It's  8:30 PM  in the night right now.

I am currently waiting for Ani for our weekly garden walk. It's our way of unwinding from a very hectic week, which i desperately needed after 2 hours of listening to Kabir talk about his female fan following in college.

An unexpected breeze swept through the park in the warmth of July, prompting me  to unconsciously hug myself, a fleeting chill contrasting the summer air.

Each step through the park seemed to echo the passage of time, and I absentmindedly clutch the delicate pendant hanging around my neck – a memento from him, gifted on a day much like this one, three years ago. The pendant, a tangible reminder of a friendship that weathered storms but eventually lost its way. As the moon filters through the trees, I finds solace in the rustling leaves, wondering if he ever glances at the sky on this shared birthday and feels the same sense of longing and nostalgia that tugs at my heart.

I sigh as I realize I'm thinking about him again.

I call Ani as I see the time.

"hello, kidhar hai yaar? i've been waiting for you." I  say.

"arey, 5 min mai aa rahi hu" I hear her.

"jab mai ghar se nikli thi, tab bhi tune yahi kaha tha." I tell her, knowingly. I'm damn sure she won't have left her house by now.

" ok, honestly, mai abhi nikli nahi hu. 15 min mai aa jaungi." I hear her say as I sigh.

This girl would never be on time even if the world was ending. I open my phone, turn on spotify  and start scrolling through Pinterest, which, facts , are the most non toxic social media platforms ever.

It's always going to be Me, Spotify and Pinterest against the world.

As I scrolled through Pinterest on my phone, I accidentally bump into someone, momentarily distracted from both my thoughts and the path ahead.

"Shit, i'm so sorry. I was't lookin-"   

I start to ramble as, amidst the park's ambient sounds, I hear a familiar voice gently say my name, and my heart skips a beat, recognizing the echo of the past in the present.

"Avi?"

As my name gracefully floated through the air, I looked up, and there he stood – a serendipitous sight in the park, a blend of surprise and recognition illuminating both our faces.

"Dev." I barely whisper to myself more than to him.