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I think i'll picture us you with the waves.

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Ishanvi rested her chin on her knees, her toes buried in the cool sand of Tannirbhavi Beach. The sea stretched endlessly before her, its waves crashing against the shore in a rhythm that felt both chaotic and soothing. She had always loved the ocean. There was something freeing about its vastness, the way it seemed to hold secrets in its depths.

And tonight, she wasn't alone.

Nitish sat a few feet away, tossing pebbles into the waves. He had insisted they come here after a particularly stressful week, promising that the salty air and the sound of the sea would wash away her worries. And, as always, he was right.

She stole a glance at him, watching the way the breeze ruffled his hair, the way the faint glow of the moon highlighted the curve of his jaw. There was something so effortlessly grounding about him, as though he belonged here—calm, steady, yet full of quiet depth.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Nitish said, his voice breaking through her thoughts. He turned to her, his dark eyes curious. "Something on your mind?"

Ishanvi hesitated, unsure of how to put her feelings into words. Lately, her thoughts had been consumed by him—by the way he made her laugh, by the warmth in his voice when he spoke to her, by the inexplicable pull she felt toward him.

"I'm just... thinking," she said finally, looking back at the waves.

"About what?"

She opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself. How could she explain it? That every time he was near, her world felt a little brighter? That the sound of his laugh was quickly becoming her favorite melody? That, more and more, she found herself imagining a future where he wasn't just a part of her days but the very heart of them?

"About life," she said instead, her voice quieter now.

He studied her for a moment, as if trying to decipher the thoughts she wasn't sharing. "Heavy stuff for a beach night," he teased, though his tone was gentle.

She smiled faintly, wrapping her arms around her knees. "The waves make me think. They're always moving, always changing, but they never stop. It's comforting, in a way."

"Yeah," he said, his gaze shifting back to the water. "Kind of like life, huh? Messy, unpredictable, but... somehow, it works."

She nodded, her chest tightening at the simplicity of his words. She wondered if he knew how much he meant to her, how his presence felt like her own version of the waves—steady, calming, yet thrilling all at once.

The sound of laughter from a group of students farther down the beach broke the silence, and Nitish turned to her again. "You've got that faraway look in your eyes," he said, nudging her gently. "Come on, tell me. What's really going on in that head of yours?"

She hesitated, her heart pounding. For a brief, reckless moment, she thought about telling him everything. About how his words lingered in her mind long after he'd said them. About how she noticed every small thing he did, like the way he always opened doors for strangers or how he tilted his head when he was deep in thought. About how he made her feel like she was more than just a girl trying to live up to expectations—like she was someone worth knowing, worth cherishing.

But she didn't.

Instead, she laughed softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just thinking about how nice this is. The beach, the waves... the company."

He grinned, leaning back on his hands. "Well, I'm glad I made the cut."

She rolled her eyes, though her smile lingered. "Don't let it go to your head."

They sat in companionable silence after that, the night wrapping around them like a blanket. The waves crashed and receded, the moon climbed higher, and Ishanvi felt herself falling even deeper into the quiet spell Nitish seemed to cast without even trying.

She imagined them like this in the future—on another beach, under another moonlit sky. She imagined him with the waves, the two of them caught in the same rhythm, moving and changing together.

And as they walked back to campus later that night, their shoulders brushing every so often, she realized something.

She wasn't just falling for him anymore.

She had already fallen.

And there was no going back.