Running dreams.

The act

He led me to the back veranda. There was a small swing. A broken clay pot. And an old wooden window overlooking the river.

"Beautiful," I whispered.

"I knew you'd like it."

We stood together. The evening was quiet. No families. No wedding music. No neighbours. Just us.

"You know what I keep thinking?"

"What?"

"That soon, I'll wake up and you'll be there."

I smiled. "And you'll get tired of me."

"Never."

The silence that followed felt different. Closer. Like the walls themselves had leaned in to listen.

Aarav touched my face. His hand was warm, a little unsteady, thumb brushing just under my eye like he was checking if I was real. I didn’t move away.

He kissed me. Softly. Not hurriedly. Not as though he was taking something. As though he was asking. And I answered.

The world outside seemed to disappear. The distant sound of music from the courtyard, the aunties gossiping by the gate, the list of rituals we were supposed to memorize tomorrow — all of it fell away.

There was no wedding. No family. No tomorrow.

Only the warmth of the person I loved and the quiet certainty that, whatever happened, we belonged to one another.

That evening, our closeness crossed a threshold neither of us had spoken about. It wasn’t loud or messy. It was careful. Like we were both afraid that if we spoke too loud, the moment would c***k.

His hands stayed where they made me feel safe. My breathing matched his. The rest of the house could have burned down and I wouldn’t have noticed, because for those hours the room was the whole world.

Tender. Private. And entirely ours.

Afterward, we lay there in the dim room, the only light coming from a c***k under the door. We were embarrassed by our own happiness, smiling at nothing, afraid to look at each other too long in case we started laughing or crying.

I rested my head against his chest. I could feel his heartbeat. Fast, then slower, as if it was finally believing what had just happened. He kissed my forehead, and stayed there, like he didn’t want to let go.

"We have to hide this." His voice was low, rough.

I laughed softly, even though my stomach twisted. "Obviously."

"If Rani finds out, the whole town will know by morning tea."

"She’ll tell my mother."

"Your mother will tell my mother."

"And then?"

He groaned and pulled me closer, burying his face in my hair. "And then? Then we’ll never survive the wedding. There will be 50 lectures, 3 fasting days, and someone’s uncle will bring up ‘family honor’ before dessert."

Outside, someone called my name.