700 ᏦᎥᏝᎧᎷᏋᏖᏒᏋᏕ ᏗᏇᏗᎩ

Chapter 8: Where Hiding Felt Loud

"Because you act like I'm invisible... or worse, a threat."

He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She smiled sadly.

"It’s okay. I just thought we had a moment, but maybe I imagined it."

Before he could process that, she had walked away.

That night, Harshan couldn’t sleep. He stared at the ceiling, thoughts spiraling. Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he talk to her properly? She had done nothing wrong. If anything, she was the only person trying to reach him, yet he kept shutting the door.

Chapter 8: Where Hiding Felt Loud ...

By the fifth day, Ishwaani was quieter. She stopped waving, stopped calling out his name. She walked with her friends, laughed with others. Harshan hated how his chest felt when she didn’t look at him. It was as if the color of the day had faded.

Then, one evening, after school had ended and students began pouring out of classrooms, Harshan walked home alone, as always. He took his usual path, bag hanging off one shoulder, mind clouded.

As he approached the spot where Ishwaani had once stopped him for help, he slowed down. The barking of street dogs echoed faintly in the distance. He stood there for a second, staring at the corner, as memories from that day came back like a soft breeze.

He smiled faintly to himself. "I wonder... is she still scared of those dogs?"

Just then, a familiar voice chimed in from behind.

"Are you searching for me?"

He turned abruptly, eyes wide. "Ishwaani?"

She stood there with her usual bright smile. "Who else would it be? Are you waiting for someone else here usually?"

Harshan chuckled nervously. "No, no. I was searching for a big brave girl being scared of a few dogs?"

he laughed gently. "You were really scared that day.

She folded her  , with a little childish embarrassment

"Hmph. That was a one-time thing," she said, pretending to pout. "Anyway… why do you always avoid me in class?"

Harshan looked away. "I don’t like attention. You… you're like the spotlight. I want to be invisible. Talking to you puts me on stage."

She watched him silently. His eyes gave away the pain he never said aloud. She softened.

"Okay," she said gently. "But I'm not asking you to be on stage. I'm just asking you to be you."

They began walking slowly. The conversation shifted.

"Which school were you in before this?" Harshan asked.

" ______ . School. But my dad got transferred, so I had to shift here," she replied.

"Do you miss your old school?"

"Sometimes. But I'm getting used to this place. Especially when I have a strange boy dropping me off , saving me from dogs," she teased.

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, strange is the right word."

A few streets ahead, she paused, eyes locked on a pani puri stall.

"You like pani puri?" he asked, already guessing the answer from her expression.

"My stomach’s been shouting at me since the last period," she admitted.

"Come on. I’ll get us some."

They stood side by side, eating pani puri. Ishwaani smiled between bites.

"I’ll pay," she said, reaching for her bag.

"Nope. My treat today. You can pay next time."

She paused for a second,

Harshan realised what he said but without letting him speak another word

She looked directly at the vendor. "Bhaiya, don’t give him any pani puri next time unless I’m with him."

The vendor chuckled. Harshan blinked in surprise.

As they reached the junction where their paths split, she turned.

"See you tomorrow."

"After school," Harshan replied instinctively.

She tilted her head. "I’ll try."

Only after she walked away did he realize what he’d said. Sometimes he spoke without thinking. And sometimes, those slips were not an issue. But sometimes… they were .

Harshan in his mind , am I dreaming perhaps , what the heck is happening in my life