"We didn't talk much. But somehow, it was the best conversation of my life."— Aryan Sen
Sunday.
Cloudy sky. Wet streets. Cold air that smelled like quiet.
Aryan didn't usually go out on weekends.
But something pulled him out that day —Maybe it was boredom.Maybe it was that message Akari sent:
Haru is okay now. I'm going to buy medicine. Want to… walk?
He didn't reply with words.Just:
Where?
She sent a location pin. Quiet area. No crowd.
When he arrived, she was already waiting.
Hair tied into a loose bun. No glasses today. A simple white sweater.She looked softer than usual. Not like the class topper.Just like… someone normal.
Aryan walked up beside her.Didn't say anything.
Neither did she.
They just started walking.
They passed an old bookstore.Akari stopped.
"Do you like reading?" she asked.
Aryan shrugged."Only manga. Or fight manuals."
She chuckled.
"I read medical journals," she said. "For Haru."
He didn't respond.But he slowed his pace to walk beside her.
They passed a small shrine.She paused again, then bowed her head slightly.
He watched.
"You pray?"
She shook her head."I just… hope."
There was a pause.
"Is that different?" he asked.
She smiled.
"Yes. Hoping is asking the universe.Praying is… believing someone will answer."
Aryan looked away.
"I stopped believing long ago."
She didn't argue.She didn't comfort.She just kept walking.
And somehow, that felt better.
Near the end of the walk, rain started.
Not heavy. Just a slow drizzle.
Aryan pulled up his hoodie.
Akari stood still, letting the rain fall on her face.
"People rush," she said softly. "But rain is just sky crying, na?"
He turned to her.
"You sound like me."
She turned to him, blinking. "Meaning?"
"You say things I feel… but never say out loud."
She looked down, then said in a whisper:
"That's because I… feel the same."
They stood there, in soft rain, not touching.Not talking anymore.Just breathing the same silence.
It wasn't awkward.
It wasn't loud.
It was safe.
And for the first time in years…
Aryan didn't feel like a foreigner.
He felt like someone was walking beside him —not because they had to,but because they chose to.
[End of Episode 7]📝 Next: "Letters Never Sent" – Aryan's unsent letters to his mother, and the moment Akari discovers them… opening a part of him no one else ever touched.