"Kabhi kabhi, ek pal ka rang… saari zindagi ke dard ko chhupa deta hai.""Sometimes, the color of one moment can hide the pain of an entire life."— Akari Fujiwara
The streets of Tokyo shimmered like stardust.
Paper lanterns. Cherry blossom patterns. Street stalls lined with grilled fish, candy apples, and laughter.
It was Hanabi Matsuri — the fireworks festival.
Aryan had never seen anything like it.
He stood awkwardly near the train station gate, wearing a simple dark-blue shirt and jeans.Everyone else had traditional yukatas or bright colors.
He felt out of place.
But then he saw her—
Akari.
Wearing a soft blue yukata with white floral prints.Short pink-dyed hair styled neatly.No glasses. Just… Akari. Beautiful. Quiet. Radiant.
He blinked.
"You… look—"
"Different?" she smiled.
He nodded."No. You look like... this moment should be remembered."
She laughed softly, cheeks slightly pink."You're getting better at emotion."
They walked slowly through the festival.
Akari explained every small thing.
"This is taiyaki — fish-shaped pastry.""These are yoyo balloons.""That shrine… is for couples."
Aryan raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
She blushed. "Just telling."
He smirked. "Noted."
They tried sweet mochi. Aryan struggled with the stickiness.Akari laughed so hard she nearly dropped hers.
Then they wrote wishes on tanzaku strips and tied them to a bamboo tree.
Akari wrote:
"I want to become someone Haru can be proud of."
Aryan wrote nothing.
She noticed.
"You didn't write?"
He looked up at the sky.
"I did. Just… in my head."
Finally, the fireworks began.
Color bloomed across the sky. Red. Green. Blue. Gold.Each burst louder than the last.
Akari's hand brushed Aryan's.Neither moved away.
"Do you miss home?" she asked, softly.
He thought.Then said:
"I miss… what home could've been."
She looked at him.Eyes reflecting the fireworks.
"I hope Tokyo becomes that for you."
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned to her.
And without touching, without speaking,he looked at her like she waseverything he'd been looking forwithout knowing it.
Then Akari whispered,"Can I say something… strange?"
"Go ahead."
She hesitated, then said in broken Hindi:
"Tum… ache ho."
He froze.
Then smiled.
"Not bad," he replied.
She smiled back.
"Means a lot… when you say it."
And as the last firework burst like a flower across the Tokyo sky,two souls who thought they had no place in the world…
...found one inside each other.
[End of Episode 10]📝 Next: "When Touch Means Too Much" – One accidental touch, a racing heartbeat, and the beginning of emotions neither of them were ready to confess.