Returning from Shantiniketan, everything seemed the same… yet nothing really was.
The sun still rose behind the same buildings. The school bell still rang at 8:30 sharp. The teachers still gave surprise tests, and the canteen still served oily samosas with too much green chutney.
But between Eisha and Ayaan, something had shifted.
The silences had become longer. The conversations shorter. And the laughter… quieter.
It began subtly.
Eisha started walking to school with her friend Mili instead of waiting for Ayaan.
Ayaan, in turn, sat with Rohit in class, pretending it was because of a "group project."When they crossed paths, they'd give small nods or awkward smiles. The comfort that once lived between them now seemed to hesitate.
Eisha noticed it first when Ayaan didn't text her good night for two days in a row.A small thing. A silly thing. But it stung.
She tried telling herself, "It doesn't matter. He's just busy. We're still the same."
But they weren't.
One afternoon, during recess, Eisha overheard something that froze her in place.
"Did you know?" Mili whispered to another classmate. "Riya has a crush on Ayaan. She told her group yesterday."
Eisha blinked. Her heart gave a sudden, sharp jolt.
Riya. The girl who always sat in the front row. Pretty. Calm. Always carrying perfectly sharp pencils and that flowery perfume.
The rest of the day went in a blur.
Eisha didn't eat. Didn't raise her hand in class. Didn't speak unless spoken to.
Later that evening, Ayaan texted her:
"Hey. You okay? You were quiet today."
She stared at the screen for a long time. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then she typed:
"I'm fine."
And added nothing else.
He didn't reply.
A week passed. The tension thickened like monsoon clouds about to burst.
Then one morning, Eisha saw it.
Ayaan, standing near the school gate, talking to Riya. Smiling.
Not the usual polite smile. A real one.
Riya was laughing at something he said, her hand brushing his arm.
Eisha's heart dropped.
She turned away quickly, blinking fast. She wasn't angry.She wasn't jealous.At least that's what she told herself.
She just felt… replaced.
And for the first time, she didn't speak to Ayaan the whole day.
That night, Ayaan showed up at her gate.
Eisha was in the balcony, headphones in, pretending to study.
He called from below, "Eisha."
She didn't answer.
He called again.
"I know you're mad. But I don't know why."
Still no response.
He waited a minute, then said quietly, "If you tell me what I did, I'll fix it. Just don't shut me out."
Eisha closed her eyes.
Part of her wanted to run down and hug him.Another part of her whispered: "He should already know."
So she stayed still. Silent.
After a while, he left.
And for the first time in years, Eisha felt the sting of a loneliness that only someone who used to be yours can cause.
They were still neighbors. Still classmates. Still everything.But also, now… a little bit nothing.
The distance between them wasn't measured in meters.
It was measured in all the words they didn't say.