"Ishika!"The voice was sharp, familiar — and definitely the second time it called her name.
She blinked, pulling herself out of her thoughts, and turned to see Mayuri waving from a few feet away, her phone still in hand.
"Do you have any lectures left?"
Ishika checked the time, then nodded lightly.
"Just one. Then I'm free."
Before the conversation could stretch, Omkar appeared out of nowhere, stretching his arms and yawning as if he hadn't slept in a century.
"Let's go out somewhere. I'm bored to death," he announced dramatically.
Ishika blinked again — more surprised at herself than at his suggestion.If this were a year ago, the answer would've been a flat no.She never bunked lectures. Never wasted a single academic hour.
But now? With Mayuri, Omkar, and Anushka — her little circle of chaos — things had changed.
And maybe… that wasn't such a bad thing.
They ended up bunking the lecture.
The four of them — a curious combination of Aeronautical and Civil Engineering students — hopped into a rickshaw and headed straight for the most classic escape plan:Wada Pav and Temple Visit.
They stood outside a small, slightly cracked wada pav stall, brushing off hot crumbs and laughing about the most random things: teachers, anime, Omkar's disastrous attempt at cooking Maggi, and Anushka's obsession with horror movies.
Afterward, they visited a nearby Shiva temple.
Ishika lingered a bit longer than the others — folding her hands with a silent smile, closing her eyes. Just a short prayer. A quiet moment of stillness.
"Thank You for days like this."
They returned to campus just before the college bus started its engine.
Omkar jogged off to his hostel, Anushka caught her civil bus, and Mayuri and Ishika climbed into their usual bus, side by side.
The day was dimming now, soaked in a golden hue.
Mayuri pulled out her phone, giggling softly as she started speaking with her boyfriend, lost in sweet nothings and everyday updates.
Ishika, meanwhile, pulled her earphones out from her bag — her own form of comfort.The familiar beats of BTS filled her ears, wrapping her like a blanket.
She leaned her head against the window, eyes slowly fluttering shut.The world outside blurred — trees rushing by, college gates disappearing behind her, conversations fading.
This was peace.Not loud. Not perfect. But hers.
She wasn't the same girl who always sat at the front of the class, nervous about missing a lecture.Not the one who once cried over a lost friendship.Not the one who questioned her own worth.
Today, she laughed, skipped a class, shared food, offered a prayer, listened to her favorite band — and didn't feel guilty about any of it.
As the bus rumbled along the fading roads of twilight, Ishika smiled with her eyes closed.
"Maybe this is what healing looks like —not dramatic, not loud…just one peaceful day at a time."