Love Before Graduation

I entered the house.

The door slammed shut from behind, and the soft whispers of the night outside stopped right there.

But inside – in the house – there was such a silence that even breathing became heavy.

I leaned against the door and slowly closed my eyes, as if I was trying to somehow hold my restless soul.

I had done the right thing... I had to do it.

But my heart was refusing to believe it.

I don't know when my fingers had clenched into fists, as if they were fighting with themselves.

"A person wants only that which he does not have. And he does not value what he has."

These words of mine came back echoing inside me in some deserted street.

Why did I say that?

Why did I make that difficult emotion so easy?

There was a strange pain that was stuck in my heart.

I separated myself from the door and started climbing the stairs with heavy steps.

Every step seemed to carry the burden of my existence.

When I reached the room, it felt as if the fatigue of centuries had taken hold of my soul.

I sat on the edge of the bed.

Holding the mobile phone in my hands, whose black screen had now become a part of some deep silence, I just kept staring at it.

A corner of my heart was screaming - "Send a message. Tell everything to rei."

But I did nothing.

Because the truth is never as simple as yes or no.

Because love does not only demand feelings, it also demands decisions.

And I... I had made my decision.

A light, very slow knock broke the knot of thoughts.

"Aira?"

I turned and looked towards the voice.

It was Kyara - my younger sister.

I took a deep breath. "Come in." The door opened a little and she came in.

An innocent look of concern on her face... a delicate worry in her eyes.

She quietly came and sat down next to me.

A long silence passed between us.

Then finally she asked softly, "Has something happened?"

I swallowed and looked at my fingers.

"No," I said.

A lie—so raw and transparent that even my own heart could hear it.

Kyara let out a long sigh and smiled softly,

"You lie really bad, you know?"

A soft laugh slipped from my lips—an incomplete, sad laugh.

I didn't want anyone to dig up wounds that had just opened up.

But Kyara, she was Kyara.

She was one of those people who quietly get along.

"Is it about rei?"

Her question took my breath away. I didn't shake my head, didn't say anything - and perhaps, that was her answer.

Kyara didn't ask anything else.

She just sat beside me and said -

"If you ever feel like talking, I'm here."

Just that - and it felt like a little burden on my heart had been lifted.

I lowered my eyes, with a slight smile, which was probably wet with tears.

"Thank you, Kyara."

She smiled too and said, "Always."

Then she stood up.

"Now go to sleep. It's very late."

She left, closing the door softly.

I was left alone in that dim light - with my scattered feelings.

That night, I kept thinking about everything for a long time.

Every word that was said, every emotion that was left hidden, every moment that I wanted to take back.

And then, I cried. I cried the way someone breaks down from within – silently, but loudly.

The kind of crying that exhausts you, shakes your shoulders, lays you completely bare in front of your own truth.

Amidst these tears, the phone screen flashed.

It was a message – from Krishvik.

"Today I had a lot of fun with friends. I laughed heartily after a long time... but I missed you a lot. How are you? Take care of yourself."

I remained glued to the screen.

The heart once again said something in a broken voice... perhaps to itself.

And then I cried even more.

Because I had not forgotten as much as I had thought I had forgotten.

I kept crying until the moisture of the tears dried up.

And when finally sleep took me in its embrace, one last thought bubbled inside me –

If only forgetting was as easy as sleeping.