chapter 18

The city lights twinkled in the distance as Aarti and Kabir sat in their usual spots on Aarti’s balcony. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of wet earth from the light drizzle that had fallen earlier in the evening. Their chai cups sat untouched on the table, steam curling into the night.  For once, they weren’t talking.  Aarti didn’t know why. Usually, their conversations flowed effortlessly—from playful banter to deep discussions about work, food, and life. But tonight, there was something different in the air. A silence that neither of them was in a hurry to break.  She glanced at Kabir, who was staring out at the skyline, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. There was a softness in his expression, something thoughtful, something… unfamiliar.  “What’s on your mind, Singh?” she finally asked, trying to keep her voice light.  Kabir turned to her, a small smirk playing on his lips. “You.”  Aarti blinked, caught off guard. “Me?”  He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not in a weird way, Mehta. I was just thinking… it’s funny, isn’t it? How we ended up here?”  She exhaled, a small smile forming on her lips. “Yeah. If you had told me a few months ago that I’d become friends with my overly chatty, butter-chicken-obsessed neighbor, I wouldn’t have believed you.”  “Overly chatty?” Kabir raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, I recall  "you" being the one who eavesdropped on my phone call with my mom.”  Aarti laughed, but the warmth in her chest didn’t fade.  A comfortable silence settled between them again, but this time, it was different. It wasn’t awkward—it was heavy, charged with something unspoken.  Aarti traced the rim of her cup with her finger. There was a thought lingering in her mind, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to acknowledge.  She liked this. Not just their friendship, not just the way Kabir made her laugh on her most stressful days, or the way he remembered that she liked her chai with extra ginger. She liked "him".  And that was terrifying.  Because what if this was just friendship to him? What if she was reading too much into things?  She stole another glance at Kabir, only to find him already looking at her. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, neither of them looked away.  There was something in his gaze - something she couldn’t quite decipher. Something that made her heartbeat just a little bit faster.  Kabir cleared his throat and looked away first, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, uh… what’s on your mind, Mehta?”  Aarti hesitated, the words on the tip of her tongue. "You. The way you make my days brighter. The way I don’t mind your food experiments anymore. The way I think about you more than I should."Instead, she forced a small smile. “Nothing. Just… enjoying the quiet.”  Kabir nodded, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. Like he knew she wasn’t telling the whole truth.  And maybe—just maybe—he wasn’t either. And that's how they separated to meet again next day. . To be continue...