“Maybe Forever”

The train hummed softly through the night, its rhythm steady, indifferent.

Shyam sat by the window, his chin resting on his hand, watching blurred lights stretch into nothing. He wasn’t really looking outside. His eyes kept drifting back, just slightly… to the other end of the compartment.

Aara.

She was laughing with her friends, the sound light, easy… like it didn’t belong to the same world he was sitting in. Same compartment. Same journey. But somehow, miles apart.

He had imagined that trip differently. He had imagined… at least a “hi.” Instead, there was nothing.

The train kept moving, but his thoughts stayed in one place.

On her.

He leaned back, his eyes half-closed, but there was no rest in them. “Why did I even come?”

A faint, tired breath escaped him. His best friend wasn’t there. The one person who would’ve made that trip feel normal, easy. Without him, everything just felt… off.

And still, he had come. For what?

For her.

His fingers tightened slightly around his phone. “It’s been days… No messages. No calls. Nothing.”

He had told himself it didn’t matter. Told himself he was fine with it. But if that were true, he wouldn’t have…