What after That?

Ch 84.

Shubman stirred awake as the first rays of dawn filtered through the trees.
Still half-asleep, he rubbed his eyes and lazily looked towards Ishan's window.

For a split second... He caught the shadow of someone standing there.

The moment their eyes almost met, the figure hurriedly disappeared behind the curtain.

Shubman couldn't help but smile.

A second later, he called out softly,

"Jaa raha hoon... Tension na le."

There was no reply.

Shubman smiled to himself before folding the thin bedsheet neatly. He lifted the charpai onto his shoulder with practiced ease.

The village was only beginning to wake up. The eastern sky had started turning shades of orange and gold, while the cool morning breeze carried the scent of wet मिट्टी and fresh fields.

It was only 4:45 a.m.

The world still felt asleep.

Shubman stood there for a moment, quietly watching the rising sun.

Strangely...

He felt lighter today.

Not because the village was peaceful.

Not because he had managed to sleep a full eight hours after days of exhaustion.

And certainly not because the sunrise was exceptionally beautiful.

He felt at peace...

Because Ishan was close. For an entire year, he'd fallen asleep staring at the ceiling, wondering how Ishan was doing.

Last night...

He had fallen asleep after seeing Ishan's face.

And this morning...

The first thing he saw upon waking up was Ishan secretly checking if he was still there.

A small, content smile spread across his lips.

Shubman quietly walked back towards the room. As expected... Everyone was still asleep.

Rahul was snoring loud enough to scare away the birds, while Tanmay had somehow rolled onto Dhruv's charpai in the middle of the night.

His eyes then drifted towards the corner. Abhishek's cot, which had originally been a respectable distance away...

...had mysteriously shifted right beside Mayank's.

Shubman raised an eyebrow.

He decided it wasn't his problem. Ignoring the two, he pulled out his toothbrush and quietly stepped outside. After brushing his teeth, he splashed some water on his face and stretched lazily.

The courtyard was peaceful at this hour.

Near the tulsi plant, Ishan's mother was watering it with a small brass lota, softly chanting her morning prayers. She had already freshened up for the day.

As she turned around, her eyes landed on Shubman.

Or rather...

Manpreet.

She smiled warmly. Shubman returned an awkward smile. "Namaste, aunty."

"Namaste, beta."

She looked at him kindly.