Flashback – 6 Years Ago
Rainbow International School – Biology Lab, 4:27 PM
Twelve-year-old Vashti Dhiman stood behind a desk, a frog dissected in front of her and nerves twisting in her stomach. She wasn't afraid of the blood on her gloves—no. She was afraid of the boy sitting across from her.
Shabd Heer. Seventeen. Tall. Quiet. Always top of the class.
He had that calm aura, the kind that made even the teachers hesitate before correcting him.
Vashti poked the frog's liver angrily.
Misha, her best friend, leaned over. "Tell him."
"Tell him what?"
"That you like him!"
Vashti scoffed. "I don't like him."
"You only stare at him 83 times a day, beat up two boys for mocking his handwriting, and almost burned Rohan's notebook when he said Shabd is 'just average'."
Vashti turned red. "...Fine. I like him. So what? I'll tell him when I become something… big."
---
Flashforward – 3 Years Later
Hospital Internship Hallway – 9:14 PM
Fifteen now. Intern badge swinging around her neck. She'd just helped in her first surgery observation.
Vashti stood near the vending machine, arms crossed, waiting.
Shabd walked out of the OR, lab coat crisp, hair a little messy.
She stepped in front of him.
"I like you."
He blinked. "Vashti—"
"I've liked you since I was twelve. You're calm, smart, annoying, and too perfect for your own good."
Silence.
"I'm fifteen now," she said. "Not a child. You don't have to love me back. Just don't lie."
He hesitated. Looked away.
"I don't feel the same," he said softly. "I don't think I ever will."
---
That Night
Vashti cried on the hospital rooftop. Alone.
She punched the railing. Screamed into her hoodie.
But the next morning—she returned.
Smiling. Stronger. As if heartbreak didn't matter.
---
Flashforward – Present Day
Vashti sat by a fire, arms crossed, staring into the flames.
Shabd approached. Quiet.
"You remember the frog lab?" he asked.
She chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. I wanted to stab you with the scalpel back then."
He smirked. "Still wouldn't have made me like you sooner."
She looked at him, not laughing. "You broke me, Shabd. More than once."
"I know," he whispered. "And I regret every second of it."
She stood. "Good. Now earn your forgiveness… in war, not words."
And walked away.