Evening was falling very slowly.
The river was unusually calm today—no waves, no sound, only a deep silence, as if something remained unsaid but refused to speak.
Arian sat by the riverside.
There was no one beside him today.
Yet he was not alone.
Inside him, a presence still lived—something invisible to the eyes, but felt deeply in the heart.
He said softly,
"Are you still here…?"
No response.
Only a slight movement of the wind.
Arian smiled faintly.
"I know… you're not speaking, but you're listening."
His eyes began to well up.
He looked up at the sky.
"You know… coming to the river today made me feel like you're still here. I just can't see you the way I used to."
A long breath.
"But has anything really changed?"
he asked himself.
Memories of that first day returned—
fear, darkness, a lost soul… and then Neela's arrival.
Everything had changed after that.
He whispered,
"You changed my life…"
His voice trembled.
"And I… couldn't hold on to you."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
He looked down at the ground.
"But you know… there's no anger anymore, no complaints… only a strange sense of peace."
Suddenly—
A faint reflection appeared on the river's surface in front of him.
For a moment—
Neela's face.
Arian quickly looked up.
His breath stopped.
"Neela…?"
But the reflection faded in the next moment.
The river returned to its calm state.
Arian slowly closed his eyes.
A soft smile appeared on his lips.
"This is how you come and go…"
There was no complaint in his voice—only love.
He slowly stood up.
Inside his chest, there was no longer emptiness—only a feeling of completeness.
As if someone had left, yet given him everything.
He took one last look at the river.
"Thank you… for saving me."
Then he began to walk away slowly.
Behind him, the river water gently rippled—
as if someone was saying goodbye in silence.
The wind passed by,
and within that wind—
a name quietly faded away.
Neela.
But even though the name faded,
her story…
lived on forever within Arian.