01 | Wish Comes True
Chapter 1 — Wish Comes True
It started on an ordinary night — one of those quiet, forgettable ones when even the stars looked sleepy.
In Chennai, Kanika Ramalingam sat by her window, pretending to study but mostly just doodling in her notebook. Her mother was working another night shift, and the house was too silent for comfort.
She looked out at the sky. Her life had turned into a loop — wake up, study, do chores, repeat. No friends, no chaos, no him.
Raayan Varadarajan.The annoying class clown who never shut up in class. The boy who used to call herMiss Rulebookjust to get a rise out of her. The one who’d actually made her laugh when she didn’t want to.
Ever since she moved away and switched to homeschooling, his absence felt... weird. Annoyingly weird.
She sighed, tracing little stars on her notebook.
“I just wish I could see him again. Even once.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in Hyderabad, Raayan tossed a tennis ball at the ceiling, wide awake. His room looked like chaos — comics, gadgets, energy drink cans — and yet the emptiness was louder than ever.
He smirked, remembering her scolding tone.
“You’ll fail, RV.”“Then you’ll have to tutor me forever, Miss Genius.”
He chuckled, tossing the ball again.
“I wish she really was still stuck with me.”
Morning came.
Kanika stretched lazily, groaning as sunlight hit her face. She turned in bed — and her hand brushed something warm.
Something alive.
Her eyes blinked open to see a figure beside her, hair tousled, chest rising and falling gently.For a split second, her sleepy brain thought,Huh. That’s new.
Then realization struck.
“AAAAAAAAA—WHAT THE—WHO ARE YOU?!”
The boy jolted awake, confused and wild-eyed.
“Why are you screaming?! Where the hell am I?!”
Kanika stumbled back, clutching her blanket like a shield. “You— you’re in my ROOM!”
He blinked, still half-asleep. “No, you’re inmyroom!”
“This is ridiculous—” she began, spinning toward the wall that separated her study corner from the headboard.Except... there was no wall.
Her half of the room — pink curtains, fairy lights, books — now opened directly into his messy blue room with a gaming setup and dumbbells. One massive space where two worlds had merged.
Kanika’s mouth fell open. “No... no way.”Raayan rubbed his eyes. “Wait—Kanika?”“Raayan?”
Silence. Just their heavy breathing and disbelief.
Then, at the exact same moment, both muttered—
“Oh my god. What did Iwishfor last night?”
Before either could process further, her mother’s voice floated from downstairs.
“Kanika! Wake up! It’s already eight!”
Her blood turned cold.
“Hide!” she hissed.
“What?” Raayan looked around wildly. “Hidewhere? Your room is like a pink explosion!”
“Anywhere!” she whispered furiously. “My mom can’t see you—she’ll faint!”
In his panic, Raayan darted toward the cupboard. He yanked it open and squeezed inside, trying not to crush the neatly stacked clothes.
He froze. Right in front of his face — pastel-colored folded innerwear.His ears burned red.Oh no. I’m in trouble.
“Kanika!” her mother’s voice grew closer. Footsteps on the stairs.
Kanika turned pale. She yanked the blanket off the bed, tossed it across the open space to cover the faint line where their rooms connected, and stood ramrod straight just as her mother opened the door.
“Kanika? Why are you just standing there like a scarecrow?” her mom asked, frowning.
Kanika smiled nervously, blocking the cupboard with her body. “Just... stretching, Amma! Morning exercise!”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “You sound suspicious.”
Behind her, a faintthudcame from inside the cupboard.
Kanika’s eyes widened. “Oh that? Uh—ventriloquism practice! For... science!”
Her mother sighed. “I didn’t even ask.....You’ve been spending too much time alone. I’m leaving for work, don’t forget breakfast.”
“Yes, Amma! Love you, Amma!” Kanika chirped too loudly, not moving an inch until she heard the front door shut.
Only then did she whirl around and open the cupboard.
Raayan stumbled out, tangled in a pink bedsheet, face beet-red.“I swear, I wasn’tlooking—”
Kanika folded her arms. “You literally hid in a cupboard full of my clothes, Raayan. How am I supposed to believe that?”
He ran a hand through his messy hair, grinning awkwardly. “I panicked, okay? I didn’t know where else to go. Your mom’s footsteps sounded like a horror movie soundtrack.”
Kanika narrowed her eyes. “Next time, hide behindyourdesk.”
He shrugged. “Your side had fewer spiders.”
She groaned and sat down on the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. This is insane.”
Raayan looked around — half her fairy-light-filled room blending into his messy, gadget-laden one. “Yeah, kindais.But... at least it’s not boring anymore.”
Kanika lifted her head to glare at him, but he just smirked, leaning casually against the wall that no longer existed.
“So... you’re home alone, huh?” he asked with a teasing grin.
Kanika blinked, caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He grinned wider. “Just saying... the universe literally merged our rooms. Maybe it’s trying to tell us something.”
She threw a pillow at him — hard. “It’s telling you to shut up before I unmerge your face.”
Raayan laughed, catching the pillow. “Still bossy as ever, Miss Rulebook.”
Kanika muttered under her breath, “Still annoying as ever.”
He dropped onto his bed, still grinning. “Guess we’re stuck with each other then.”
She sighed, staring at the space between them that wasn’t supposed to exist.
“Yeah... looks like we really are.”
And as the morning light spilled across their joined room, neither of them could tell whether to freak out... or smile.
(To be continued...)
-End of chapter 1-
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💫 Author’s Note:Kindly vote, comment, and follow for the next chapter! 💛Tell me your favourite scene from this chapter — was it the hiding chaos, the banter, or that final “you’re home alone?” grin? 😏And don’t forget to drop your thoughts on the overall trope — enemies to stuck-together? Fate or pure mischief of the universe? 👀
