“Forgotten were those paths they once tread,

Today, they return again to thread.

In the lane where time had passed,

There, today, I must turn.

The pains and thorns concealed with care,

Today, those wounds resurface, bared.

No longer can I endure and bear,

No longer can I endure and bear.

Now, I must rediscover life to wear.”

A piece played on the radio that expressed the environment so beautifully.

That evening, the weather was starting to change from the pleasantness of autumn to the chill of winters. However, somewhere in the hearts of a few people who had been accustomed to the winter season for years, a warmth was beginning to emerge. Slowly but surely, the emotions that Muskan had stored within herself over the past 10 years were now melting like snow after winter. It was a season of change. Perhaps it was the season for everything to be set right again.

Seated in the taxi, Muskan stared out of the window. For the first time in so many years, a tear, formed from the emotions she had kept suppressed, welled up in her eyes and trickled down. 

Maybe today the burden of The feelings she kept locked within her became so heavy that she herself couldn't bear the load.

“Thankyou for keeping me company and taking me to the restaurant. I had a great time.” Riya expressed her gratitude near the car parking .

“Let me drop you home. How will you go? It’s quite late now.” Ted offered to drop her home,expressing concern about the late hour.

“ Let there be a little tension between us like it was when we first met. Don't try to be too nice. I want to argue with you like that. ” She said jokingly.

“I’m kidding. You don’t need to worry. This open night sky, the alleys, roads, are my second home. I know them and more than me they know me. I’ll be safe with them. Anyway for dropping me you have to go in the opposite direction, and I’m not okay with that. Let’s meet tomorrow at the office. Goodnight.” 

And she left from there. She reached the stand at the perfect time; just then, a bus arrived, and she got on it. From her seat, she waved him goodbye. 

After the bus departed, Riya took a deep sigh, releasing the embarrassment she felt from the lip-burning moment at the restaurant with him.

Ted, who was standing by, leaning on his car, waved back and didn't turn away until the bus left his sight.

This girl is quite a unique character. Sometimes she's so annoying, sometimes really funny, and at times, strangely serious. What is she?

“But after a long time, I must say, I had fun.” 

His smiles and giggles, as he reminisced about her, made him appear foolish to anyone who might see him from outside the car.

He unconsciously thought about her throughout his way back home. When he reached there he got an uninvited guest waiting for him.