5:40 PM
The bell above the café door rang at exactly 5:40 pm.
Aarav noticed because he always did.
Not because the sound was loud—no, it was barely more than a tired jingle—but because his life had learned to move in small, predictable moments. Coffee brewing. Cups clinking. Rain tapping against the glass like it was asking to be let in.
He wiped the counter for the second time, even though it was already clean.
Outside, the street looked washed out, blurred by rain and headlights. The old café stood quietly near the bus stand, a place people came to wait—for buses, for calls, for something they hadn’t named yet.
That’s when he saw him.
The boy stepped inside dripping wet, hair plastered to his forehead, jacket darkened by rain. He smelled like cold air and something faintly bitter—cigarettes, maybe. His eyes scanned the café like he wasn’t sure he belonged anywhere, not even here.
“Are you open?” the boy asked.
Aarav nodded. “Yes.”
His voice came out softer than he expected.
The boy smiled, just a little. “Good. I needed somewhere to stop.”
Aarav poured him coffee without being asked. It felt natural, like his hands already knew what to do. When he placed the cup down, their fingers brushed.
A small thing.
But Aarav felt it all the way in his chest.
“Thanks,” the boy said. “I’m Reyan.”
“Aarav.”
The rain grew heavier outside.
Reyan sat by the window, staring at the world like it had disappointed him too many times already. Aarav watched him from behind the counter, pretending to clean, pretending not to notice how Reyan’s presence changed the air in the room.
Minutes passed in silence.
“I like this place,” Reyan said suddenly. “It’s quiet.”
Aarav nodded. “People don’t stay long.”
Reyan looked back at him. “Maybe I will.”
Something about that made Aarav’s heart stumble.
The clock ticked past 6:00 pm.
Reyan finished his coffee, stood up, and slipped some money onto the counter. Before leaving, he paused by the door.
“Same time tomorrow?” he asked, almost casually.
Aarav didn’t know why his answer came so easily.
“I’ll be here.”
The bell rang again as Reyan left.
Aarav stood still, listening to the rain, unaware that something had already begun—quietly, gently—at 5:40 pm.
