Chapter 2 | You Came Back ...

"Sometimes... the smallest reason is enough to make us return to the same place."

The next evening, the golden sunlight poured gently across the park, painting everything in warm shades of amber.

Children laughed as they chased one another along the pathways.

The swings creaked softly.

A cool breeze carried the scent of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers.

Everything looked exactly the same as yesterday.

Yet...

For some strange reason...

Aanya's heartbeat wasn't.

She slowed down near the entrance of the park and folded her arms.

"I'm only here for some fresh air..." she muttered under her breath.

She took another step.

"Definitely not because of that strange boy."

Another step.

"There's no way I came here just to see him."

She sighed dramatically.

"...Right?"

Even she didn't believe her own excuse.

A tiny smile escaped her lips before she quickly erased it.

"What am I even doing?" she whispered to herself.

Yesterday's meeting had lasted only a few minutes.

She didn't know his surname.

She didn't know where he lived.

She didn't know anything about him.

Yet...

Somehow...

His cheerful smile had stayed in her mind the entire day.

She had caught herself thinking about that folded paper airplane more times than she'd like to admit.

"Smile."

Such a simple word.

Yet it had followed her around like an unexpected song stuck in her head.

She shook those thoughts away.

"Nope."

"I'm just taking a walk."

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

At least...

That was the plan.

Without realizing it, her feet carried her toward the old wooden bench.

The same bench.

The same quiet corner of the park.

Her eyes searched almost automatically.

And then...

She saw him.

A light blue hoodie.

Messy black hair dancing in the breeze.

Several colorful sheets of paper scattered beside him.

And another paper airplane resting carefully in his hands.

Vihaan.

He looked up.

For a tiny moment, their eyes met.

Then...

His entire face brightened.

Not just a smile.

It was the kind of smile that made it seem as if the whole evening had suddenly become brighter.

Like someone had switched on hundreds of tiny fairy lights inside him.

"There you are!"

He jumped to his feet so quickly that one of the paper airplanes slipped from his lap and floated onto the grass.

He didn't even notice.

Instead, he waved both hands enthusiastically.

"You're late!"

Aanya stopped walking.

"...Late?"

She looked behind herself.

Was he talking to someone else?

No.

There was nobody.

He meant...

Her.

She frowned.

"Late?"

Vihaan nodded confidently.

"I've been waiting."

Those three simple words caught her completely off guard.

Waiting?

For her?

Nobody had ever waited for her in a park before.

Nobody had looked this happy just because she arrived.

For a brief second...

Something unfamiliar warmed her chest.

She quickly looked away before he could notice.

"I... wasn't coming here to meet you."

She tried to sound calm.

Almost annoyed.

Vihaan blinked.

He tilted his head like a curious puppy trying to solve an impossible puzzle.

"Then..."

he asked with complete seriousness,

"...why did you come?"

Silence.

The breeze continued to sway the trees.

Children laughed somewhere nearby.

A bicycle bell rang in the distance.

But between them...

Everything became still.

Aanya opened her mouth.

Then closed it again.

She searched for an answer.

Fresh air?

Exercise?

A walk?

None of those excuses sounded convincing anymore.

Because deep inside...

She already knew the truth.

She had been curious.

Curious if he'd actually come again.

Curious if yesterday had meant anything to him.

Curious...

about him.

But she wasn't about to admit that.

Not yet.

Vihaan watched her struggle for an answer.

Then...

he smiled.

A soft...

gentle...

understanding smile.

"It's okay."

"You don't have to answer."

He shrugged happily.

"You're here now."

That was enough for him.

Those four words carried no expectations.

No pressure.

No questions.

Just simple happiness.

For reasons she couldn't explain...

Aanya felt herself relax.

The invisible wall she usually kept around strangers cracked ever so slightly.

She glanced around the park.

Yesterday...

Everything had felt distant.

Cold.

Empty.

Today...

It somehow felt different.

Warmer.

Livelier.

Maybe...

It wasn't the park that had changed.

Maybe...

It was the company.

Vihaan bent down to pick up the paper airplane that had fallen earlier.

Instead of putting it back with the others...

He carefully dusted a few blades of grass off its wings.

Then he walked toward her.

"This is for you."

Aanya looked at the tiny airplane.

"You made another one?"

"I make lots of them."

"Why?"

He smiled.

"Because paper remembers folds."

She blinked.

"What?"

"If you unfold a paper airplane..."

he explained,

"...you can still see every fold."

He looked down at it for a moment.

"People are kind of like that."

"We remember things too."

Aanya stared at him.

That...

was unexpectedly deep.

Then, just as she started wondering if he always spoke like that...

He added,

"...Also because it's fun."

She almost laughed.

Almost.

She accepted the airplane.

This one was smaller than yesterday's.

The folds were neat.

Perfect.

She carefully opened it.

Inside...

Only one word was written.

Hi. 😄

She looked at it for a few seconds.

Then at him.

"That's it?"

Vihaan nodded proudly.

"Yep."

"No inspirational quote today?"

"I already told you to smile yesterday."

He crossed his arms with fake seriousness.

"I can't repeat myself every day."

For the first time...

A tiny laugh escaped her lips.

A real one.

Soft.

Short.

But real.

Vihaan's eyes widened.

"There!"

"What?"

"You laughed!"

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

"I didn't."

"You smiled too."

"No."

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You're impossible."

"I've been called worse."

"Oh?"

"My school teacher once called me 'a walking distraction.'"

Aanya couldn't stop another laugh.

Vihaan looked strangely proud.

"See?"

"There it is again."

She quickly hid her face.

"This conversation is over."

He grinned.

"Nope."

"I still don't know your favorite color."

"...Why?"

"So I know what color paper airplane to make next."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"You've already planned the next one?"

"Obviously."

"What if I don't come tomorrow?"

Vihaan looked at her for exactly three seconds.

Then smiled with complete confidence.

"You will."

"What makes you so sure?"

He pointed toward the paper airplane in her hands.

"You kept this one."

She looked down.

Without realizing it...

She had already folded it carefully and was holding it close instead of throwing it away.

"...Lucky guess."

"Not lucky."

He smiled.

"I pay attention."

Those words lingered in the air longer than either of them expected.

The sun slowly began sinking behind the trees.

Golden light wrapped around the old bench like a memory waiting to be written.

Neither of them noticed how much time had passed.

For two people who had been strangers only yesterday...

Silence no longer felt awkward.

It felt...

comfortable.

As if the empty space between them had quietly decided to become a bridge instead of a wall.

Neither of them knew it yet.

This ordinary evening...

This tiny paper airplane...

This unexpected conversation...

Would one day become one of the memories they would treasure the most.

Because sometimes...

The biggest chapters of our lives...

Begin with the smallest "Hi."

🍃 End of Chapter 2

Question of the Day 💛

If you found a paper airplane with a message inside, what would you hope it says? And... do you think a complete stranger can slowly become someone's favorite person?

Tell me in the comments... because in Until You Found Me, every little answer might mean more than you think... 🌼

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