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Roohi's POV

I rolled onto my back, the memory shifting to one of our many family vacations.

I was five, sitting in the middle of a room full of toys, my hair tied into pigtails, clutching a stuffed rabbit that had seen better days. Vihan had just barged into my house, his tiny face flushed with excitement, holding a box of chocolates he had stolen from his mother's drawer.

“Roohi, let’s play doctor!” he declared, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He always loved playing doctor just like his dad.  Even then, I suppose, his destiny was already calling to him.

I had agreed without hesitation, of course, as I always did when it came to him. We’d spent hours diagnosing my stuffed rabbit with imaginary ailments, and he’d carefully “treated” it, offering chocolate pills as the cure. My rabbit survived every time, and my laughter echoed through the room. That became our favorite game while we used to enjoy the chocolates that were meant to be taken by my rabbit as medicines.

The corners of my mouth lifted at the memory, but my chest ached. My fingers traced absent patterns on the fabric of my jeans. How had it always been him? Even then, when we were nothing more than children, he’d been the center of my little world.

****

I closed my eyes, and another memory surfaced.

We were ten, sitting under the shade of the big peepal tree in the schoolyard. The other kids were running around, their shouts filling the air, but we four had carved out our little bubble.

Vihan had found a stick and was drawing circles on my back absentmindedly. I remember shivering at the touch, though I didn’t understand why. “Why do you always do that?” I had asked, curious.

He shrugged, grinning. “I like it. And it keeps you from running away while I talk.”

I had laughed then, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t run away.”

And I hadn’t. Not once. I never wanted to but that idiot never got that.

Our families did everything together...trips to the mountains, beach holidays, late-night Diwali parties. Vihan and Gauravi were always the life of the party, their extroverted personalities lighting up every room. Mihir and I were quieter, content to watch from the sidelines.

But even from the sidelines, I couldn’t take my eyes off Vihan.

The memory shifted, pulling me forward to middle school. By then, the circles had become a quiet constant, a private ritual that no one else understood. They annoyed me, but they also grounded me. In a room full of people, they reminded me that I wasn’t invisible.

And yet, I hated how he always saw me as fragile. “Roohi can’t climb that high,” he’d declared during one of our many adventures, shooing me away from the tall trees he and Mihir loved to scale. “You stay here, okay? Gauravi will stay with you.”

We hated it. Gauravi never followed what he ordered and always did what she wanted, even though I wanted to prove I wasn’t as delicate as he thought and climb. But I could never go against him, I hated how my heart raced whenever he looked at me with those warm, mischievous eyes and asked me not to do it, though I didn't know at that time why I was so affected.

I shook my head at my vulnerable condition and then my mind went to the next one... The Holi water balloon war was one of my favorite memories.

We were ten, and all the families had turned Holi into an all-out battleground. Vihan, naturally, was the self-appointed leader of our little group.

“Roohi, guard the balcony. Mihir sneaks behind Dad’s car. Gauravi and I will ambush that gang of bullies ( Viren, Shaurya, Ron) from the side!” he said.

Gauravi always had some problems with Shaurya and Shlok. So she was very excited. Mihir told her not to play with them, but she always did what she liked, and she liked to find a way to fight with the Malhotra twins. Mihir said
that he would come with her.

" Roohi, you stay in the position." He said to me.

I saluted him dramatically, pretending to take my role seriously. “Got it, Captain!”

Five minutes later, I was waiting for the older gang to get drenched, but I was shocked when instead of one of them, I was drenched, courtesy of Vihan himself.

“Vihan!” I yelled, glaring at him as he doubled over laughing. “You said you’d cover me!”

“I meant to cover you with water,” he joked, dodging the balloon I hurled at him.

I could still feel the cool splash of water, see the vivid colors staining our clothes, and hear Vihan’s laughter as he turned every moment into a competition.

“You’re terrible at this,” he’d teased after tackling me to the ground.

He was trying to be smart but the older bully gang ambushed all of us.

By the end of it, we were covered in colors and mud; Gauravi started crying and went to her dad, asking him to scold the older gang. But I don't know how and why, but I was more smitten than ever.

"You’re a terrible captain! See what they did to us.” I’d retorted, though my words lacked any real heat.

“Maybe, but see, they are older and more in number.” he’d said, grinning as he traced a muddy circle on my arm before running off.

Even at ten, he was infuriating. And even at ten, I was hopelessly attracted to him though I was still not aware of it, well I did feel something...

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Good morning

Here is my today's chapter I hope you liked it please let me know.

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Chhavi❤️❤️❤️