That rainy night

That rainy night

The thunder reverberated in the darkness of the night. The downpour was in full swing, as if the sky had sent all its stories to the earth in the form of drops. There was water everywhere. The cold wind was hitting the half-opened shutters of the window, and a slight darkness had spread inside the room.

Anshul was sitting alone in his room. The light of the laptop was falling on his face, but his eyes were not on the screen, but were looking outside the window at the rain, which was reminding him of some old incomplete story.

Just then the phone screen lit up. "Aditi"—the name he had never tried to forget.

He picked up the phone, kept looking at the screen for a while and then received the call.

"Hello?"

A light laughter echoed on the other side. "Anshul, how is this rain?"

Her voice was still the same—deep, soft, and familiar like an old tune.

"Suddenly... after so many years?" Anshul's voice was a question.

"Sometimes some relationships are like raindrops—they fall without time, but leave their coolness behind." Aditi's voice was soft, as if an incomplete story had opened up again.

"Have you returned?"

For a few seconds, only the sound of rain was heard.

Then the answer came—"I don't know, but I feel like getting drenched in this rain again."

It was many years ago. Water had accumulated in the narrow streets of the city. People were running with their umbrellas open, but there were some faces who wanted to stay and get drenched in this rain.

Anshul was one of them. He was standing under the shed of a shop, when he saw—a girl was running towards the bus stop. Her long hair had got wet and stuck to her face, and she was searching for something in her bag in panic.

"Hey! Come here, you will get completely drenched!" Anshul said spontaneously.

The girl stopped, there was a slight hesitation in her eyes, but her face looked smiling.

"Thank you," she said and came under the shade.

"You don't like the rain?" Anshul asked.

The girl laughed. "I like it, but the phone should not get wet, right?"

Anshul smiled too. The rain had now become heavy, and the roads had become empty. After some time the girl started leaving.

"Your name?" Anshul asked.

"Aditi," she replied smiling and moved ahead on the wet roads.

Aditi's image had left a deep impression in Anshul's mind. He could not even ask for her phone number in the first meeting. But he did not know that they were going to meet again. Colleges had started. In college, Anshul's eyes fell on a girl coming to his class. Oh, this is Aditi. In my class! He immediately went to her. Hi, Aditi. Did you recognize me? I am Anshul. Oh yes! I remember we met in the rain. I have got a new admission. It is good now. We both are in the same class. I have also found a good friend.

After meeting in college, the two started talking. The story that started in the rain continued even on sunny days. They often talked for hours, sitting in the college canteen, discussing books and films, and sometimes just feeling each other in silence.

Aditi's smile had magic. There were dreams in her eyes, and stories in her words. Anshul felt that Aditi was that incomplete page of his life, without reading which his story would not be complete.

The moments spent with Aditi in those days were like a beautiful poem. They would walk together in the park for long hours, read books in the winter sun, and sometimes sit on the roof and watch the city lights—everything was like a dream.

One day, when college was over, the two went for a walk to a nearby hill station. It started raining on the way. Aditi put her dupatta on her head and started running.

"Wait na, let me get wet!" Anshul said.

"Are you crazy?" Aditi laughed.

Anshul held her hand. The silence between them amid the cold drops of rain said it all.

"Did you ever think we would meet like this?" Aditi said softly.

"No, but now I feel that the most beautiful part of life has been spent with you."

Aditi smiled and looked at him. Then slowly holding his palms in hers she said—"Always will be there, right?"

Anshul looked into her eyes—deep, mysterious and full of dreams.

But then... everything suddenly changed.

Aditi's behavior started becoming strange. She would often remain lost, sometimes not answer the phone for hours. And then one day, she left without telling anyone.

Anshul got her last message—

"Sometimes some incomplete stories are the most beautiful. Don't look for me, my destiny is on some other path."

He was in shock. Was all this just a beautiful dream?

Years later - the same rain again

Today, after so many years, the same rain was falling again. Aditi's same familiar voice was on the other side of the phone.

"Where were you, Aditi?" Her voice was light, but heavy with emotions.

For a few seconds, only the sound of rain was heard.

"Sometimes a person has to lose himself and come back to himself, Anshul," Aditi said softly.

"And now?"

"Now I feel like getting drenched in this rain again..."

Her voice had the same magic, the same feeling.

Anshul was looking out of the window. Water droplets were still falling. But this time, this rain was not just outside, but inside him as well.

Perhaps, some stories never end. They just wait for the next rain..

When Aditi suddenly disappeared, Anshul remained restless for many days. He called several times, left messages, but there was no response. The beautiful feeling that had blossomed as their friendship and love suddenly got lost in some mysterious darkness.

Behind Aditi's silence, there was a deep truth hidden- a truth that she wanted to hide from Anshul.

In fact, Aditi was suffering from a serious illness. She had a genetic condition that was not curable. By the time she found out about it, she had become very close to Anshul. But she felt that if she told him all this, Anshul would be entangled in her suffering. She did not want to burden him in any way.

"I wanted you to remember me the way I remembered the time I spent with you. Smiling, vivacious, full of dreams Aditi... not someone who was full of pain and suffering."

For years, Aditi did not contact Anshul. She kept herself entangled in loneliness and her suffering. But life gave her another chance. Her treatment had become possible. The doctors started a new medical therapy, and slowly she started recovering.

When she returned to normal life, the first thought that came to her was of Anshul.

"I knew that I hurt you, but I also knew that if I could ever live again, the first thing I would do is try to complete that incomplete story with you."

Anshul was still looking at the rain outside the window. He had questions in his mind, he was angry, but more than that, he had the pang of an incomplete love.Have you really come back, Aditi?"

The answer from the other side came with a light smile—

"Did I ever go?"

It was still raining. But this time, it was not just the tears of the past, but also the drops of a new future… maybe this time the story would be complete.

Anshul held the phone tightly. The raindrops were still falling on the window panes, but this time they were not just the pain of the past, but also the hope of a new beginning.

Aditi's voice had put all the questions inside him to rest. Yes, she had gone, but her memories were always with Anshul. And now that she had come back, could Anshul risk losing her again?

He decided to meet Aditi without saying anything.

The next day, Anshul reached the cafe where they had spent countless evenings. The same corner, the same table, the same two cups of coffee… but this time there was no burden of the past, Rather, it was the desire to write a new chapter.

When Aditi came to the cafe, she was still the same - the same magical laughter, the same sparkling eyes, but this time there was a silent atonement for Anshul in her eyes.

"You are still the same as when I left you," Aditi said, smiling softly.

Anshul looked at her, there was no question in his eyes, only affection.

"And you are still the same as I always remembered you," he replied.

Aditi gently held his hand.

"Can we start afresh?"

The morning after the rain that night was bright. The rays of the sun were peeking through the window, as if ready to shine anew.

Anshul and Aditi both knew that what happened could not be changed. But what would happen next was in their hands.

“Sometimes to complete unfinished stories we have to forgive the past and embrace the future,” Anshul said looking into Aditi’s eyes.

Aditi sensed his words and smiled.

Perhaps, this time their story will not remain incomplete.