Karthik stared at the blank page in his notebook.
The essay competition was due in two days, and though the title—The Light That Found Me—felt like it was written for him, the words refused to come.
His mind wasn't silent. In fact, it was loud—memories and thoughts swirling: the loneliness of his earlier days, the first time he noticed Ananya, their arguments, her stubborn smile, and her unwavering presence.
But writing it down? That felt too real. Too vulnerable.
Still, something tugged at him. A need. Not to win the competition, but to say what he hadn't dared to say aloud.
He clicked his pen. Took a breath.
And wrote.
---
"There was a time I didn't believe in light. Not sunlight, not electricity, not hope. I thought the world had one color—gray. That people like me belonged in shadows, where no one would see us or expect anything from us. And that was easier. Safer.
Until she came along. A whirlwind with a sketchbook and too many hairclips. She talked too much. Laughed at things that weren't funny. And worst of all, she noticed me.
She called me out when I faded into the background. She didn't flinch when I shared the darker parts of me. Instead, she held out a hand and said, 'So what if you're broken? I like puzzles.'
I didn't believe her at first. But day by day, she made me believe in light. In colors. In myself.
The light that found me wasn't a miracle. It was a girl. An annoying, brilliant, kind-hearted girl who saw past the shadows.
She didn't save me. She reminded me I could save myself."
---
Karthik stared at the last sentence.
Then scratched it out.
Then wrote it again.
This time, he added: "And she still reminds me, every single day."
---
The next morning, he handed the essay in silently. No grand gesture. Just a folded sheet of paper, slipped into the box like everyone else's.
Ananya found him on the stairs after the last bell.
"So?" she asked.
"So what?" he smirked.
"Don't play dumb. Did you write something?"
"Maybe."
She raised an eyebrow. "Did you write about me?"
He chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I would," she said, narrowing her eyes.
He leaned closer, playful. "You'll just have to win the competition to read it."
She poked his shoulder. "That's not how it works!"
"No, but I like seeing you flustered."
Ananya turned pink. "You've changed, you know."
Karthik smiled, the kind that reached his eyes. "Yeah. I think I have."
---
That evening, Ananya messaged him.
Ananya: Whatever you wrote, I'm proud of you. Not because it's perfect, but because it's yours.
Karthik: If I win, I'll read it to you first.
Ananya: If you lose?
Karthik: I'll still read it to you. But only when you least expect it.
She sent back a heart emoji.
Karthik stared at the screen, heart a little lighter.
Maybe light didn't always come in grand moments.
Sometimes, it came as a girl who never gave up on you.
---
End of Chapter 119