Chapter two: Reaction Revisited

 Chapter Two: Reactions Revisited

Two years passed.

Ananya now walked the bustling corridors of a junior college in Pune. Life had moved on—new books, new friends, new goals—but sometimes, late at night, she’d flip through the old notebook Ayush had once filled with her, tracing her fingers over the scribbled formulas and doodled molecules. The pages still carried the scent of memory.

Ayush, back in their hometown, had also changed. He now studied in a reputed science college, preparing for competitive exams. He often found himself staring at the neem tree outside the old coaching center, lost in thoughts of rainy days and quiet smiles.

They hadn’t spoken since the farewell. No calls. No texts. Just silence—a respectful space, but not empty.

Then came the science fest in Mumbai.

It was a national-level event. Ananya’s college was participating, and so was Ayush’s. Neither of them knew the other would be there—until they did.

Ananya spotted him across the exhibition hall—taller, more confident, still calm. Her heart skipped a beat. Ayush looked up from a project display and froze for a moment when he saw her.

For a second, it felt like time reversed.

She walked toward him slowly. “Ayush,” she said, voice soft but steady.

“Ananya,” he replied, with that same gentle smile.

There was a pause—then laughter. And stories. And everything they had kept locked inside their hearts flowed freely.

That evening, as the sun dipped behind the auditorium and the crowd began to thin, Ayush pulled something from his backpack. It was the same notebook—tattered at the edges, but full of their shared beginnings.

“I brought it,” he said. “In case I saw you.”

She held it again, and this time, didn’t want to let go.