Chapter 1 : The Unspoken

The rain had a way of remembering things people tried to forget, but failed to do so.

Every year, on the same night as if commanded by the fate itself, it fell harder over the old city, as if the sky itself was mourning for it's beloved.

And as usual, every year, on that same day, Khushi returned to that same place.

No one knew why she chose that abandoned railway platform, long erased from maps and memories.

The sight inside was even more pitiful. The benches were broken, the signboard rusted, and the tracks which led to nowhere now. The whole place stood still as if it was holding its breath every time she returned and was hiding a secret not meant to be shared.

Yet she stood there, beneath a flickering lamp, clutching the same worn-out letter she never dared to open.

She knew it was addressed to her, in his handwriting.

Arnav.

The boy who had loved her in silences.

The boy who never confessed.

The boy who disappeared five years ago without telling anyone.

Years ago, they were nothing more than two souls quietly existing in each other's quiet understanding.

Arnav had been her shadow, always there, but never seen. He spoke very little, but his eyes...they held entire conversations. The kind that linger, the kind that stay when words became too heavy to express something.

But Khushi had been waiting for those golden words.

A confession or a promise or something spoken.

And Arnav, he had been waiting for courage.

On the last day she saw him, the sky had looked exactly like this, heavy, trembling, on the verge of breaking. He had called her to the station, his voice unusually urgent. She arrived late, due to the traffic jam owing the storm.

When she arrived breathlessly, he was already gone.

And All he left behind was that letter.

That she had never opened, even until now.

Because some part of her feared that whatever was written inside would hurt more than the silence he left her with.

She didn't dare to open the letter, leaving it untouched inside her drawer.

Sometimes, something inside her screams for her to open it, to find out what is inside, lest she would regret for missing the most important information which was begging for her attention all these years.

But being the coward, being the overthinker, she left the letter as it is...sealed and untouched and moved on with her life or as she thought so.

She had blamed everything to the surroundings, the storm which took place on that day only, the traffic for which she was late to reach the station and him, yes she blamed him for disappearing all these years.

She could only reach one conclusion that she might have imagined everything. Every touch, every eye contact, every whisper was just something that normal friends do anyway.

She might have been foolish to think that he have some feelings for her. She might have taken his kindness as affection for her only.

And so, their story remained Untold.

But tonight, the rain felt different from the usual,

Colder, Louder, Almost… restless.

Yet she stood there, clutching the letter in her hand, as the wind gusted past as if to soothe her aching heart which was empty due to his absence.

But then, she made her decision. She decided no longer to be the same person as she was years ago.

Hence, she chose this place to be her strength, as much as it has been her weakness all along. With trembling hands, she held the envelope in front her as her fingers caressed his name Arnav.

But when she slowly began to pull out the letter, she was not prepared for whatever that was written on it.

Khushi stood there frozen as she felt her world slip into complete madness.

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Annnddd that was it guys how was the first chapter? Did you all like it? Let me know in the comments.