Aira couldn't control herself anymore.
She opened the chat.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
Then she typed—
"I love you, Aarohi. I really do."
For a few seconds—
no reply.
Then—
"But I love you as a friend," Aarohi replied.
"You have to move on from me."
"We have no future together."
"We can't be together… so I have to stop talking to you."
Aira stared at the screen.
Her chest felt heavy.
"But why don't we have a future together?"
she asked.
After a pause—
Aarohi replied:
"I love my boyfriend."
"I loved you too… but my parents would never accept this."
"And I can't betray him."
"Talking to you feels like emotional betrayal."
That word—
betrayal—
hurt the most.
Aira swallowed her emotions.
"I know it's hard for you… talking to me like this," she typed.
"It's not hard," Aarohi replied.
"It just feels wrong for him."
"And he loves me."
Silence.
Aira understood.
Or maybe—
she forced herself to understand.
"Then… we shouldn't talk," she wrote.
"Okay," Aarohi replied.
"I'll block you."
And just like that—
she disappeared.
From everywhere.
Aira stared at the empty screen.
No messages.
No profile.
No trace.
Only silence.
Her eyes filled with tears.
It hurt—
how someone could be part of your every day…
and then suddenly—
nothing.
But she didn't break completely.
She held herself together.
She still loved her.
Every day—
she waited.
Not for a message—
because she knew it wouldn't come—
But for a feeling.
She read her old chats.
Her poems.
Her words.
Living in a small world—
where Aarohi still existed with her.
A delusional world—
but a comforting one.
Deep down—
she knew the truth.
They could never be together.
But still—
a small part of her held on to hope.
Because somewhere in her heart—
she believed—
Aarohi had loved her too.
Even if she never accepted it.
Aira didn't know—
if their story had ended…
Or if it was just paused—
in silence.
That night—
Aira opened her phone again.
Out of habit—
she searched for Aarohi's name.
Nothing appeared.
She checked again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Still nothing.
That's when it hit her.
This time—
it wasn't just silence.
It was absence.
Aira closed her eyes.
For the first time—
it felt real.
She wasn't just gone from her chat.
She was gone—
from her life.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
But she wiped it quickly.
Not because it didn't hurt—
But because she had no one left to show it to.
She lay down quietly.
Holding her phone close—
like it still had something left in it.
And somewhere between memories and reality—
she whispered softly,
"I'll still wait… even if you never come back."
Days passed.
Nothing changed.
No message.
No call.
No sign of her.
At first—
Aira kept checking her phone every few minutes.
Then every hour.
Then—
only a few times a day.
But the habit never really left.
Sometimes—
she would open the chat without thinking.
And then remember—
there was nothing left to open.
Still—
her fingers searched for her name.
At school—
she laughed with her friends.
Answered questions.
Sat in class like everything was normal.
But in between moments—
she would get lost.
Thinking of her.
At night—
everything felt louder.
The silence.
The memories.
The absence.
She would lie in bed—
staring at the ceiling.
Replaying every conversation.
Every word.
Every "I love you."
Trying to understand—
where it all went wrong.
But there was no answer.
Only memories.
And feelings—
that refused to leave.
She tried to distract herself.
Watched series.
Read books.
Wrote small lines.
But every line—
ended up being about her.
Every thought—
led back to her.
And slowly—
Aira realized something.
Moving on wasn't hard—
Forgetting her was.
And maybe—
she didn't even want to forget.
Because even the pain—
was proof that she existed.
That it was real.
And so—
she carried it quietly.
Like a secret.
Like a story—
that had no ending.
Aira's Holi,
A few days later—
Holi arrived.
Aira decided—
not to celebrate it.
There was no excitement.
No energy.
Because this time—
Aarohi wasn't there.
"This was our first Holi…"
"And we're not even talking," she whispered.
That thought alone—
was enough to make her step back.
She stayed in her room.
Ignoring the sounds outside.
The laughter.
The music.
Everything felt distant.
She sat quietly—
scrolling through her phone.
Opening old chats.
Reading the same messages again.
As if something would change.
But nothing did.
Only the same silence.
She closed her eyes.
"I miss you…"
The words stayed in her heart.
Unsent.
She had decided—
she wouldn't celebrate.
Not without her.
But suddenly—
her door opened.
Her friends.
Smiling.
Full of colors.
Before she could react—
they pulled her outside.
"Come on! You can't sit alone today!"
She resisted at first.
"I don't feel like it…"
But they didn't listen.
They laughed.
Teased her.
Forced colors on her face.
And slowly—
she gave in.
She played Holi with them.
She smiled.
Even laughed a little.
For a moment—
it felt normal.
But deep inside—
something was still missing.
In between the colors—
in between the laughter—
She thought of her.
"Would she be playing right now?"
"Would she be smiling like this?"
Her smile faded for a second.
Because even in that moment—
she wished—
she was there.
With her.
After everything ended—
she stood quietly.
Looking at her hands—
covered in colors.
And softly—
almost like a whisper—
she said,
"This was our first Holi…"
"And we spent it apart."
A tear mixed with the colors on her face.
But no one noticed.
Because to everyone else—
it was just Holi colors.