SHE

Ruhi was quiet, but not in a way that felt peaceful.

Her silence carried distance. People noticed it, talked about it, misunderstood it—but never really tried to understand it.

Over time, she stopped expecting them to.

“Ruhi, do you ever talk?” a girl in her class asked once, smiling like it was a joke.

Ruhi looked up for a second. “I do.”

“When?” she laughed. “In your head?”

Ruhi didn’t reply.

Because that was exactly where most of her conversations happened.

Her mind was never empty.

It was full—of thoughts, of words she never said, of moments she never lived in real life.

In her head, she was different.

Confident. Calm. Effortless.

And sometimes—

Jay was there too.

She didn’t remember when she started noticing him.

There wasn’t a moment.

Just… a habit that slowly formed.

The way he laughed with his friends.

The way he spoke without thinking twice.

The way everything about him felt so easy.

“Bro, you’re overthinking it,” Jay said once in class, leaning back casually. “It’s simple.”

Simple.

Ruhi almost smiled.

Nothing in her life had ever been simple.

“You’re staring again,” her friend whispered one day.

Ruhi immediately looked away. “I’m not.”

“Then why do you always know where Jay is?”

She stayed quiet.

Because she didn’t have an answer.

She didn’t just notice him.

She watched him.

Not in a way anyone could see—

but in a way she couldn’t stop.

In real life, they had never spoken.

Not even once.

But in her mind—

they had talked a hundred times.

“Why are you always so quiet, Ruhi?” Jay would ask her, a small smile on his face.

“I’m not quiet,” she’d reply, meeting his eyes. “I just don’t talk to everyone.”

“Then talk to me.”

She’d pause, then say softly,

“Maybe I was waiting for you to start.”

In her head, she always knew what to say.

In reality—

she couldn’t even say “hi.”

“Tomorrow,” she whispered to herself one night. “I’ll talk to him.”

The next day, she tried.

She really did.

Jay walked past her.

Close enough.

Close enough to say something.

Anything.

Her heart started racing.

Her thoughts scattered.

Say it.

Just say it.

But she didn’t.

Not a word.

“Ruhi, what happened? You were going to talk to him, right?” her friend asked later.

Ruhi gave a small smile. “I forgot.”

“You forgot?” she laughed. “Or you got scared?”

Ruhi didn’t answer.

Because it wasn’t fear of Jay.

It was fear of not being enough.

So things stayed the same.

In real life—

Jay didn’t know her.

In her mind—

he understood her better than anyone.

Time passed.

Exams ended.

Life slowed down.

Ruhi found herself with too much time and too many thoughts.

So she turned to her phone.

Scrolling. Watching. Escaping.

Until one day—

everything changed.

A notification.

She opened it without thinking—

and froze.

A follow request.

From Jay.

Her heart didn’t race.

It dropped.

“Why would he follow me?” she whispered.

She checked again.

Same name.

Same face.

Real.

A hundred thoughts rushed in.

Does he know me?

Did someone tell him?

Is this a mistake?

Still—

she accepted.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

a message appeared.

Jay: “Hey.”

Ruhi stared at the screen.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Typing. Deleting. Typing again.

“What do I even say…” she whispered.

Her mind, usually so full—

was completely blank.

Because this wasn’t in her control anymore.

This wasn’t imagination.

This was real.

After a long pause, she finally typed—

Ruhi: “Hi.”

Sent.

Her heart started beating faster now.

Three dots appeared.

Jay: “Finally.”

Jay: “I thought you’d never reply.”

Ruhi frowned slightly.

Never reply?

Before she could think—

another message came.

Jay: “You’re always quiet in school too.”

Her breath caught.

He had noticed.

Of all the things she imagined—

this wasn’t one of them.

Ruhi typed slowly—

Ruhi: “Maybe I just don’t talk to people.”

A few seconds passed.

Then—

Jay: “Or maybe you just don’t talk to me?”

Ruhi froze.

Her grip tightened around her phone.

That line.

The same line she had imagined—

so many times.

For a moment—

her world felt unreal.

Because somehow—

her imagination and reality had just collided.

And she didn’t know if she was ready for what came next.