"A TOUCH I STILL FELL"
"I stood there—utterly still.
No thoughts. No movement. No fear.
Just… silence.
The kind of silence that doesn’t calm you—
it waits.
I was at the edge of a beach.
The waves were quiet, almost unnaturally so, like the ocean was holding its breath.
I don’t remember the place clearly…
but it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
As if it had been waiting for me.
Time passed—slow, heavy, endless.
And then—
something shifted.
A sound.
A presence.
A feeling crawling up my spine.
Someone was behind me.
Or maybe… something.
I don’t know.
But the moment I turned—
Before I could see anything—
I was pushed.
Hard.
The world shattered into chaos.
Cold water swallowed me whole, dragging me down before I could even scream.
My long skirt spread around me like it was blooming in death, my hair loosening, tangling, sticking to my face as I struggled.
Everything blurred.
The sky. The sea. My thoughts.
I was sinking.
Drowning.
Fading.
And just when darkness began to take over—
A hand found mine.
Warm.
Strong.
Unshakably real.
He pulled me up—effortlessly, like I weighed nothing.
Saved me.
When my eyes opened…
I wasn’t alone anymore.
He was there.
Standing so close that I could feel the warmth of his presence even through the cold.
He was drenched—
water dripping slowly from his hair, tracing down the sharp lines of his face, disappearing into the shadows.
His black hair clung messily to his forehead, dark and heavy with water.
And his eyes—
God.
They were deep.
Not just dark… but endless.
Like they held storms inside them.
Dangerous.
But strangely—
safe.
That didn’t make sense.
Nothing about him should have felt safe…
and yet, standing there, soaked in the same storm that almost took me—
he felt like the only thing keeping me grounded.
Like if I let go—
I would fall apart.
My chest tightened.
A sudden sharp pain hit my head.
I reached up—
and froze.
Blood.
My fingers trembled as they touched it.
Too much.
Too real.
Fear rushed through me like ice.
My vision blurred again, but this time from tears.
I collapsed onto the sand, my dress ruined, my body shaking, my breathing uneven.
I didn’t understand what was happening.
I didn’t understand him.
And that terrified me even more.
Tears slipped down, uncontrollably now.
And then—
he moved closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if I was something fragile.
His hand reached out…
and cupped my cheek.
Warm.
Gentle.
So gentle it almost hurt.
His thumb brushed away my tears—
one by one.
Like he didn’t want a single one of them to exist.
I could feel it.
Even now.
That touch.
That warmth.
Him.
For a moment, everything else faded—
the pain, the fear, the blood—
everything.
There was just… him.
And me.
And the strange, dangerous comfort between us.
I didn’t think.
I didn’t question.
I just—
wanted to be closer.
To hold onto him.
To hide in that warmth.
To feel safe in something I didn’t understand.
I leaned forward—
almost breaking completely—
And then—
my eyes snapped open."
Ridhima: “Do you remember his face…?”
Aanya: “No… but…”
Ridhima: “But what?”
Aanya (hesitating, softly): “…I remember his name.”
Ridhima: “Hmm?”
Aanya (blushing, almost whispering): “A… aa… AYAAN…”
Ridhima: “You don’t even know anyone with that name.”
Aanya: “Exactly. That’s why I need to find him.”
Ridhima (half-laughing): “Or maybe he doesn’t exist.
It’s just your subconscious playing tricks on you.”
Aanya (quietly): “Maybe…”
(pause)
“But I still want to meet him again…”
Even if it’s just in my dreams.
Ayaan…
