The Goa sun was heavy with gold, the air thick with ocean salt and jasmine. The wedding resort buzzed with music, laughter, and the rustling of silk sarees.
But Aarav barely heard any of it.
He stood at the edge of the beach ceremony, surrounded by old friends, a glass of lime soda in one hand, pretending to listen.
His eyes were scanning.
Looking.
Waiting.
And then~~he saw her.
Anaya.
She was standing near the mandap, barefoot in the sand, wearing that pale blue dress. Her hair was longer now, tied loosely, swaying in the sea breeze. Her skin had tanned just slightly, and her eyes, her eyes looked like memories.
She hadn't changed.
And yet, she had.
Aarav forgot to breathe.
Anaya turned slowly, as if she felt him there.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them moved.
~~
Later that evening, after the wedding dinner, fireworks burst above the waves.
Friends clinked glasses. Music played. But in a quiet corner the garden, they finally found each other again.
"You look..." Aarav began, then stopped, laughing softly. "I was going to say 'beautiful', but you already knew that."
Anaya smiled, eyes twinkling. "You still talk too much."
"You still remember that?"
"i remember everything."
A beat of silence stretched between them~~warm, familiar, a little sharp at the edges.
"I thought you'd forgotten me," he admitted.
"I tried."
"And?"
"it didn't work."
His throat tightened. "Why didn't you call?"
"Why didn't you?"
They both laughed, the kind of soft, cracked laughter that only people who've known each other too long and share.
~~They walked down the beach, away from the noise. The sky was bruised with stars.
"How long are you here?" he asked.
"Just for the weekend. You?"
"I live in Bangalore now Not far."
"Do you ever think about it?" she asked. "Us?"
He didn't hesitate. "Every day."
Anaya stopped walking. "Me too."
There were no fireworks this time. No first kisses or teenage promises.
But as she took his hand~~tentative, trembling~~it felt like a new beginning.
Or maybe... the middle of a story that never really ended.