Chapter 10: The Rain After Silence
It had been four days since Zayaan disappeared from her world.
And today, he was back.
Eliza saw him the moment she entered the school courtyard.
His familiar figure, backpack hanging loose, eyes distant.
Her heart skipped.
She rushed toward him.
"Zayaan!"
But he didn't stop.
Didn't even turn.
Just walked past — like her voice had become invisible.
Like she had.
Her chest tightened. She wanted to scream, to make him listen, but all she could do was stand there — stunned and aching.
Later that day, her hands trembled as she reached for the book Zayaan had forgotten in the library.
It was his journal.
She hesitated… but her fingers moved on their own.
Inside, folded carefully, was a letter.
To her.
She read every word.
Her eyes filled before she even finished the first paragraph.
"Maybe the window between us was always meant to close eventually…"
The tears came faster now.
Each sentence carved her deeper.
He had misunderstood everything.
He thought she liked someone else.
He thought she had left him — when she never did.
She hugged the letter to her chest and ran.
---
That evening, the sky looked as broken as her heart.
Eliza sat on the garden bench — the same one where their bond had begun.
The wind was sharp. Her eyes red.
And her cheeks wet — not from the cold.
But from silent sobs.
"Why didn't you just ask me?" she whispered to no one.
"Why did you decide the end without even knowing the story?"
A rustle.
She turned.
Zayaan.
Standing a few feet away.
His face pale. Eyes wide.
He had seen her crying.
"Eliza…" he started, his voice low and shaken.
She stood up quickly, the letter clenched in her hand.
"You should've talked to me."
He looked down, ashamed.
"I thought I saw the truth."
"No," she said, her voice breaking,
"You saw your fears. Not me."
Silence.
Then — a step forward.
Another.
Zayaan was in front of her now. The wind blew gently, but neither of them moved.
"I didn't know how to handle it," he admitted.
"I've never cared about someone like this before. I got scared."
Eliza's voice dropped to a whisper.
"You still matter to me, Zayaan. Even after all this. Maybe even more because of it."
He looked into her eyes, and for the first time in days —
they both truly saw each other.
No window.
No notebook.
No silence.
Just two hearts that had finally found their way back.
Zayaan gently took her hand.
"Can we start again?"
Eliza gave a small, tearful smile.
"Not from the beginning," she said softly,
"But maybe... from where we left off."