WHEN YOU READ THIS, I'M GONE
(FINAL CHAPTER – Wait for Me)
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CHAPTER 18 – THE YEARS WITHOUT HIM
It had been five years since Aarush's death.
Riya's life looked normal on the outside—she worked, she smiled at people, she lived.
But she was hollow inside.
Every night, she sat by the window, opening the box of letters she had taken back from his grave, reading them again and again until the words blurred with tears.
She dated no one. She couldn't. No one's laughter felt like his, no one's eyes held that quiet love he had for her.
And every year, on the anniversary of his death, she sat by his grave, whispering, "Wait for me, Aarush. Just wait a little longer."
But the guilt never left her.
Because every letter she read screamed the same truth—
He died because he loved her.
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CHAPTER 19 – THE NIGHT SHE BROKE
It was raining that night, just like the day they met.
Riya sat by her desk, the letters spread around her like pieces of her shattered soul. She held his first letter in one hand, his last in the other.
She whispered his words to herself, her voice trembling:
"If you ever loved me too… smile at my funeral. I'll be watching."
She smiled through her tears, just like she had that day. But now, the smile hurt.
Because she couldn't keep living like this.
She opened the drawer, pulling out the small bottle she had bought weeks ago. The same kind he had used.
Her hands shook, but her heart felt strangely calm.
She whispered to the empty room, "I'm coming, Aarush. I can't do this without you anymore."
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CHAPTER 20 – THE FINAL GOODBYE
Riya sat on her bed, holding the bottle. Her hair was messy, her cheeks wet with tears, but there was a soft smile on her lips.
She picked up a pen and a single blank page.
Her handwriting wavered, but she wrote quickly, as if she was afraid she'd change her mind.
"Aarush,
I read every letter. I cried every night. And I loved you too. I just didn't know until it was too late. I'm sorry I didn't see you, sorry I made you feel like you weren't enough. You were. You were more than enough.
I can't undo what happened. But I can choose this. I can choose to be with you again. So wait for me, Aarush. I'll find you wherever you are.
I love you.
Riya."
She placed the letter inside the box with the others, closed it, and lay down on her bed.
The bottle felt heavy in her hand.
"I hope you're still watching, Aarush," she whispered, her voice soft, almost like a prayer. "Because I'm coming."
And then she drank.
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EPILOGUE – TOGETHER, FINALLY
The next morning, neighbors found her, peaceful, her head resting on the box of letters like she was sleeping.
At her funeral, the letters were buried with her, back into the earth where his memory rested.
The world called it tragic.
But somewhere, if there was anything after death… maybe two souls were finally sitting under the rain again, smiling at each other, like the first day they met.
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THE TRUE END