chapter 7

Part 7: When words became habitsSince the day Dhirav posted Riya's rainbow photo, something had changed between them - something unspoken, yet very real. They hadn't labelled it, they hadn't changed the way they talked. And yet, everything felt warmer, softer.Their chats had now become part of their routine, like drinking water - essential, comforting, natural.That Friday night, right after dinner, Riya was sitting by her window, with earphones on. The breeze was cool, and the sky had turned the blue of a dark night. The moon was visible and the stars were twinkling. She glanced at her phone. No new messages from Dhirav. Strange. He would have usually texted by now.She opened her chat.Riya (9:00 pm):"Are you on earth today or roaming on the moon?"Five minutes later, her screen lit up.Dheeraj (9:05PM):“I went to the moon. I came back with your thoughts.”Riya smiled to herself, biting her lip to hide her shyness – even though there was no one around.Riya:“Great. Call me when you are back.”The call got connected.Dheeraj: “The day felt incomplete without you today.”Riya (teasing): “Oh…you missed me so much?”Dheeraj: “You have not missed me, you have become a habit.”His voice was calm. No hesitation, no dramatic tone. Just the truth.Riya paused. For a moment, she forgot to blink. “Aadat…”She didn’t know what to say. But Dheerav didn’t wait for an answer.Dheerav: “The day feels empty without talking to you. Strange, isn’t it?”Riya: “It’s weird, yes… but it’s good… weird.”They both laughed. Then there was silence. The peaceful kind.A few moments passed.Dhirav: “Riya… you know? When you send smileys, it looks like you’re really smiling.”Riya guffawed: “And when you write ‘hmmm’, it looks like you’re hiding something.”Dhirav: “There are a lot of things I can’t say.”Riya: “I like to listen, you can.”Another pause. A light pause.Then, quickly changing the topic, Dhirav said, “Tomorrow is practical class, right? With you, I… we are team partners. For sure.”Riya (jokingly): “I am brilliant, so?”Dhirav: “No… it seems easy to be with you.” Riya's heart fluttered again. Not because he called her special - but because he really meant it.The next day in class, they became partners for physics practicals. Sitting side by side, measuring wires, adjusting the voltmeter, writing down the readings. Dhirav was having trouble reading the ammeter, and Riya helped him, their fingers clashing briefly.Neither of them talked about it. But both felt it.After school, when Riya reached home, she got a message:Dhirav:“Thank you. Without you, I would have failed the practical.”Riya:“What a thing! I got a compliment today!”Dhirav:“There will be more compliments from tomorrow.”That night, their call went on longer than usual.  Not because they had much to say, but because they didn’t want the silence between them to return again.Dhirav told her how he got scolded by his mother for losing the pen drive again.Riya laughed and said, “You need a full-time job to manage.”Dhirav replied, “You will, right?”She froze.Riya: “What?”Dhirav (laughing): “It was a joke! Relax.”But Riya knew… some jokes are true.Before sleeping, Riya got one last message:Dhirav (11:30 PM):“Good night, Miss Photographer. Have sweet dreams. See you again tomorrow – best friends without any strings attached.”Riya typed slowly:Riya:“Good night, Mr. Messy Notebook. You have become a habit. Don’t change.”She put the phone aside, heart at peace, eyes gently closing.Not every story needs declarations or big gestures. Sometimes, a quiet bond, frequent conversations and gentle care are enough to make everything matter.And for Riya and Dhirav – their story had begun to speak without much being said.