"Some say childhood memories fade like old photographs, but for Siya, they were like an Unfinished Line—a mark that never left her soul. It was a mistake, a sweet and innocent one, the kind of phase almost every girl goes through. But for Siya, it became the anchor of her entire life.
Siya was a bright student in the 6th grade of a village mission school. She was the kind of girl who was good at everything—studies, sports, and even dance. Her teachers loved her, but this made her a target. Most of the girls were jealous of her success. They would act like her best friends to her face, but the moment she turned around, their whispers turned bitter. Siya, being pure-hearted and naive, trusted everyone blindly. Sometimes she felt like she didn't belong in their groups, but she never complained. She just walked with whoever held her hand.
Then, life took a sudden turn.
One afternoon, Siya was standing in the school corridor. A new boy entered the playground, and the moment his feet touched the ground, Siya's world stopped. It was as if he had some kind of magic over her. A strange restlessness, a mix of excitement and shyness, washed over her. She couldn't take her eyes off him.
Feeling her gaze, the boy looked up. He caught her staring and quickly looked away, blushing. He walked towards the 7th-grade classroom and took a seat on the back bench. Being a hostel student, he already had a few friends around him.
The corridors were buzzing with news: 'Sakshi's brother has joined the school.' Sakshi was in Siya's class. When Siya heard his name was Ayush, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. It felt like she had discovered a beautiful secret.
Driven by a feeling she didn't understand, she kept finding excuses to pass by the back door of his classroom. She would play games right outside, just to get a glimpse of him. Ayush would look back at her, and their silent glances started writing a story of their own.
"Whenever Ayush looked at Siya, his friends would catch him and start teasing him. They used to pull his leg by taking Siya's name, and honestly, hearing her name made Ayush feel a strange kind of happiness inside.
Days passed like this. They just used to look at each other and blush, but they never actually talked. Soon, the whole school knew that Siya and Ayush liked each other. Because of this, both their friend circles started teasing them all the time. It was the first time they were feeling such emotions, and as time went by, the exam dates were finally announced.
By now, Siya was so into Ayush that she spent her whole day—morning to night—just thinking about him. Ayush was going through the exact same thing. Because of all this daydreaming, Siya slowly started losing focus on her studies. She used to imagine the same thing every day: 'I wish I could sit with Ayush. I wish we could be close. What if we sit together in the exam? What if our roll numbers are the same?'
Then, the day of the exam finally came.
Siya got late on the exam day. Since her house was near the school, she literally ran all the way to reach there. By the time she arrived, everyone was already seated. She found out that her seat was in the Class 7 room. She rushed inside the classroom where the teacher was waiting. The teacher told her, 'Go and sit on your bench, tell me your roll number first.'
Siya's roll number was 21. She told her roll number and started looking for her seat..."
"When Siya finally realized it, she was totally shocked. She couldn't believe that whatever she had imagined was actually coming true! She found out that she was going to sit right next to Ayush. Even his roll number was 21 (for the same bench). The moment she realized this, her heart started racing like crazy.
Just then, the teacher said, 'Go and sit down quickly.'
Siya, feeling very shy and nervous, slowly walked toward Ayush and sat down. Her heart was beating even faster now. She sat there quietly, not knowing what to do. On one hand, she was so happy, but on the other hand, she was feeling a strange kind of restlessness.
Ayush was in the exact same state. Both of them couldn't even look at each other and sat on the extreme opposite corners of the bench, keeping a distance. That day was very difficult for them to handle, and that's how the exam ended.
But now, the feelings they had for each other were growing stronger with time. Siya used to share everything with her friend Nitu—how she felt about Ayush and how her feelings were becoming so intense.
Even then, Ayush and Siya would still run away from each other or start blushing whenever they were close. As soon as Siya went near Ayush, or if he came close to her, her heart would start pounding. It reached a point where even if Ayush was far away, Siya could sense that he was coming, and she would move away from there immediately. And just like this, days kept passing by."
"Siya didn't know that this beginning would eventually make her cry a lot in the end."