INT. SMALL COTTAGE – NIGHT – HILLTOP, HIMACHAL
Rain taps gently on the wooden windows.
The room is dim, warm — lit by a single table lamp. Mahi sits cross-legged on the couch, wearing one of Saif's hoodies, her hair tied in a loose bun.
She sips warm milk and looks up — Saif stands near the window, lost in the foggy hills outside.
Something about his silence tonight… feels different.
MAHI (softly):
"Saif?"
He doesn't respond.
MAHI (gentler):
"Hey... what's going on?"
He finally turns, his eyes not the usual spark — but clouded, heavy.
He walks over slowly and sits beside her.
A pause.
Then—
SAIF (quietly):
"Do you know what it feels like to be chosen…
and then…
un-chosen?"
Mahi's eyes widen a bit.
She sets the cup down.
MAHI:
"What do you mean?"
SAIF (without looking at her):
"I wasn't born a Shaikh.
I was adopted.
When I was two.
Same age as Ahaan."
Mahi stares.
She never knew.
SAIF (continuing):
"They brought me home from an orphanage. I thought I was lucky.
We grew up like twins. Me and Ahaan. Same toys. Same books. Same birthdays.
But then…"
He pauses. His jaw clenches.
"...Sharukh was born."
He looks down at his hands, tracing a scar across his palm.
SAIF:
"Suddenly, I wasn't a son anymore.
I was… extra.
Unwanted."
MAHI (softly):
"They told you that?"
SAIF (smirks bitterly):
"They didn't have to.
The way they stopped saying 'beta'.
The way they gave Ahaan my toy car, told me it was always his.
The way they locked me in a room the day Sharukh had a fever — like I was dirt."
MAHI (eyes glassy):
"Saif…"
SAIF (voice lowers):
"One morning, I woke up…
And they were gone."
A long silence.
Mahi slowly moves closer.
MAHI:
"Did you try to find them?"
SAIF:
"I was seven, Mahi.
I waited by the window for two nights.
Then I ran to the streets.
And that's where I learned the world doesn't care if you're a good boy.
So I stopped being one."
She watches him.
This man — her friend, her protector — has bled alone for so long.
MAHI (gently):
"You never told anyone?"
SAIF (shrugs):
"I didn't need to.
Until now."
A pause.
And then, she takes his hand.
Holds it like it's the most sacred thing she's ever touched.
MAHI:
"You're not extra, Saif.
You never were.
You were the whole damn heart.
They were just too blind to see it."
He swallows hard.
A tear falls — but he quickly wipes it, looking away.
MAHI (pressing his hand):
"You found your family again.
You found me."
He looks at her.
Her eyes glisten.
His lips tremble.
But no words are needed.
He pulls her into a hug — not desperate, but needing her like oxygen.
And in the warmth of that embrace, for the first time in years…
Saif doesn't feel like an orphan anymore.