The house was dim now. The chanting had faded. The guests had gone. Their mother slept soundly in her room. The air carried the scent of camphor and something heavier — a tension neither Medha nor Ankit could explain, much less erase.
He stood near her door, ready to leave. Medha leaned on the wall, arms folded, chewing at her lip — that old childhood habit he remembered too well.
Medha:
“You won’t come here again for a while, will you?”
Ankit: (sighs)
“I need space. To think. To… untangle this.”
Medha: (softly)
“Will ignoring it help?”
Ankit:
“No. But pretending we’re just fine might break me.”
Medha: (a long pause)
“What if we didn’t pretend? What if we just… kept talking?”
Ankit:
“Talking?”
Medha:
“In that room. The chat. Where we first met as strangers. Where you were just Monk29. And I was SilverDust. No family. No labels.”
Ankit:
“That room gave us comfort because we didn’t know. Now we do.”
Medha:
“Yes. And we still miss it. That space. That ease. That release.”
He looked at her sharply at the last word. She didn’t flinch.
Medha:
“I’m not saying we flirt again. Or cross lines.
But life outside that room is heavy. I feel like I’m always carrying expectations — grades, marriage pressure, being perfect.”
Ankit: (nods slowly)
“And I carry silence. At work. At home. Every failed relationship left something broken inside me.”
They stood in that silence — no words, only understanding.
Medha:
“So maybe… we don’t kill the only place that made us feel free.
Maybe we keep that chat.
Not to break rules — but to survive.”
Ankit:
“To survive.” (echoes it like a test in his mouth)
“But we set rules.”
Medha:
“Strict ones.”
Ankit:
“No video. No pictures.”
Medha: (nods)
“No personal details.”
Ankit:
“We speak only as Monk29 and SilverDust. Never as… bhaiya and Medha.”
Her eyes shimmered for a moment, but she nodded.
Medha:
“We hold that space. Safe. Honest. But controlled.”
Ankit:
“We talk. Vent. Escape.
And if it ever crosses the line again…”
Medha:
“We stop. Immediately.”
They stood in silence again.
Medha: (quietly)
“You won’t say goodbye?”
Ankit:
“No. I’ll say ‘see you tonight.’”
A tiny smile curved her lips — bittersweet, cautious, but real.
Later That Night | The Chatroom
SilverDust:
You made it.
Monk29:
I said I would.
SilverDust:
Ground rules remembered?
Monk29:
Fully. Strict monk mode activated.
SilverDust:
(smiling at her screen)
Good. Because I really need to scream about my Finance professor.
Monk29:
Hit me. I’m all ears.
And just like that…
They stepped back into the bubble.
Same place. Same usernames.
But this time — the weight of truth between them was undeniable.
Undone – Part 15: Daily Sins, Small Heals
[Chatroom – Day 24]
SilverDust:
Today I nearly slapped a guy on campus.
Monk29:
😂 What did he do?
SilverDust:
Called me “item” in front of his friends. I told him my brain’s too expensive for his vocabulary.
Monk29:
👏 10/10 burn.
SilverDust:
You?
Monk29:
Spent 3 hours in a client meeting. Spoke for 10 minutes. Smiled for 2. Died inside for 148.
SilverDust:
Lmao. Corporate trauma is your kink, clearly.
Monk29:
Only masochists go to office after 2020.