THE REUNION
The hall buzzed with laughter, voices carrying memories of a decade past. People were older, their faces carved with subtle lines of life, but the spark in their eyes—the one that made old friendships feel alive—remained.
Ashu adjusted the strap of her bag, scanning the crowd. The sound of someone calling her name drew her attention, and then… it happened.
“Jay!”
Her heart skipped. That name, like a spell, pulled her straight back in time. Ten years. Ten years since she last saw him. Ten years since she had gathered the courage to confess and had been rejected.
Everything came rushing back—the pink shirt he wore on that magical Saturday, the way he leaned casually against the chemistry lab bench, the eyes that seemed to catch hers in a silent game of glances.
Ashu shivered slightly, the present fading, replaced by the vivid memories of youth:
It was a week before her planned confession. Saturday. She remembered the sunlight catching his hair just so, the way he laughed with friends, and how her blue dress felt like armor and freedom all at once. Chemistry lab—third period—every detail etched in her mind.
She could still see it: them standing opposite each other, the room filled with the scent of experiments and the faint hum of curiosity. Whenever the room went silent or someone cracked a joke, their eyes met. Five. Six. Seven times, maybe. Enough to make her pulse race.
She had felt the courage then—the bravery to finally say what she felt—but also the hesitation, that tiny seed of doubt. Did he even see her that way? That question lingered, a whisper in her heart. She decided to wait.
Monday had come, and the temptation was too strong. She had confided in a friend, their mutual friend, promising never to tell Jay. Curiosity had driven her, asking about his type, and she had learned that she wasn’t his type at all. Tuesday confirmed it: he didn’t see her the way she saw him. Just friendship. The realization was like ice crawling over her chest.
Ashu’s breath caught as the memories spilled further—the birthday that was supposed to be her day of courage, flattened by truth or dare, children’s day, the love song she sang, the quiet glances he still threw her way. Confusing, maddening, heartbreaking.
And then, finally, the night she had texted him, seeking closure. The words he sent back, a mixture of honesty and kindness: “Yes, that’s true… let’s be friends.”
Her chest tightened as the memory faded, leaving only the present—the reunion. And there he was, older, taller, carrying the same aura, though time had changed him subtly. Ashu felt the pull in her chest, that old ache reawakening.
Someone tapped her shoulder. “Ashu! Are you coming?”
She blinked, grounding herself, the warmth of the room settling her slightly. But in the back of her mind, that name echoed. Jay. And the past was alive, whispering like it had never left.
She didn’t notice him yet, not really, but soon… soon the eyes that haunted her memories would lock with hers again, and the past and present would collide.
