A Broken Illusion
The warm afternoon sun bathed the streets in golden hues as I stood outside the college gate, waiting.
Tanvi was late.
I checked my wristwatch for what felt like the hundredth time. An entire hour had passed since college ended, yet there was still no sign of her.
"Maybe she changed her mind?" I thought, sighing in disappointment.
Just as I was about to give up and head home, a voice called from behind.
"Harsh!"
I turned around to see Tanvi running towards me, her breath heavy from exhaustion.
"You were here all along? I was looking for you in your classroom!" she huffed, placing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
"Oh! My bad, I should've told you I'd be waiting here," I replied apologetically.
With that, we started walking toward the mall.
But as we walked side by side, my thoughts were somewhere else.
"How do I ask her?"
If she really was the girl who kissed me that day, would she even admit it? Or would she just laugh it off? I wasn't sure. My mind was a tangled mess of doubt and curiosity.
"We're here!" Tanvi's cheerful voice snapped me back to reality.
I blinked, realizing we were standing in front of the mall entrance.
We wandered around, stopping at different stores, browsing through things neither of us intended to buy. But no matter where we went, my mind kept drifting to the past.
Everywhere I looked, I saw memories of her—of Shreya.
"Are those eye bags from studying all night?"
"How about yours, Shreya?"
"I was studying hard about video games, hehehe."
"You traitor... Hahaha."
I could still hear her laughter, see her mischievous smile. The food court where we shared ice cream, the arcade where she playfully challenged me to games, the cinema where she once made me sit through a cheesy romance movie.
This entire place was ours—filled with echoes of the time we spent together.
"Harsh?" Tanvi's voice pulled me back to the present.
"Huh? Oh, yeah?" I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.
"You looked really spaced out. Is something bothering you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
I hesitated for a second before forcing a smile. "No, I was just thinking… about what flavor of ice cream you'd like. I didn't know how to ask," I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
Tanvi giggled. "Oh, silly! I love strawberry-flavored ice cream!"
"Got it! Wait here, I'll grab some for us."
I dashed toward the ice cream shop, grateful for the momentary distraction. As I ordered, I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the strange heaviness in my chest.
But when I turned around, ice creams in hand, my feet froze in place.
Tanvi was standing with a group of girls, chatting.
And among them—
Shreya.
I took a step closer, and that's when I heard it.
"Lol… Tanvi, did you really make him come to the mall with you?" one of the girls sneered.
"That's hilarious… Right, Shreya?"
I watched as Shreya laughed along with them.
"Yeah… How stupid is your childhood friend?"
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Shreya… she was laughing at me?
My grip on the ice cream cones tightened, the cold seeping into my fingers. My vision blurred for a second, not from tears, but from the sheer weight of the realization crashing down on me.
The person I had admired, the person I thought I understood—she had chosen this life.
This shallow, mocking, insincere world.
For a second, anger burned inside me. My pulse quickened, my jaw clenched, but then—
I swallowed it.
The anger. The hurt. The foolish hope that had been keeping me chained to the past.
I took a slow step back.
Then another.
And without a word, I turned around and walked away.
A Moment Too Late
The golden hues of the setting sun bathed the city streets in a warm glow as my friends and I strolled towards the mall, laughter echoing between us.
It was supposed to be just another fun Saturday—window shopping, grabbing snacks, and teasing each other over silly things.
But an hour into our outing, something felt... off.
One of my friends suddenly slowed her pace, her lips curling into a mischievous grin.
"Shreya, you won't believe it! One of us is on a date today," she giggled.
"A date?" I raised an eyebrow, confused.
The others burst into laughter. "Yeah! We tricked you into coming with us, but actually, she's the one on a date. It's a prank we saw online, so we wanted to try it out."
I let out a small laugh, shaking my head. "Seriously? You guys are unbelievable."
But before I could tease them back, the "boyfriend" in question arrived.
And in an instant—my heart stopped.
Standing there, holding two ice cream cones, was Harsh.
The boy I had known since childhood.
The boy who had always been there, by my side, through everything.
And now—
The boy my friends were laughing at.
My breath caught in my throat.
Panic surged through me, and instinctively, I moved behind my friends, hoping—praying—that he wouldn't see me.
But then—
"That's hilarious… Right, Shreya?"
At the mention of my name, Harsh lifted his gaze.
His dark eyes met mine.
For a second, there was no anger, no accusations—just hurt. A deep, silent pain that cut deeper than any words ever could.
And then, without a single word—
He turned around and walked away.
The ice cream cones still clutched in his hands.
A cold numbness spread through my chest.
I wanted to say something. Anything.
But the words wouldn't come.
Instead, my body moved on its own, pushing past my friends as I chased after him.
"Shreya, where are you going?" one of them called after me.
I didn't answer.
Because in that moment, nothing else mattered.
I couldn't let him walk away like this.