The message was simple, but it sent a ripple of energy through Aira's chest.
"I'll be there in three days. Is that enough time to get ready?"
Three days.
She hadn't thought this far ahead, hadn't let herself consider the gravity of it. She had thought of meeting him, but the idea of it happening was still a dream, something that might slip away in the daylight.
But now, here it was. Real. Possible.
Her heart raced at the thought of the first time seeing him, of meeting the stranger who felt like he wasn't a stranger at all.
She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to steady herself. Three days. That wasn't much time to prepare for something so… profound.
She had no idea where they would meet. No idea what he would look like when they were finally face to face. Would it feel like the dreams they had shared? Would they both recognize the unspoken bond that had grown between them, as if it had always been there, waiting?
But none of that mattered.
She smiled softly, taking a deep breath, and replied:
"Three days is perfect. I'll be waiting."
----
On Ravi's side, the countdown had already begun. It wasn't just the logistics of travel that occupied his mind—it was everything. The tension between anticipation and uncertainty, between desire and doubt. He had never done anything like this before. Never reached out so fully to someone he'd only known through whispers of a photograph, the weight of their words.
But here he was, on the verge of something he couldn't explain, something that felt as real as the ground beneath his feet.
Three days. He could feel the pull growing stronger. It wasn't a whim anymore. It wasn't just chance. This was something else, something deeper.
He clicked on the flight booking confirmation.
And then, as if to seal the moment, he sent one last message:
"I don't know what happens next, but I'm ready to find out."
---
Three days felt like a lifetime, and yet the morning of their meeting came too quickly.
Aira stood by the window, her hand pressed to the cool glass, watching the city awaken beneath her. There was a strange quietness in her today, a stillness as if she were holding her breath, waiting for the moment she could exhale.
Her phone buzzed.
It was him.
"I'm here."
The world tilted in that moment, spinning slower. She stepped back from the window and smiled. For the first time, the nerves inside her settled into something she could hold—hope.
She picked up her coat, gathered her things, and left her apartment. There was no turning back now. Only forward.