floor. It looked peaceful like nothing ever went wrong in this house. But deep down, I knew peace was just an illusion here.
I picked up my T-shirt and trousers from the chair. Since I didn't have a bathroom upstairs, I had to go downstairs every time I needed one. That walk always felt longer than it should not because of the stairs, but because of the air downstairs. It always felt heavier there, especially when Uncle and Aunty were talking in hushed voices.
When I stepped down, the sound of their conversation reached me.
"Will they like Aria?" Uncle's voice carried a worried tone.
I stopped halfway down the stairs. The mention of her name made my chest tighten. They were talking about her marriage again the one that had been hanging like a silent cloud over the house for weeks.
I didn't want to hear more. I didn't want to feel more. So, I walked straight into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
The mirror reflected a pale face back at me. My eyes looked tired, maybe too tired for someone my age.
"What should I do?" I whispered.
Maybe it's good for her, I thought. Maybe she deserves stability, something I clearly can't give her.
I turned on the tap and let the water flow. It was cold at first, biting against my skin, but slowly it turned warm soothing, almost forgiving. The sound of running water filled the silence. It felt easier to breathe there, hidden behind the noise.
When I came out, towel around my neck, I froze.
Aria was standing in the hallway.
Maybe she had been waiting. Maybe she had something to say. Or maybe she just wanted to look at me once before pretending we were strangers again.
Her eyes were down, as always. She never met my gaze these days. The hall was empty Aunty and Uncle must have gone to their room.
"What?" I said, trying to sound cold, distant. I didn't mean to sound that way, but it slipped out naturally.
She didn't flinch. Her voice came out soft but steady. "Come with me."
She didn't wait for my answer. She just turned and walked out the door. I stood there for a second, unsure, then followed her.
Outside, the night had settled quietly over the street. The air was cool and smelled faintly of rain. The streetlights flickered, painting half-shadows across her face as she walked ahead of me.
There was something in her walk calm but heavy, like she was carrying an invisible weight. I didn't ask where we were going. I just followed, knowing that if she was walking into darkness, I'd follow her there too.
After a while, she stopped. We were at the corner of the street, near the old tree.
She turned slowly to face me.
"You heard… I'm going to marry," she said quietly.
I didn't answer.
She took a deep breath and continued, her eyes still avoiding mine. "My whole life has been like a blank slate. I never wrote anything beautiful on it. They say you can write your own fate but should I? I can't. Not because someone's stopping me… but because I have nothing to write."
Her voice trembled slightly. "I met someone once. I gave him everything I could whatever I was capable of giving. But he left me. From my teenage years till now, I've been searching for love. Real love. The kind that makes you feel seen. The kind that makes you feel you belong to someone."
She smiled faintly, but it wasn't a happy smile. "I've spent twenty-five years feeling invisible. Watching people fall in love so easily, like it's something that just happens to everyone but me. Isn't that cruel?"
Her eyes finally lifted to mine. "And now, I'm ending up in an arranged marriage. To someone whose full name I don't even know."
She laughed bitterly. "What kind of society is this, huh? Where love is a luxury and compromise is tradition."
I wanted to say something anything but words felt useless.
She took a step closer. "Are you just going to stand there frozen? Don't you have anything to say? No words to defend yourself? To protect… whatever this is?"
Her voice cracked at the end.
"What do you want to hear, Aria?" I finally said, my throat tightening.
She looked straight into my eyes now, tears glimmering under the streetlight. "Something from your heart," she whispered. "Not just words you think will make me quiet."
I looked away. "I can't," I said after a long pause. "You already know everything. You know my life how broken it is. I can't express things that I don't understand myself."
Her lips trembled. "I'm not asking for an explanation. I just…" She stopped mid-sentence, searching for words. "One day, you'll ask me something and I won't have an answer left. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be."
She wiped her tears roughly, almost angry at herself for crying.
"I need you," she whispered suddenly, almost like it slipped out without her permission.
"I know," I said softly.
"Then accept me."
I stayed silent. My heart screamed yes, but my mouth refused to move.
"I can't," I finally said.
The moment shattered. Her face broke into pain, quiet but deep. Tears fell down her cheeks not fast, but one after another, like rain that refuses to stop.
She turned away quickly, brushing past me. Her shoulder brushed against my arm, and for a second, I wanted to grab her hand, to stop her, to tell her I wanted her too.
But I didn't move.
I just watched.