Hyderabad was loud, busy, indifferent a city too vast to find one person without a name or address.
But Ram couldn't give up. Not when he was sure.
Everywhere he went, he saw shadows of her.
In bookstores, parks every girl who smiled from behind a book reminded him of that one moment in the train.
That one moment when her eyes met his before she turned away.
That moment wasn't a dream and he couldn't let it end like one.
His friend teased, "Still chasing a girl from a train? What if it was a prank?"
Ram replied with a quiet smile, "If it was, it was the most beautiful one I've ever lived."
One evening, walking through a garden near a heritage museum, he saw her.
Simple dress, hair tied, sitting on a bench and reading again. Just like before.
He stopped walking. His breath paused. She hadn't noticed yet.
He didn't want to scare her but something inside told him this time would be different.
He sat on the bench behind her, said nothing for a while.
Then gently spoke, "I wasn't dreaming that day, was I?"
She looked up, startled. A second passed. Then two.
Then she sighed, "Why did you come? I didn't ask you to."
"I know," Ram said, "But I came because I wanted to. Your letters… they made my silence less heavy."
Her eyes softened, but she stayed guarded.
"This isn't a story, Ram. I come from a world where choices aren't free.
I wrote those letters out of a feeling, maybe fantasy. But real life doesn't wait for dreams."
Ram smiled, "Even dreams don't wait if they're real."
And for the first time, she didn't answer.
They walked quietly through the park.
He didn't ask questions. She didn't explain. Just silence. Comfortable, meaningful silence.
At one point, she looked at him and said, "You think I'm your Sita?"
"I don't think," he replied. "I know."
She laughed faintly. "You sound so sure."
Ram nodded, looking at her — really looking.
"Because you're the only person who ever wrote to me like I was human. Not a soldier. Not a duty. Just… Ram."
Something in her broke quietly that moment.
A soft smile escaped her lips, followed by an even softer tear she quickly wiped.
As the sun set behind the garden trees, they kept walking side by side, still saying little, yet everything.
Their footsteps didn't echo love yet, but destiny was slowly drawing its outline.