Chapter 6: When Distance Felt Like Pain
367 Words
A Love Story That Defies Time
By Santhosh Vishwamitra
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Chapter 6: When Distance Felt Like Pain
Meera avoided him.
For days, she found reasons to stay away. She stopped visiting the bookstore. She ignored his texts. She even changed her usual route home, just in case fate had any more tricks up its sleeve.
And yet, she felt his absence like a missing heartbeat.
Aarav wasn’t the kind of man you could forget. He was everywhere—in the books she read, in the music she listened to, in the way her fingers still tingled where he had touched her.
She hated it.
She hated that her carefully built walls were crumbling.
But most of all—she hated that a part of her wanted them to fall.
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Aarav wasn’t a fool. He noticed.
And he was patient.
He didn’t text again. He didn’t show up unannounced.
But one evening, just as she was leaving work, she found him leaning against the railing of a bridge near her office. Hands in his pockets, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Waiting.
Meera froze.
He looked up, catching her gaze, and in that moment, she knew—running wouldn’t work anymore.
"Done hiding?" Aarav asked, stepping closer.
Meera swallowed. "I wasn’t hiding."
Aarav chuckled, his eyes dark with amusement. "Liar."
She sighed, looking away. "Aarav, I just… I don’t know how to do this."
His expression softened. "Do what?"
She hesitated. Then, finally, she whispered, "Let someone in."
Aarav studied her for a long moment before speaking.
"You don’t have to figure it out alone, Meera."
She met his eyes, searching for something—some sign that this wasn’t a mistake.
And then, he did something unexpected.
He took a step back.
No pressure. No demands. Just quiet understanding.
"Take your time," he said gently. "I’ll be here."
And just like that, he turned and walked away.
Meera stood there, the wind in her hair, her heart in her throat.
And for the first time… distance felt like pain.
—Santhosh Vishwamitra
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Next Chapter: The Night She Couldn’t Sleep
"Sometimes, love doesn’t come knocking. It just moves in, making itself at home in your heart."
- Writer
