INSEPARABLE HEARTS 2

Chapter 125

Happy Reading

The house was quieter than usual.

Dharshi leaned on the kitchen counter, sipping her warm milk slowly as her dad sorted through some old bills on the dining table. The glow of the overhead light fell softly over the room, giving it a lived-in warmth — the kind that felt safe.

She glanced at him a few times, as if weighing something. He noticed.

Dharshi (softly): “You seem… lighter these days.”

Her dad looked up, surprised, and gave a gentle smile.

Dharshi: “Happier, I mean. It’s been a while since I saw you like this.”

Her Dad (with a chuckle): “Well… maybe I am. It’s strange, isn’t it? How happiness can quietly sneak back in.”

She walked over and sat across from him, placing her glass down.

Dharshi (carefully): “So... Isabella makes you happy?”

He paused, then nodded.

Her Dad: “She does. I didn’t expect it. But with her… it’s easy. She understands grief, and she doesn’t try to fix it. She just… sits with it.”

Dharshi watched the way his face softened when he said Isabella’s name. There was no guilt. Just quiet joy.

Dharshi (smiling faintly): “I’m happy for you, Dad. Really. I think Mom would want you to be happy too.”

A moment of stillness passed — not heavy, not sad. Just reflective.

Then she added, playfully:

Dharshi: “Sooo… when are you going to bring her to our Sunday family dinner?”

Her Dad (raising an eyebrow): “You think it’s time?”

Dharshi: “I know it is. Look, Elena is Keerthi’s best friend since they were basically born, and she’s become one of my closest friends too. We’ve already survived a party together. We can survive a dinner.”

Her dad laughed.

Her Dad: “You sure everyone’s ready for that?”

Dharshi (grinning): “Dad, have you met our family? Chaos is the starter course.”

He laughed louder this time, shaking his head.

Her Dad: “Alright. Next Sunday. But I’m blaming you if your uncle tries to interrogate her.”

Dharshi: “Deal. Just don’t forget to bring dessert — she already won me over with her chocolate mousse.”

They both sat in that shared warmth, laughter still lingering. There was something healing in that night — a kind of acceptance neither of them had spoken aloud before.

And in her heart, Dharshi felt something click into place.

A chapter closed.

A new one beginning.

____________

Elena lay sprawled on Keerthi’s bed, lazily flipping through one of her old scrapbooks filled with polaroids, notes, and glitter pen doodles. Keerthi, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the floor in her pajamas, munching on chocolate chip cookies.

The air was warm, comforting — like the calm before a very strange but very real storm.

Elena (laughing as she holds up a childhood photo): “Oh my god, remember this? You had braces, and I had bangs. We were disasters.”