Akriti was typing away on her laptop trying to get the research work done when the ping of a new email being received stole her attention.

Fixing her glasses, she opened it to read. She gasped at the email address.

shaurya[email protected] sent you an email.

It can't possibly be him.

The tiny clock at the corner of the screen showed the time to be fifteen minutes past midnight. It was weird of him to email her this late.

Actually, it was weird of him to email her at all. He had not been in touch with her in almost five years.

Dear Akriti,

I know this email will come as a surprise to you considering I completely disappeared off the face of social media and our lives too. I'm really sorry and am willing to explain.

I have some news and I'd really like to catch up with everything.

Eagerly waiting for your response,
Shaurya.

Akriti pondered over the seemingly simple email from her biggest crush since her school life.

It was true that Shaurya vanished from their lives suddenly without even giving any explanation whatsoever to any of his close friends. They both were a part of a closely bonded group of five who have stuck together even after school and went to different universities in different cities.

They obviously could not hang out as much as possible but they met up for every festival and occasion in their hometown but Shaurya was rarely ever a part of those.

She clicked on the reply option and typed the response.

Shaurya,

You complete jackass. Where the heck have you been!?

We tried so much to get in touch with you, especially after we heard you went to Sydney for your last semester. Your dad said you needed some time off but that doesn't mean you cut off people from your life, you idiot!

This better be one hell of an explanation.

Still mad at you,
Akriti.

In about two minutes, her laptop pinged again in the silence of the night as she read the new message.

Dearest Akriti,

Well, I'm in Lucknow. I was hoping to explain everything in person. I can come to your place if you want.

Here's my number-
9456364286

Call me.

Really excited,
Shaurya.

Akriti moved to her bed before saving his number as a contact in her phone. She didn't call him but she sent him her location over text and received a See u soon! in response.

She didn't know how long she was smiling before she turned off her laptop. Five years of close to no contact, Akriti had convinced herself that she was over her childish crush. Little did she know, life had other plans.

The prospect of meeting him after so many years left her feeling giddy and excited. She fell asleep reminiscing her carefree childhood days, hoping against the odds that her crush would like her back.

Autumn wind was cool against her skin. The soft glow of the moon was visible in the hardly lit narrow streets. It wasn't that late in the night but most of the local shops were on the verge of closing down.

Two days later, on the weekend, Shaurya had called Akriti to meet up for dinner. The plan was to go to a restaurant and enjoy some immensely famous chicken kebabs that Akriti had grown to love.

They were walking back home, continuing their conversation from before.

"No way you could've sung before all those people!" Shaurya said, laughing. "God! I remember you chose to lose everytime rather than singing," he turned towards her, "and you hate losing."

"I don't know!" Akriti was laughing too. "College made me do it. I was horrible, believe me. I was surprised people didn't throw their shoes at me."

Shaurya smiled. "I wish I was there."

"You were in Australia. I wish I was there."

His smile faded a little but he masked it quite well. "It wasn't all that glamorous, to be honest. Parties were the rage. After all week of busting my ass off in classes, weekends and alcohol made me forget everything." His voice dropped an octave. "And somedays, that's all I looked forward to."

They reached her apartment building and Shaurya looked up and back at Akriti.

His phone rang at this exact moment and Shaurya fished it out of his pocket. A look of panic flashed across his face but all too soon it was gone, leaving Akriti to wonder if she had imagined it.

He declined the call and turn to her once again.

"I guess I'll see you."

"Do you wanna come up?" Akriti suggested. "My roommate's gone for the week for some work trip. I could brew some ginger tea that you liked so much."

For a second, Akriti thought he was going to refuse, that she was crossing a boundary. She hated that her voice sounded so hopeful. Her heart thumped against her ribcage.

"Of course!" Shaurya smiled widely, his eyes twinkling from the street lamp above them. "It's quite possibly the only thing I missed the most in five years."