The wind at Table Top Sonamarg had turned sharper… the sky fading into a colder shade, and the valley below growing quieter—like it was listening.
🏔️ Akash and Depabali stood at the edge. This time—neither tried to avoid the past.
“I didn’t go back home,” Depabali said quietly.
Akash looked at her.
“After college… after everything… I stayed in Kolkata.”
The name lingered between them.
“It wasn’t easy.”
A faint, almost invisible smile crossed her face.
“I had no job… no support… no plan.”
🌬️ The wind moved through her hair, her dark blue jacket pulling closer against the cold.
“But I had her.”
Akash didn’t need to ask—Asha.
“That was enough reason to stay.”
Her voice didn’t shake… but the weight in it was unmistakable.
“I needed money… desperately.”
A pause.
“So I took whatever I could—small tuitions, temporary work… anything to survive.”
Her eyes drifted toward the valley.
“And at night…”
She paused.
“I studied.”
✨ The words carried quiet determination.
“For the Public Service exams.”
Akash’s gaze softened.
“You never stopped.”
She shook her head.
“I couldn’t afford to.”
The wind grew stronger.
“I wasn’t just studying for a job… I was building a life—for someone who didn’t ask to be born into mine.”
The truth stood raw between them.
“Did you ever think of telling me?” Akash asked.
Depabali smiled faintly.
“Every day.”
A pause.
“But I didn’t.”
Akash waited.
“Because I needed certainty.”
Her eyes met his.
“And you were never certain.”
The words weren’t sharp… just honest.
Akash lowered his gaze.
“I needed support then,” she added softly.
And this time—the sentence carried even more weight.
“And I learned… how to survive without it.”
Silence followed—not empty… but filled with everything she had endured.
👁️ From a distance, Ananya stood watching—not close enough to hear… but close enough to understand. She saw the stillness… the distance… the connection. And for the first time—she chose not to interrupt.
Not to call. Not to step in.
She stepped back instead—giving them space.
✨ Because some answers cannot be forced… they must be faced.
Little Deepabali held her hand—“Maa… Baba?”
Ananya smiled faintly—“They’ll come.”
But her eyes remained fixed ahead.
On two figures standing against the wind… trying to measure something that had no clear answer.
Back at the edge—Akash spoke.
“You did everything alone.”
Depabali shook her head.
“No… I just didn’t have a choice.”
🌬️ The wind howled across the valley.
“I should have been there,” he said.
She didn’t reply—because that sentence belonged to the past… and the past cannot be rewritten.
“We can’t decide what was right or wrong now,” she said slowly.
“We can only decide what we do with it.”
The words stayed—heavy… unavoidable.
From behind—Ananya turned away. Not because she didn’t care… but because she understood.
✨ This moment was not hers to take.
It was theirs—to face… to accept… or to walk away from.
Together… or apart.
❄️ To Be Continued…
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