Observing her audition, he says, "There is something eerily familiar about you. Have we met?"
She confusely replies, "I don't believe so. Are you sure?"
He responds, "It is like a forgotten memory trying to resurface."
She says with curiosity, "Mayb...
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Finally , the final year boards started . Madhav, Radhika, Revati and Baladev turned into disciplined machines--- fully focused , no jokes , no hanging outs and less late night talks.
Everyone gave their best but one person studied like her whole life depended on it, Radhika .She wanted her father to see one thing clearly---Madhav's presence didn't distract her. It made her shine.
And Madhav was extra serious this time. Every time he felt anxious, he looked at her name on the top of his notes and told himself: "If she is giving her best... I can't stay behind."
After two weeks of stress and almost no sleep nights, when the exams finally ended. Life finally breathed again. The stress lifted like fog, days grew softer, brighter.
The results would be out after a month. So the four started hanging out---like normal teenagers at last-- cafés, random lanes, ice cream dates, evening walks. And somehow... slowly...comfort settled between them all.
But Radhika's mind was disturbed by her father's silence even after knowing that she was going out with Madhav, Revati, Baladev were also there. One day she confronted Madhav while returning from a nearby café, "Dad... he is silent nowadays ... really silent.. even after knowing I am going out with you."
"Maybe after the staircase incident... he started trusting me a little?" Madhav said softly, a hopeful smile tugging at his lips as he looked straight into Radhika's eyes.
He noticed the small line forming between her brows-- the unmistakable sign that she had slipped back into overthinking.
Without a second thought, he slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her gently into a warm side hug. Leaning closer so only she could hear, he whispered against her ear--
"I am always with you."
Radhika's heart fluttered, with the warmth and the growing tension , she nodded, "Hope so."
Days passed like this--the same quiet distance between Radhika and her father, heavy yet unspoken but something else began to bother her.
Her parents had suddenly started rearranging everything in the apartment. Furniture shifted, clothes were folded into piles, drawers were being emptied and old boxes were being pulled out.
Every time Radhika tried to ask what was happening, her mother would brush her off with a quick, "Bas safai chal rahi hai, Radha." (Cleaning is going on , Radha)
And her father would give a short, distracted reply, "Deep cleaning... don't worry."
Or worse--they would simply send her out with her friends before she could question anything further.
The more they avoided her... the more the uneasiness inside her grew.
One afternoon, Radhika was lying on her bed, half-curled into her pillow, typing rapidly into the group chat , ranting about the strange tension at home and the sudden "cleaning spree" that made no sense.
