Waited For You

Chapter 37

{ The Present } :-

Sanchi walked back slowly and sat down on the couch.
Her eyes closed the moment she leaned back.
Not to sleep.
Just… to breathe.
To process.
To hold herself together.

Atharv sat beside her after a moment.
Not too close.
Leaving space.
Respecting it.

Silence settled again.
But this time—
It wasn’t sharp.
It was… tired.

A few minutes passed like that.

Then, without opening her eyes, Sanchi spoke—
“How much do you remember… about us?”
Atharv looked at her.
Then quietly, he began—
“The first time we met in the temple…”
“The evenings we sat by the ghats and you kept talking while I just listened…”
“The way you everytime claimed that you are your parents' only daughter and the keyword behind daughter not child as you have a brother…”
“The letters…”
“The small fights…”
“The way you used to say Atharv you are way too kind for this world…”
He kept going.
One memory after another.
Small.
Big.
Meaningless to the world.
Everything to them.

Sanchi slowly opened her eyes.
And just… listened.
When he stopped—
She whispered, “You remember almost everything.”
Atharv nodded.
“I do.”

A pause.

“It’s just that… I don’t have the images.”
He looked down at his hands.
“It’s all foggy.”
“Memories… incidents… feelings…”
“But no faces.”

Sanchi’s fingers tightened slightly on the couch.

Then she asked softly—
“Do you want to see them?”
Atharv looked up.
Stunned.
As if he hadn’t expected that.
For a second, he didn’t respond.
Then slowly—
He nodded.
“Yes.”

Sanchi stood up and went inside again.
She returned with the same old phone.
The one she had protected like a part of her soul.

She sat beside him this time.
A little closer than before.
And unlocked it.
Then—
She started showing him.
Pictures.
One by one.
Two teenagers smiling.
Arguing.
Sitting by the river.
Blurry selfies.
Random moments.
Unplanned memories.

Atharv didn’t speak.
Didn’t interrupt.
He just… watched.
His eyes moving from the screen… to her face… then back to the screen.
Trying to match.
Trying to connect.
Trying to feel what he couldn’t remember visually.
Sometimes his brows furrowed in concentration.
Sometimes his lips parted slightly.
Sometimes his face lightened.

After a while—
He whispered, almost hesitantly—
“Can you… send these to my number?”
Sanchi looked at him for a second.
Then nodded.
“I will.”

Another silence followed.
Quieter than before.
Softer.
Less guarded.
Then—
Atharv spoke again.
Carefully.
" What did bhaiya say?"
Sanchi replies quietly, "That is between me and bhaiya."
Atharv nods and again silence fell.

Then he adds hesitantly,
“Are we… good now?”
Sanchi didn’t look at him.
She just shook her head slowly.
“No.”
A small pause.
“Not completely.”
The honesty didn’t hurt.
It grounded.
Atharv nodded.
“I understand.”
And he meant it.

After a moment, he asked—
“Can I stay here for some time?”
Quickly adding—
“I won’t disturb you.”
Sanchi glanced at him.
Then gave a small nod.
“Yes.”
And that was enough.
So they sat there.
Not talking.
Not fixing everything.
But also—
Not breaking anymore.

The quiet stretched again.
Soft.
Almost comfortable.

Sanchi’s fingers rested loosely in her lap, her gaze unfocused as she asked, almost absentmindedly—
“Why did you ask me for help in unpacking your stuff… when you shifted here?”