Charlotte's POV
The moment the school bell rang, the day ended as usual.
But inside me, the day didn't end at all.
I walked home slowly, feeling the weight of something I couldn't explain.
It wasn't just the story Aditya shared…
It was the silence that followed.
The way Indhu didn't react.
The way Swetha looked like she was hiding her pain.
It felt like I had walked into a room full of secrets, and I didn't know how to leave.
When I reached home, I sat in the balcony for a while.
The evening air was calm, but my mind was loud.
I tried to recall the entire conversation again and again.
Aditya avoiding Swetha.
Rohan becoming her support.
Indhu quietly sitting there, holding her emotions like a locked box.
And me… I had asked a question that opened this door.
I didn't know if I did the right thing.
I went inside and sat on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
My mom called me, but I didn't reply at once.
I couldn't find words.
I kept thinking—
Why didn't Indhu tell anyone?
Why did she choose to stay quiet even when she was hurting?
And why did Leanor always have to be the reason for everything?
The truth was, I had always thought of Indhu as someone strong.
Someone who could handle anything.
But now I realized she was hiding her pain…
just like the rest of us.
I took out my diary and opened it.
I wanted to write something, but my thoughts were tangled.
I wrote slowly:
Indhu is not just quiet.
She is tired.
She is scared.
She is alone even when she is surrounded.
The words felt heavy.
I remembered how she sat in the group, not saying a word.
Not because she didn't have anything to say…
but because she didn't want to.
And then I realized something.
Indhu didn't just stop talking to Leanor.
She stopped trusting people.
And that hurt me more than anything.
I thought about Swetha too.
Swetha was always the kind of person who smiled even when she was broken inside.
She never showed her sadness openly.
She always acted like everything was fine.
But today, she looked like she was holding a storm in her eyes.
I felt a strange guilt.
Because I had never seen her cry.
And I didn't even know she was hurting.
I closed my diary and sat quietly for a while.
The silence in my room felt like a mirror.
It showed me something I didn't want to see.
Leanor was not the only one hurting.
Everyone was.
And we were all pretending.
My phone buzzed.
It was a message from Swetha.
"Are you coming tomorrow?"
I stared at it for a moment.
I didn't know how to respond.
Because if I said yes, I would have to face them again.
I would have to face the truth.
But if I said no, I would be running away.
I typed back:
"Yes. I'll be there."
Then I put my phone down and looked at the ceiling again.
A thought came to me—one I couldn't ignore.
Maybe we are all like a table of stories.
Each one of us has a hidden chapter.
And we just don't know how to read it.
And as the night grew darker, I promised myself something.
I would not let Indhu stay alone in her silence.
I would not let Swetha keep crying alone.
And I would not let our friendship be broken by unspoken pain.
Because some stories need someone to listen.
And I wanted to be that someone.