There are days when the body gives up before the heart does.
And this time, Siya's strength was crumbling.
She had been holding too much, for too long.
🌡️ The Sickness
It started with a headache.
Then fever.
Then fatigue so sharp, she couldn't sit upright for more than five minutes.
Doctors said it could be an infection.
Tests were needed.
Needles. Injections. IV drips.
Her arm was bruised from bottles.
Her veins tired from being poked again and again.
She felt weak—physically and emotionally.
For hours, she lay there, staring at the ceiling, silent tears slipping down as her body begged for rest.
📱 A Message From the Past
In the haze of medicines and fever dreams, her phone buzzed.
She didn't check for hours.
But then at night, when her head was clearer for a moment, she opened her chat.
Ruhan.
"Hey, it's been a while. Are you okay? I saw your last story—you didn't look well."
Her chest tightened.
His timing was always strange.
Always... perfect.
"Fever. Blood test. Bottles. Headache. Everything at once."
She didn't expect him to reply instantly.
But he did.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I may not be… I mean… I still care, Siya."
And that one line?
It warmed her more than any blanket could.
💬 The Awkward Normal
After that, they began talking again.
Just as "friends."
No love.
No late-night confessions.
No "I miss you."
Just basic things.
"Did you eat?"
"How's your health now?"
"What did the doctor say?"
And yet…
Every sentence carried a thousand unsaid things.
Sometimes, a slip happened.
He'd say:
"I was watching that series we started together."
She'd reply:
"Oh… I still have your hoodie."
Moments like that made both their hearts ache.
But neither said a word.
Because saying anything would shatter the fragile peace they had rebuilt.
💗 The Thread of Raksha Bandhan
One day, as August approached, Siya messaged him.
"Ruhan... can I talk to Abhi once?"
There was a pause.
Then a reply.
"Why? After so long?"
She hesitated, then typed—
"Because Raksha Bandhan is coming.
And he's the only one I ever tied rakhi to.
I know I messed things up, but... he was my big brother too."
Another long pause.
Then:
"Okay. I'll talk to him."
🤝 The Call
Abhi messaged first.
And then they talked. A little awkwardly.
A little formally.
But it meant a lot to Siya.
She cried that night—not because everything was okay,
but because something finally felt a little right.
🔕 And Then, Silence
But then…
Siya felt the fear rise again.
Talking to Ruhan every day was bringing back old habits, old feelings, old dependencies.
"What if I fall again?"
"What if it ruins me again?"
She didn't want to hurt him again.
She didn't want to fall deeper.
So one day—without warning, without goodbye, without reason…
She blocked him.
Not out of hate.
Not out of anger.
But out of fear.
Fear that she'd lose herself in him again.
Fear that they'd damage what little healing they had done.
And she whispered to herself that night:
"He deserved better. But I deserved peace."
🎭 Endings That Aren't Endings
She looked at the empty chat window.
No Ruhan.
No green dot.
Just silence.
But sometimes, silence is not the absence of love.
It's the loudest kind of love—the one that lets go to protect you.