The next morning, Lavanya woke up with Raj's Aadhaar card still weighing on her mind. She picked up her phone and typed a message, deleting and retyping it several times before finally hitting send.
"Hi, this is Lavanya from last night. I'm really sorry - I forgot to return your Aadhaar card. How should I return it to you?"
She stared at her phone screen, watching for the blue ticks that would indicate he'd seen the message. Minutes passed. Then hours.
"Why am I constantly checking my phone?" she wondered, catching herself looking at the screen for the tenth time in an hour. "Why am I so curious about whether he's seen it or not? It's just about returning his card..."
But deep down, she knew it wasn't just about the card anymore.
The afternoon dragged on with no response. Lavanya found herself distracted, checking her phone every few minutes. Finally, at around 5 PM, her phone buzzed.
"No need to be sorry at all. We both forgot about it in the moment - it's completely okay. Whatever way you feel comfortable returning it is fine with me."
Lavanya smiled at his understanding response. She was about to type back when her friend Sakshi arrived.
"Hey, what's got you smiling at your phone like that?" Sakshi asked, settling down on the couch.
"Remember I told you about last night? The guy who helped me at the station?" Lavanya showed her the message exchange.
Sakshi's expression immediately turned serious. "Lavanya, please tell me you're not thinking of inviting a complete stranger to your home."
"I was actually considering it. Should I call him to my place?"
"Are you crazy?" Sakshi interrupted. "Lavanya, you shouldn't do that. He's still a stranger, and you'd be basically alone with him. Boys just wait for opportunities like this. Once they're inside your home, behind closed doors..."
"Sakshi, shut up!" Lavanya said firmly. "He's not like that."
"How can you have so much trust after just one meeting?" Sakshi shook her head. "I'm telling you, every boy is the same - full of lust. They just hide it well initially."
"Don't you dare compare him with other boys," Lavanya's voice rose with conviction. "He is different. Completely different. He doesn't have even a trace of lust in his eyes. Even though he's still a stranger to me, there's something pure about him. I was a complete stranger to him too, yet he helped me without any expectations."
Lavanya picked up her phone with determination. "I'm calling him home."
She typed: "Tomorrow, come to my house at 6 PM. I'll send you the address."
After hitting send, both girls stared at the phone, waiting for his response.
Within a few minutes, Raj's reply came: "Are you alone at home?"
Sakshi and Lavanya both stared at the message in shock.
"What did I tell you?" Sakshi said, her voice full of concern. "Every boy is the same. They just want one opportunity to fulfill their dirty intentions."
But Lavanya felt confused. Something didn't seem right. This didn't match the person she'd met that night.
"No, there's something different about this. Let me see what he says," she typed back: "Yes, I'll be alone."
They waited anxiously for his response. When it came, both girls were stunned, but for completely different reasons.
"Then I'm sorry, but I can't come. I'm really sorry for refusing, but if you're alone at home and someone from your society sees me coming to your flat, knowing you're alone... they'll create dirty, imaginary stories about you. And I don't want that to happen. People are always quick to judge girls, even when they know nothing about the truth Your reputation matters more than returning a card. Can we meet somewhere public instead?"
Lavanya and Sakshi read the message again and again. The room fell silent.
"See what he wrote?" Lavanya's voice was soft but triumphant. "Now tell me - are all boys the same?"
Sakshi stared at the phone screen, then at her friend. "Lavanya... I was completely wrong. I'm sorry. You're absolutely right - he is totally different."
"He's not even thinking about himself or any opportunity," Lavanya continued, her eyes shining. "He's thinking about my reputation, my safety, what people might say about me. Even now, when I'm inviting him myself, he's protecting me from society's judgment."
Sakshi nodded slowly. "Without even meeting him, I can now confidently say he's genuinely a good person. The kind of person who... even if you were alone with him in a room, you wouldn't feel uncomfortable or unsafe because he would never do anything to make you feel that way."
Lavanya felt a warm glow in her chest. Her instincts about Raj had been right. She picked up her phone and began typing her reply.
"You're absolutely right. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you for thinking about my reputation. Where would you like to meet?"
Lavanya's message was delivered, and within moments, her phone buzzed again with Raj's response.
"There's a small café near the main market – 'Café Sunshine.' It's public, safe, and we can meet there tomorrow at 6 PM if that works for you?"
Lavanya quickly typed her response with a small smile.
"Perfect. See you there."
As she put her phone down, Sakshi looked at her with newfound respect.
"Lavanya, I owe you an apology. And I owe him one too, actually. I judged him without knowing anything about him. He's... he's exactly the kind of person every girl hopes to meet. Someone who thinks about her comfort, her safety, her reputation even before his own convenience."
Lavanya smiled. "I told you he was different."
"Different is an understatement," Sakshi said. "He's rare. Like, one-in-a-million rare."
That night, as Lavanya prepared for sleep, she felt a strange mix of excitement and nervousness about meeting Raj again. But this time, it wasn't fear or suspicion.
It was something else entirely.
Something she wasn't quite ready to name yet.