𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲.🌷

Destiny?

As the days passed, Isha found herself increasingly distracted. The conference was demanding, filled with lectures, discussions, and networking, but her mind kept wandering back to that brief encounter in the park. She couldn't shake the strange feeling that the man who had caught her was somehow familiar, though his face remained a blur in her memory. She even returned to the park a few times, hoping to cross paths with him again, but it seemed as though he had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

One evening, while scrolling through her phone, Isha came across a notification—a reminder about an old email from Shantanu. It was a message she had ignored months ago, back when she was still trying to bury the past. Against her better judgment, she opened it.

"Isha, I know it’s been a long time, but there’s something I need to tell you. I never got a chance to explain before you left. I hope you’re willing to hear me out, whenever you’re ready. Take care."

She read the email again, feeling a lump form in her throat. Shantanu had always been good with words, but this message was different. It felt unfinished, as if he hadn’t known how to express the weight of what he wanted to say.

That night, Isha couldn’t sleep. Memories of their time together flooded her mind—late-night conversations, shared laughter, and quiet moments of understanding. She had tried to move on, to leave all of it behind, but something in the air of Pune was stirring up emotions she thought she had buried.

The next day, after another draining session at the conference, Isha decided to take a different route back to her temporary accommodation. The streets of Pune were alive with the hustle of evening activity, and she found herself drawn to a quaint café on a quiet corner. It had the kind of ambiance that invited people to linger, with warm lighting and the smell of fresh coffee wafting through the air.

She entered and found a seat by the window, ordering a simple chai. As she sipped the hot drink, she pulled out her phone, contemplating whether to reply to Shantanu’s email after all this time.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door of the café opened, and she heard a familiar voice—one she hadn’t heard in years. Heart racing, she looked up.

There he was.

Shantanu stood at the entrance, speaking to the barista. He hadn’t noticed her yet, but Isha’s breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of him. He looked almost the same, but older, more mature. There was something about him that seemed heavier, as though life had left its mark on him, too.

For a moment, she debated slipping out unnoticed, but before she could make a move, Shantanu turned and his eyes met hers.

Time seemed to freeze.

Neither of them moved. Shantanu’s face registered surprise, then something softer—recognition, maybe even relief. Slowly, he walked over to her table, each step feeling like a bridge between the past and the present.

“Isha,” he said, his voice quiet but steady. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to see you either,” Isha replied, trying to keep her voice calm, though her heart was racing.

Shantanu hesitated for a moment, as if unsure of how to proceed, before pulling out the chair opposite her. “Do you mind if I sit?”

She nodded, still processing the surreal turn of events. Shantanu sat down, and for a while, neither of them spoke, the tension between them thick and unspoken.

Finally, he broke the silence. “I saw you the other day, at the park.”

Isha’s eyes widened. “That was you?”