It was an ordinary Sunday- quiet, slow, boring, and just like any other day- but the world outside moved in its usual rhythm but inside Pranisha's mind, thoughts raced in ways nothing about the day promised.
Though everything seemed calm, but her heart was anything but. There was a macabre restlessness she couldn't shake, a story unfolding behind her steady breath - the love she never unloved.
There was silence in her room, the only noise was making by her heartbeat. She was holding a mug of coffee, but she was lost in her deep thoughts. Suddenly, the notification popped up in her phone; it was a birthday reminder notification message from her friend Sonalika. But the fun fact was she was confused; Pranisha's birthday was on 2nd March. And yet she wished her a day before her actual birthday. She smiled and replied to her with "Thank you and heart emoji."
The coffee had long gone cold in her hands, but Pranisha hadn't noticed. After that reply to her friend Sonalika, a wave of memories flooded in her mind. Her smile faded and became numb. After a minute, she placed the mug on the table and stood up slowly as if the weight of her memories clung to her shoulders. Her gaze drifted to the bookshelf in the corner - cluttered, dusty, and forgotten. But in the middle of it, untouched for years, was a small black diary. She reached for it.
The cover of the diary was a bit torn. Pages yellowed and soft at the edges whispered stories from another time. Pranisha opened it to a random page, and there it was - his name, "Gunjan."
"With nervousness and feeling so shy, she gave him chocolate with nervousness fluttering in her chest and feeling a bit shy. She finally gathered the courage to give him a chocolate on her birthday as she had bet with one school friend.
He just smiled - that cute and same awkward smile - and walked back to his hostel. She doesn't remember whether he even wished her or not, maybe because she was too nervous. But she remembers his smile."
She sat back down, the diary in her lap, her fingers trembling and a little smile at the corner of her lips. The memory of his voice echoed faintly in the room. The flashback was distinct and sharp - his cute, charming face flashed before her eyes like a movie reel. She remembered how she used to call him and talked till late at night during the earthquake of 2015, making memories and comforting each other when the whole of Nepal was trembled.
She looked out the window. It had started raining. A soft drizzle, like whispers from the sky. She took a long, deep breath - not because she was sad, but because some memories always come back with the scent of rain and the echo of a smile.