Chapter 10: Echoes of the Heart (TTPW)

But the days after that quiet exchange within Aarav's apartment were nothing short of a blur of tentative moments and unspoken promises. Aarav would reach out every day for the sketch Maya had left behind. Every time he looked at it, he saw not just the lines and shading but her—her perception of him, her ability to see beyond the walls he had built around his heart.

Maya did not escape the after-effects of their meeting. Aarav's words played in her head, a constant reminder which filled up the quiet hours of her days. But she plunged herself into work in an attempt to find some comfort in the one thing she knew: sketching and doodling.

But Aarav's music remained her closest companion. Even when she wasn't anywhere near him, she could hear the echo of his melodies in her mind and a thread that connected her to him in a way she cannot explain.

She sat by her studio window one evening as orange and pink strokes of sunlight before fading painted the sky. She did not deliberate much over this; her pencil started going as she sketched the scene before her. However, when she looked down at her paper, she found that she had drawn a figure standing by a piano, lit by the light from the window and setting a frame to his silhouette.

She laid down the pencil and sighed. There was no point in keeping up the pretence anymore—Aarav was now a part of her world, whether she liked it or not.

In the apartment across the hall, Aarav paced back and forth in his apartment, his thoughts racing. All the years of avoiding being connected told him it was better just to be alone. That's when he created an illusion; for Maya broke through it all. She saw him-not as that properly polished musician who appeared to people but the man behind the music, unguarded.

He wanted to see her, to talk to her. But the nagging fear halted his walk down that path. What if he let her in, lost her again? This was not the first time he had ventured down such a road, and even the prospect of facing that pain once more was almost too much to bear.

Finally, not being able to bear the silence anymore, Aarav took his jacket and stepped out into the cool evening breeze. It did little to rid him of restless thoughts but at least gave him a distraction rather than an aching chest.

He let his feet take him to a small park about a couple of blocks away. The familiar scenery of playing children, hand-in-hand walking couples, and elderly friends chatting on benches somehow seemed to calm him down. He sat on an empty bench and rested his hands on his knees and let his mind wander.

The same park seemed to attract Maya. She had actually decided to stay at home, but something within her studio was oppressive - quiet. She needed something of fresh air, the open, to clear her head.

She could sense that Aarav was sitting all alone on the bench. Her heart skipped a beat, and she wasn't sure whether she should go to him or not. Anyway, before she could decide that, he turned around, saw her and .

They locked eyes. No matter what was around, nothing else mattered for just a moment. Aarav raised his hand this hesitant wave, and here stood Maya, one slow, rather deliberative step at a time moving to him.

"Hey," she said softly, stopping a few feet away.

"Hey," he replied, the note in his voice one of surprise. "What brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said with a small smile.

He gestured to the bench. "Mind joining me?"

She nodded, sitting down beside him. They sat in silence for a little while, the hum of the park filling the spaces between their unspoken thoughts.

Well, finally, Aarav spoke. "I've been thinking about your sketch."

Maya turned to him, lifting her brows in surprise. "You have?"

He nodded. "It's. it's more than just a drawing. It's like you captured something I didn't even realize was there."

"That's what art does," she said gently. "It shows us things we can't always see ourselves."

Aarav looked at her, his eyes searching hers. "Do you ever feel like you're running from something?

Which caught her off guard, though she nodded slowly. "Always," she said. "Why?"

"Because I think I've been running for years," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "And I didn't even realize it until you came along."

Maya swallowed hard. She wanted to reach out to him to tell him he didn't have to run anymore, but the words felt too heavy, too significant.

She just looked back at him with a serene face and said, "Perhaps it's time to stop running."

.

Her words hovered in the air as a silent challenge and unspoken promise all at once. Aarav looked away, his eyes fixed on the horizon. The sun was setting now, casting long shadows across the park.

"I'm scared," he admitted, forcing his voice from breaking.

Maya rested a hand on his arm, her touch light but grounding. "It's okay to be scared," she said softly. "But sometimes, the things we're most afraid of are the things we need the most."

Aarav met her gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and hope. "And what if I don't know how to stop running?"

"Then take it one step at a time," she said softly, a smile curving on her lips. "You don't have to do it alone."

The fragility in the voice, the subtle strength in the words, loosened something within Aarav. He hadn't felt the weight of his fear begin to lift in years.

"Thanks," he whispered, the emotion welling up in him.

Maya gently squeezed his arm. "Anytime."

For the first time in his life, Aarav felt, sitting with Mira in the evening darkness crawling in around them, the buzzing of the park enveloping them like a cocoon, that perhaps he didn't have to face the world single-handedly.