Tonight… mine was deafening.

It was past midnight.

The world was asleep.

But my heart… my heart was wide awake.

I was scrolling through our old chats.

Those tiny "good luck" messages before tests.

Those voice notes that were mostly just “You’re late again, Aarohi.”

I smiled.

And then I cried.

Why?

Why do we keep holding on to people who’ve let go of us?

My fingers hovered over his number.

I didn’t plan to call.

It just… happened.

“Calling Vivaan…”

I froze.

End it. Just end it.

But I didn’t.

I couldn't.

The call connected.

And then…

"Hello?"

It was him.

His voice.

Not a recording.

Not a memory.

Real.

My breath caught in my throat.

He sounded older.

Softer.

Tired.

"Vivaan?"

My voice was barely a whisper.

"Aarohi… hey."

He sounded surprised.

Maybe happy.

Maybe not.

There was a pause.

Neither of us knew what to say.

“I was just… going through old messages,” I said, trying to sound casual.

“Oh… yeah. Those were good times,” he replied.

Another pause.

So many things rushed to my lips.

“I missed you.”

“Why didn’t you ever call?”

“I loved you. I still do.”

But I said none of it.

I just breathed.

And he just listened.

And then…

the call dropped.

Just like that.

Call ended.

No goodbye.

No closure.

I stared at the screen, willing it to light up again.

To say “Vivaan calling…”

But it stayed dark.

I wanted to scream.

Punch the wall.

Cry until nothing was left inside me.

But instead…

I just sat there.

Staring at my reflection in the black mirror of my screen.

Wondering if he would ever call back.

Or if that was our final conversation.

One minute.

That’s all we got.

And still…

It felt like more than all the silence we’d had in years.

---

End of Chapter 4