𝗜𝗡 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘

Shravani sat by the window, the rain softly tapping against the glass as she looked out at the hazy world beyond. Six months had passed since her wedding. Six months of phone calls, polite conversations, and a growing sense of familiarity with the man she had married but barely known.

Keshav had left for his army duties the day after their wedding, and the distance between them had only deepened. They had talked — yes — but the conversations had always felt like they were reaching for something they couldn't quite grasp. Shravani didn’t mind the silence that hung between them; it was comfortable, even. But sometimes, she longed for more — the unspoken connection that lay just beyond reach.

Her phone buzzed on the table, snapping her from her thoughts. Keshav’s name appeared on the screen, and she smiled before quickly picking it up.

"Hello, Keshav."

"Shravani," he said softly. His voice was warm, though there was a slight distance in it—a whisper of the separation they both felt. "How are you?"

"I'm fine... the usual." She paused, biting her lip as she gathered her thoughts. "You?"

"I'm fine," he replied, the words simple but sincere.

The silence that followed was neither uncomfortable nor awkward—it was just the kind of pause two people who had spent so little time together would find themselves in. Neither of them seemed to know how to bridge the gap between words and emotions.

A moment passed before Shravani spoke again, her voice a little quieter than before. "How’s everything there?"

"It’s... alright," Keshav answered. "Busy, you know. Long days."

"Of course," Shravani murmured, picturing him in the quiet, disciplined world of the army — a life so different from her own, yet connected to her in ways she couldn't explain.

There was another pause, but it felt different this time — gentler, more like a moment shared between two people who had begun to understand each other without needing to speak too much.

"So..." she hesitated. "When will you be back?"

Keshav’s voice softened. "Soon," he said, almost like a promise. "I’ll call you when I have leave."

"I’ll be waiting," she said quietly, the words slipping out before she could stop them. She wasn’t sure if she meant it in the way he might think, but it felt true all the same.

"Okay," Keshav replied, and there was a faint smile in his voice, though they both knew it was only words—neither of them had truly shared what they were feeling.

They ended the call soon after, the usual polite farewell hanging in the air. Shravani lowered the phone with a sigh, her heart fluttering as she sat back in her chair.

Six months. It felt like forever, and yet, not long enough.

Her thoughts drifted to the future, to the day Keshav would finally come home — not just as her husband, but as someone she could truly call hers.