POV -
After that day, something quietly shifted between Sanvi and Ahaan. Slowly but surely, new layers of connection began to form between them. It wasn't just casual chatting anymore-there was depth, honesty, and a strange kind of comfort that only grows after shared vulnerability.
Sanvi, who had always kept her love life wrapped in silence, finally opened up to Ahaan. She told him everything-especially about Pranjal. She admitted, with a heavy heart, that even now, she hadn't been able to move on from him. "If Pranjal came back into my life," she said with a faraway look in her eyes, "I think I would still accept him."
Ahaan didn't say much. Just a few curses thrown in Pranjal's name, a tinge of irritation in his voice. Then he looked at Sanvi, softening, and said, "You deserve better. Why does it have to be him?"
Sanvi just smiled faintly and replied, "Because my heart is still stuck on him. I don't want anyone else."
Ahaan rolled his eyes and began teasing her, mocking her hopeless devotion-but deep down, he knew her wounds ran deep.
Time passed.
After finishing her 12th grade, Sanvi and Ahaan still stayed in touch. Even though Sanvi had moved back to her grandmother's house, busy preparing for her graduation, they never really lost contact. Around the same time, her father was transferred to a new city, and life began to shift once again.
Five months later...
Sanvi filled out the form for an entrance exam, gave it her best, and scored well. A new door had opened. She had another shot at chasing her dreams-at stepping out into the world again.
And so she did.
It took her four years to complete her graduation, and somewhere between the exams, assignments, hostel life, and growing up, she transformed. A few days after graduating, she landed a decent job-not grand, not flashy-but honest, and most importantly, earned by her own merit.
But there was something else she had always longed to do. Something that had been quietly growing inside her for years...
Travel. Solo travel.
Not for studies. Not for a family vacation. Not for work.
This time, it was for herself.
After years of waiting, the day finally arrived. The day she had dreamt of since forever. She packed her bags-not with books or job documents-but with excitement, freedom, and a little nervous thrill.
She wasn't going as a student. She wasn't going as someone's daughter.
She was going as herself-an independent woman, funded by her own hard work.
And the very first thing on her list?
To walk barefoot on a beach.
To feel the breeze whispering stories in her ears.
To watch the sunset melt into the ocean, and feel, for the first time, truly, completely free.
POV -
Sanvi (to herself, with a tear of pride sparkling in her eye like a dramatic TV character):
"Oh. My. God. Is this real life? Or is this some luxurious dream gifted to me by the universe after years of mental torture and emotional slavery?"
(She looks around her hotel room like she just walked into heaven's VIP lounge.)
"For the first time in my 24-year-old life-TWENTY-FOUR, mind you!-I can step out at night... without writing a five-paragraph essay, attaching a Google Form, and waiting for parental approval stamped with three witnesses and a blood sample."
"Netflix subscription? Pfft. No more begging Papa like I'm asking for his kidney. No more just staring at that 'Are you still watching?' screen with tears in my eyes and no account of my name."
"And food? Don't even get me started on food. Gone are the days of sniffing phone screens at midnight while scrolling through Zomato, whispering sweet nothing to a picture of momos I could never touch. From now on, if I crave chocolate cake at 3:17 am, I'll order it, eat it, AND post a story about it with a boomerang. I AM THE MAIN CHARACTER!"
(With a heroic war cry that could wake up a neighborhood, she throws herself on the hotel bed like a Bollywood heroine being pushed off a cliff in slow motion. The bed gives a loud creak-almost like it's gasping in shock-before accepting its fate.)
And then... silence.
Sanvi knocks out like someone tranquilized a wild animal. Arms spread wide, one leg hanging off the bed, her hair looking like it fought a tornado. The room, once filled with revolutionary energy, now only hears her dramatic, snore-infused breathing.
Four hours later...
She rises.
Not gracefully, no. Sanvi wakes up like a buffalo that got hit by a truck of dreams, blinking in slow motion, confused about which planet she's on.
Her mouth is slightly open, there's a heroic trail of drool on the pillow, and she sits up looking like she just came back from the spiritual realm of unconsciousness.
One eye half-closed. One sock missing. Phone at 2% battery. A hotel room blanket wrapped around her like a defeated burrito.
She squints at the clock, scratches her head like a lost monkey.
Just as Sanvi was recovering from her four-hour coma-nap, still half tangled in the hotel blanket like a confused sushi roll, her phone buzzed. The screen lit up with an UNKNOWN NUMBER. Her sleepy eyes blinked twice, confused and mildly annoyed.
Ringtone: A dramatic violin piece because, of course, fate has timing.
She lazily grabbed the phone, still 37% asleep, and answered in a voice so groggy it could've scared a ghost.
Sanvi (yawning):
"Hellooo? Who is this?"
Silence.
She frowned, eyes narrowing.
Sanvi (impatiently):
"Look, speak up or I'm cutting the call. I don't do horror movie nonsense after 9pm."
And then... a voice. Calm. Familiar. Chilling.
Caller:
"It's me... do you remember?"
Suddenly, BOOM-her sleep vanished. Gone. As if someone slapped her with a bucket of reality.
She sat upright, heart thudding like drums in a thriller movie trailer. Her fingers gripped the phone tighter.
Sanvi (stammering slightly):
"H-hello? Wait-what's your name? Say your name. Now."
Pause.
Caller (softly):
"It's Pranjal."
Sanvi (exploding):
"WHAT THE-how the hell did you even get my number? From where?!"
Pranjal (chuckling nervously):
"Your sister. I literally begged her like a loser for days. Blackmailed her with emotional drama. Finally, she gave in."
Sanvi's voice turned cold, suspicious.
Sanvi:
"And why, after years, have I suddenly made a grand appearance in your thoughts, huh? Got bored of your fancy life or your new drama queen?"
And then... his voice broke.
Pranjal (sobbing, truly broken):
"I know... I know I was the biggest idiot alive. No, worse. I was blind, selfish, immature-I didn't know what the hell I was doing back then. But I swear... I've changed. I realized it was way too late, but I only ever truly loved you, Sanvi. Please. I'm begging you... give me one last chance. Just one."
Sanvi sat frozen. Her brain screamed 'Don't fall for it!' but her heart... oh, her heart was already cracking like thin glass.
The sound of him crying, those raw sobs echoing in her ears-wasn't just sound anymore. It was a memory. It was love. It was a pain. And she couldn't fight it.
Her tears fell silently, one by one, like old wounds reopening without warning.
She didn't say "I forgive you."
She didn't say "Okay."
She just cried.
And somehow... that was enough.
He understood. She had forgiven him.
That silence between sobs spoke louder than any confession ever could.
At that moment, the past didn't matter. The betrayal, the heartbreak, the waiting-it all melted.
Because maybe... just maybe...
This was their second beginning.
**************