Hiten held the folded note tightly. His fingers kept brushing the edges, as if afraid it might disappear.

Dev glanced at him. “You okay? You’re… not normal tonight.”

Hiten exhaled slowly. “It’s this note, Dev. It shouldn’t feel this real. But it does. Too real.”

They reached the bus stop — empty, except for a flickering tube light that hummed like a broken heartbeat.

Dev checked the display board. “…Bruh. The bus is late by one hour.”

Hiten didn’t look surprised. “Of course it is.”

Dev frowned. “What do you mean ‘of course’? You expected this?”

Hiten hesitated. His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Things that happened in the dream… happened with delays too. Like time itself slowed down around me. Around her.”

Dev stared at him. “…You’re scaring me a little.”

Hiten chuckled weakly. “I’m scaring myself.”

They sat on the metal bench, cold and damp. Rain dripped from the roof in steady beats.

After a moment, Dev nudged him. “Tell me honestly. When you saw this note… what did you feel?”

Hiten looked at the crumpled paper in his hand.

“Like… like I wasn’t reading it for the first time.”

He paused.

“Like someone whispered those words to me before.”

Dev froze. “In your dream?”

Hiten didn’t answer directly. “Every place I wrote about… every street… every moment… it felt like I was remembering, not imagining.”

The wind blew, rustling the plastic sign beside them.

Dev leaned closer. “Bro… do you think she’s actually trying to reach you?”

Hiten didn’t say yes.

He didn’t say no.

He simply stared at the raindrops sliding down the glass of the bus shelter.

“Sometimes,” Hiten murmured, “people leave signs without knowing they’re leaving them. But this…”

His fingers tightened around the note.

“This feels intentional.”

Dev tried to lighten the mood. “Or maybe some girl is stalking you from a parallel universe.”

Hiten didn’t laugh.

He smiled — but not because it was funny.

“…Wouldn’t be the first time,” he whispered.

Dev stared at him. “WHAT do you mean by that—”

A distant rumble interrupted them.

The bus, finally.

As it approached, the headlights cut through the rain like a path being carved out of darkness.

Hiten stood, heart pounding.

“This city… this night… everything feels like it’s pushing me toward her.”

Dev followed him into the bus. “Or pulling you.”

Hiten didn’t deny it.

They took seats by the window.

The city lights blurred into silver streaks as the bus rolled forward.

Hiten pressed the note to his chest and whispered:

“If you’re out there… I’ll find you.

Or maybe… you’ve already found me.”

And as the rain tapped its rhythm, Dev watched him quietly — realizing the story they were stepping into wasn’t just a search.

It was a return.

To something Hiten had already lived.

But had forgotten.