“What?!”

  Aditya looked at Anamika, puzzled.

  Anamika hesitated before speaking, “Um… someone gave Saaniya a gift — a pair of butterfly-shaped earrings!”

  Aditya frowned. “So?”

  Clarifying herself, Anamika said, “She’s returning them! But won’t that hurt the person who gifted them?”

  Aditya smiled and asked, “Do you know the reason behind that gift?”

  Anamika blinked innocently. “I was just trying to figure that out!”

  Aditya chuckled lightly. “And how many reasons have you found so far?”

  “Not too many,” she said thoughtfully. “The first reason could be that the person just wanted to show off his money — because those earrings were really expensive! Why would anyone give something so costly otherwise?”

  Aditya reasoned, “But Saaniya isn’t someone you can impress with money. She doesn’t care about luxury.”

  “That’s what I thought too!” Anamika agreed. “So, I rejected that reason. Then, my second thought was — maybe she helped that person, and he gave the gift as a thank-you.”

  “That makes sense,” Aditya nodded.

  But Anamika sighed and shook her head. “No, it doesn’t! Because Saaniya never accepts gifts in return for her good deeds. She finds it insulting. If it were a ‘thank-you’ gift, she would’ve returned it immediately — not kept it this long.”

  “Then?” Aditya asked, curious.

  Anamika looked thoughtful. “There’s one more possible reason. Maybe that person likes her… and gave her the gift because of that. But… even that doesn’t seem right to me.”

  “Why not?” Aditya’s eyes reflected his curiosity.

  Anamika lowered her voice. “Because I’ve seen it… Saaniya despises the very word ‘love.’ If anyone had confessed their feelings and given her that gift, she would’ve either broken it in front of them — or done something so harsh that they’d end up hating her.”

  Aditya hesitated, his tone softening. “Why does she hate love so much?”

  Anamika lowered her gaze. Her silence said more than words ever could — don’t ask why.

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  Breaking that silence, Aditya said, “Well… there might be another reason for giving a gift.”

  Anamika’s eyes lit up. “Really? What is it?”

  Aditya smiled, stood up, and said, “A call for change.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

  Aditya’s eyes softened as he began, “You know… when Aniket and I were little, he used to come to my house often to sleep over. My mom would tell us different Panchatantra stories every night. One of them became Aniket’s favorite — the story of a tiny caterpillar who wished to touch the sky. Everyone laughed at him, mocked him… but he didn’t stop. And one day, he transformed — into a butterfly, the one who could finally kiss the sky.”

  Anamika pouted playfully. “Nice story, but I still don’t get your point.”

  Aditya turned to her, extended his hand, and said gently, “A butterfly is a symbol of change — not for others, but for yourself.”

  Anamika took his hand and stood up.

  Aditya continued, “Aniket once made a butterfly-shaped pendant for his mother — because he couldn’t say what he wanted to. That pendant was his way of telling her… ‘Change for your own happiness.’”

  Anamika tugged lightly at his sleeve. “But Aniket can’t be the one who gave the earrings! Who thinks that deeply, anyway?”

  Aditya smiled softly, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. “Someone who truly cares would. Just like you are thinking so much about a gift that Saaniya is about to return.”

  Anamika lowered her gaze. “I just want her to make the right choice — not break anyone’s heart.”

  Aditya gently held her hand and said, “Sometimes, we just have to accept things as they are. And besides, this whole thing — the gift, the decision — it’s part of Saaniya’s life. We’re just observers here. So, acceptance is all we can offer, right?”

  Anamika smiled faintly and nodded. Her confusion melted away so effortlessly, as if it had never existed.

  Meanwhile, at Aniket’s house…

  He had found an old box — filled with some of his mother’s belongings.

  There wasn’t much inside; his mother had never been one to hoard things. But a few items were carefully preserved — her wedding ring, her mangalsutra, the pendant her son had given her, and a diary with a dried rose tucked inside, still carrying a faint fragrance of old memories.

  When Aniket’s eyes fell on the butterfly pendant, a soft yet painful smile appeared on his lips.

  He whispered, “Mom… did you ever understand what this pendant meant? And will Saaniya ever understand what my gift means?”

  He looked at the diary filled with his mother’s words — a silent world of emotions — and said quietly, “Your poems and lines… Mom, if only there had been more time — for you, and for me. I wish I could’ve understood the meaning behind your words.”

  Aniket’s mother was never a poet, but she was someone who preferred silence — who expressed herself through words, carefully woven like hidden feelings. Her writings were never direct, and Aniket could never truly grasp them. They both lacked the courage — to ask, or to tell — and so, silence remained their language.

  Even now, it pained him that he could never make her understand his feelings… nor could he understand hers.

  But holding those pieces of her memory, he made himself a promise — “I will change. No more silence. I’ll say what I feel… Mom, I’ll try to change myself.”

  His eyes burned with a quiet fire — a promise to transform, to be brave.

  Meanwhile

  Just then, a knock came at the door.

  “Come in,” she said.

  Rudra entered, wearing his usual calm, sweet smile.

  “What happened?” Saaniya asked, amused. “You’re here so early — what’s the occasion?”

  “Nothing special,” Rudra said cheerfully. “Just wanted to drop off something — Dr. Niharika sent Anamika’s father’s reports home, and I brought them here.”

  “Ah, I see. Thank you,” Saaniya said, taking the file.

  Rudra smiled. “No problem! Actually, Niharika ma’am thought that if the reports went to your place, Anamika might get them first. So she sent them to my house instead. I meant to give them yesterday, but I forgot.”

  Saaniya smirked. “Not surprising. You always forget things — I’m not shocked anymore.”

  “Hey! Have some respect!” he protested.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Daydreaming isn’t good for your health. Anyway, you can go now — work hard, maybe your dream will come true someday.”

  Rudra made a face as he walked away. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

  But before he could leave, Saaniya called out, “Wait! Why are you wearing such a childish bracelet?”

  Rudra laughed. “Oh, this? Nothing special… a stubborn girl gave it to me, so I wore it.”

  Saying that, he left.

  Saaniya watched him go, a faint thought crossing her mind — “A stubborn girl, huh? Since when did Dr. Rudra start listening to stubborn people?”

  She smiled faintly, her eyes returning to the file. For some reason, her lips curved into a soft, unexplainable smile.