Chapter 1

On request @khwaishfan ye raha aapka Childhood Love wala OneShot. I hope you like it

Tangled in Time

The sun was setting behind the golden fields of mustard, casting an amber glow over the village of Hoshiyarpur. A soft breeze rustled the leaves of the old banyan tree near the river, the scent of fresh earth and blooming flowers filling the air. This place, with its simplicity and peace, had always been home. For Geet Handa, this village was more than just a place of residence; it was where her heart had learned its first lessons in love.

Geet was sitting on the stone steps near the riverbank, dipping her feet into the cool water, her fingers tracing patterns in the water. Her gaze was lost in the distant horizon where the sky met the earth in a beautiful blend of orange and purple. The sound of children playing in the background seemed far away, as if the world had slowed down, leaving only the beating of her heart.

The soft rustling of leaves caught her attention, and a familiar voice interrupted her quiet thoughts.

"Geet! Are you daydreaming again?" Maan Singh Khurana’s voice was both teasing and affectionate, a tone she knew so well.

Geet looked up, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of Maan, standing near the tree with his usual confident stance. He was no longer the small boy who used to run after her with a smile full of mischief, but the tall, handsome young man with eyes that held a world of emotions. Yet, for a fleeting moment, he still felt like the same Maan she had known her whole life - the one who had been her constant companion, her partner in crime, and the one who had silently held a special place in her heart since childhood.

Maan’s gaze softened as he walked toward her. He had always been protective of Geet, even when she didn’t realize it. They had been neighbors, childhood friends who shared everything -- from laughter to tears, from secret hideouts to whispered promises of forever.

"You’re still the same, Geet," Maan chuckled as he sat beside her, carefully avoiding the wet stones. "Always lost in your thoughts."

"How can I not be when you're the one interrupting my peace?" Geet teased back, but there was a hint of something more in her voice ... something unspoken, something that neither of them had dared to name over the years.

Maan looked at her, his eyes lingering on her face, taking in the way the evening light played in her hair, the way her lips curved into a soft smile. She was still the Geet he had known all his life, but now, in the quiet of this evening, she was so much more. A flood of memories rushed through his mind ... their childhood days, the times he had stayed awake, watching over her, ensuring she was safe. But there was one particular memory that he could never forget.

It was a moment from years ago ... the day before Geet’s family had moved to Delhi. Maan had stood by the door of her house, watching her pack her things. Geet had always been the one who saw the world in the brightest colors, who brought laughter into his life with a simple smile, and the thought of losing her had terrified him.

He had stood there, unable to speak, until she had turned to him, her eyes wide with confusion and sadness.

"Maan, I’ll miss you," she had whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

He hadn’t known how to respond. He hadn’t known how to tell her that the thought of not seeing her every day felt like a piece of his soul being ripped away. Instead, he had simply smiled and promised, "I’ll wait for you, Geet. No matter where you go, I’ll always be here."

But time had a way of changing things. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into years. Geet had built a life in Delhi, and Maan had stayed behind, focusing on his studies and the future. The promise they had made, buried under the weight of distance, had faded into the background. They had drifted apart, and yet, there was always this quiet connection, this invisible thread that tugged at their hearts every now and then.

Now, as they sat there by the river, the quiet evening stretching between them like a fragile bridge, it felt like time had both stood still and moved too fast.

"Do you ever wonder, Geet, if we were meant to stay together?" Maan’s voice was low, his eyes never leaving her face.

Geet blinked, startled by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Maan hesitated, the words struggling to form. "Do you ever think that maybe the love we had back then was more than just... childhood innocence? Maybe it was something real, something that time couldn’t erase."

Geet’s heart skipped a beat. She had always sensed that there was something more between them, but she had never dared to confront it. Life had swept her away, and she had convinced herself that those were just the harmless dreams of a girl who didn’t know better. But here, now, Maan was standing in front of her, and everything that had been left unsaid seemed to spill into the air.

"I don’t know," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "I never stopped thinking about you, Maan. But life... life moved on."

Maan reached out, gently taking her hand in his. "What if we didn’t have to move on? What if we could go back to what we were, and let it grow into something more?"

Geet looked at him, her heart racing. For the first time, she allowed herself to consider the possibility of them ... of a love that had always been there, just waiting to be acknowledged.

"Are you saying... you still feel the same?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Maan’s smile was soft but certain. "I never stopped feeling the same, Geet."

And in that moment, time seemed to stretch and bend around them. The years of separation, the distance, the misunderstandings .... they all melted away, leaving only the two of them, tangled in the memory of their childhood love and the promise of something new.

Geet squeezed his hand, her heart finally at peace. "I think I’ve always loved you, Maan."

Maan’s eyes sparkled with the warmth of that confession. "Then let’s not waste any more time, Geet. Let’s make up for all the years we lost."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the world around them fell into twilight, but the light in their hearts was just beginning to rise.