Today felt slower than usual.

Dad wasn't at the shop, and there weren't many customers either. Just the kind of calm where the fan keeps humming, the shelves stay untouched, and time stretches quietly. The hardware store smelled faintly of metal and dust, sunlight slipping in through the glass and settling lazily on boxes that hadn't been opened all day.

I sat behind the counter, my phone lying next to the calculator, glancing at the road outside every now and then.

That's when I opened Instagram.
 And that's when I saw her story.
"The urge to be in someone's wallet."

 I froze for a second and smiled and sent a message
" wallpaper chalega ?"
I joked .
Soon, her message came " voh lagane wala bhie nhi h " with crying emojis.
 I smiled.
A thought passed through my mind and i asked " main laga du ?"
  There was a pause.
 Long enough for me to wonder if I'd crossed a line.
Then her message comes -"Aap sahi mein lagaoge!? Pic hai meri!?"
 I smiled, resting my elbow on the counter.
 I replied honestly "agar aapko aachaa lage , toh pic bhejdo..main laga dunga"
She joked " Vaise face reveal ka bahana aachaa "
 I instantly messaged " i just asked after seeing your story..if u are comfortable , then you cab share the pic"
 I expected a message or text butA picture was sent.
Her in a beautiful saree..
She was looking down ..correcting the pleats .
It was a candid picture of hers.

 A smile made its way to my lips again and i texted " thats my favorite  ....i love girls in sarees.."
 She replied " Aachajii"
 I replied" hnji"
 I texted " aur kya kr rhe aap?"
And that was enough to begin her rants .
 > she told me about an incident when she was 16 - how she was eating chocolates while her mother and her friends were performing karvachauth pooja and later they scolded her for teasing them like this
>how her diet increases when she keep fasts more than usual days>how she enjoys her parents arguments since they had love marriage
 > I told her that i too keep fasts and how its usual for me since i often skips my meals
> She chided me how proper diet is important and told me to not skip food
>She told me to cook if no one has prepared any meal - and how she will teach me to cook since i dont know cooking. 

" main aapko batadungi then aap cook krlena apne liye kuch..but no skipping food please"~CHHAVI
" Aapko yaad h?...Aap sach me batayegi?" ~ YASH 
" hnji , aapne kuch din pehle hi toh bataya tha ki u dont know cooking,,and main sachi me bataungi ...."~CHHAVI
"Meri memory strong h"~CHHAVI
"oh..main toh bhul hi gya ki meri pyaari si dost ki memory kitni sharp " ~YASH

 > I asked her if she has eaten anything- to which she replied a yes and told me that she had chowmein and then asked me whether i had or not...to which i replied yes i also had food
>She began another rant of how she was having fun in her college
>I asked how many gc members she talks to - she said no one ...only you...ek ka aaya tha usko block krdiya 
" aachaajii, screenshot bhejo "~YASH
 i joked.
 But she seriously, sent me screenshots of her DMS.
 I laughed and noticed that she really talks to no one.

 Later , i sent her a screen recording of my phone with a screenshot to proof her that i really kept her pic not only as my phone wallpaper but also our chat wallpaper.
 "ab khush h aap?"~YASH 
" Aawwww (with crying emojis)"~CHHAVI
"jiii...I am veryy happy"~CHHAVI
"mujhe toh laga aap mazak kr rhe the"~CHHAVI 
" Mujhe aacha laga ki aap meri vajah se khush hui "~YASH

 She then did something which surprised me- she asked me to send my pic ..because she wanted to put my pic as wallpaper too.
 I replied honestly "Aaj tk kisine yeh nhi kaha mujhse"
Her reply comes instantly " Let me be your first .... vaise bhie you were also the first person to do ssomething like this for me too"
 I sent her pic and she replies " cutie ho aap toh "
I chuckled and said " mazak kr rhi h aap"
She replies " nhi main achi baachi hu ..main sach keh rhi hu..u are a cutieee"
 I chuckled.
 After few minutes , she out of nowhere asked my birthday .
 I told her .
After few seconds ,She sent me the screenshot of her phone - A collage of my pic while two moons in between ( hers and mine birthday moon).
 I smiled.
Then , i asked her " romance pasand h aapko?" since she is a romance author
 She replies" pyaar kisko nhi pasand"
I replied " jiska dil tuta ho"
Then she begins her rant -how she loves love
And .i told how i am never gonna fall in love again 
 To which she replies " pyaar krna nhi hota..voh toh bus ho jaata h...dheere dheere ..koi insaan apka ghar ban jata h aur aapko pta bhie nhi chalta"

I replied " achaji"
She replies withe her cute " hnjii" .

Like this , we talked till midnight - she was ranting while i was being a patient listener.
We even exchanged phone numbers.

 When the conversation finally slowed, I placed my phone beside me and lay back on the bed.
Her picture lit up my screen again.
 The saree.
The way she had been looking down.
 That calm, unguarded moment.
Just warmth.

 Tonight, alone in my room, with her picture lighting up the dark—I realised something small had already changed.

 The quiet didn't feel lonely anymore.
It felt enough.
 Just enough.
 And that change —that quiet, unnamed change —was enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey sunshines!!!
I hope you like the update.
Please like and comment.

I know updates are irregular...
This is so because mere exams chal rhe h...
And  my boyfriend is quite strict when it comes to my studies...Unke strict instructions h that I shouldn't  focus on anything else  during my exams , else daant pad jayegi mujhe....

Ab sirjii ki baat to maani hi padegi..
But , i promise that after my exams , I will regular with my updates.

Till then , 
Aap sab aapna khyaal rakhoo.
I love youu allll 🩷