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Love Behind the Normal
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The rain had stopped, but the silence outside the hospital felt heavier than thunder.
Mahi lay peacefully in Aryan's arms - his warmth against her cold skin, his steady breath like a promise that she wasn't alone.
But then... a knock.
A slow, soft, unsettling knock at the door.
Her eyes opened. Confusion. Fear. Curiosity.
She turned slightly - Aryan was still asleep, his hand loosely tied to hers with a strip of cloth. She carefully untangled her wrist and walked toward the door.
When Mahi opened the door.
An old woman stood there, smiling. Her hair was white, soaked, clinging to her wrinkled face. Her eyes glowed faintly under the flickering hospital light.
"Come with me, child," she said sweetly. "I've had my dinner... but I always walk a little after. I'm looking for a companion tonight. Will you join me?"
Something in her tone was oddly comforting. Mahi looked back - Aryan still asleep.
She nodded and followed.
The corridor was silent. No nurses. No footsteps. Just the echo of their walk.
Then the woman spoke again, voice calm but heavy with meaning.
"The boy sleeping beside you - he's a kind one. My love, I've seen too much of the world to lie."
Her smile faded into something wistful.
"People say you lose a diamond chasing gold... but no one tells you, if gold brings you happiness, then it's worth more than any diamond. Never stay with someone just because they're good. Stay with the one who makes your soul quiet."
Mahi frowned, confused.
Before she could answer, the woman whispered,
"Go with him. You'll find the truth - about your past, your present... and me."
Mahi!" Aryan's voice echoed down the corridor.
She turned toward it - but when she looked back... the woman was gone.
"Mahi, what the hell are you doing out here?" Aryan asked, grabbing her shoulders.
"I-I was walking with that dadi maa,"[ Grandmaa] she stammered. "She was right here!"
Aryan's eyes darkened. "There's no one here."
"I'm not lying, Aryan! She was talking to me!"
He sighed, brushing his thumb across her cheek.
"Okay, okay. It's fine. Come back." He led her gently toward the room, his hand firm around hers.
He locked the door with a click and smirked when she frowned.
> "Why are you hiding the key in your underwear? You could've just kept it in your pocket."
> "So you don't steal it again and run off," he teased. "You're not well. Stay."
He tied her hand to his again and lay beside her, exhausted. Within minutes, he was asleep.
But Mahi couldn't close her eyes. Her thoughts were racing.
Her thoughts were spiraling.
If Aryan had locked the door before that old woman came... then how did door opened without key.
Her heartbeat grew louder with every passing second. The thought chilled her more than the cold air seeping through the windows.
The question clawed at her mind, twisting her stomach in fear.
Suddenly, Aryan's eyes flickered open - sharp and alert. Mahi instantly closed hers, pretending to sleep.
He stared for a moment, then sighed softly and switched off the light.
The room fell into complete darkness.
That was her biggest fear - something she never told him. The dark made her feel... watched.
Her breath hitched. Her trembling hands pulled the blanket over her face. Finally, she crawled closer and wrapped herself around Aryan's body, holding him tightly - as if his warmth could keep the shadows away.
The night was long. And too quiet.
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Next Morning
Mahi sat quietly in the hospital corridor, waiting for Aryan to bring her breakfast. Her eyes were tired, her mind blank.
Then-
A loud voice echoed from the end of the hallway.
> "Maa... MAA!"
A man was crying uncontrollably.
Another ward boy whispered, "She passed away last night, after dinner."
Mahi turned her head, her heartbeat quickening. The body was being carried past her toward the ambulance.
A cold breeze blew through the hall, lifting the white sheet covering the face-
Mahi froze. Her body turned to stone.
It was her.
The same old woman.
Her lips trembled. "What... what time did she die?"
"Maybe around 10:11 PM," the ward boy replied carelessly.
Her hands went cold.
Because Mahi had walked with her at 12:02 AM.
Her knees gave out, but Aryan appeared in time - catching her, holding her tight, his hand covering her eyes before she could see more.
She pressed her face against his chest, shaking.
But she knew what she saw.
And she remembered the woman's voice-
> "Go with him... you'll find every answer - about your past, your present, and your future."
That night, Mahi realized -
some people don't die. They wait.
And some truths...
belong to the world behind the normal.
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