Chapter 8: The Window Stays Closed
Eliza had started to feel something new every time she saw Zayaan — something warm, safe... familiar.
But life has a strange way of testing what's real.
It happened during lunch break.
She was sitting on a bench in the school garden, flipping through her poetry notebook when a boy from her class, Noah, walked up to her.
He was funny, confident, and kind — the kind of guy people noticed.
But Eliza barely looked up.
Until he said,
"I like your poems. Especially the one about the stars. They feel... honest."
She smiled politely.
"Thanks. That one's special to me."
What she didn't know was that from a distance, Zayaan saw them.
Saw Noah sitting close.
Saw Eliza smile.
Saw the way she tucked her hair behind her ear — the way she always did when she was nervous but happy.
And something in him broke.
That evening, Eliza sat by her window — waiting.
She waited for the light in his room.
For the sound of the curtains shifting.
For a paper note or even a smile.
But there was nothing.
His window stayed closed.
The light never came on.
And her heart began to ache in a way she didn't expect.
The next day? Same silence.
Zayaan wasn't at school. Not in class. Not in the courtyard. Not even by the locker where he always stood.
Just... gone.
Eliza asked herself a hundred questions.
Did I do something wrong? Did something happen? Why won't he just talk to me?
But answers never came.
Only silence.
The kind
that fills your chest and makes everything feel heavier.