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Delusion
The Illusion Everything seems so perfect until the day comes when you start to see things differently. You know how it goes. You’re living life on autopilot. You notice people in passing… faces, gestures, a certain way someone walks or laughs… and you think you’ve got them figured out. You build neat little boxes in your mind: the loud one, the quiet one, the funny one, the loner. For me, she was the quiet one. There was this girl I’d see almost every day. She was always there… sitting quietly in class, head bent over her notebook, hair falling like a curtain around her face. Or she’d be drifting through…
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In the Way
Every evening, after college, I’d rush home, slip into my jersey, grab my bat, and head straight to the ground. The rhythm of leather on bat, the cheers of my friends. It was all routine. But what became part of that routine was her.Anvi. She walked by the path next to the ground almost every day same time, same gentle steps, the same flutter of her shawl in the evening breeze. I knew her from back in school, but we’d never really talked. Just familiar faces from a distant memory. At first, I thought it was coincidence. But then… it started to feel like something more. She always showed up…
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The One I Never Had
From the very first moment I saw her, I knew—deep down—I didn’t stand a chance. Something in the way she moved through the world told me she belonged to a different rhythm, a different light. And me? I was just a shadow following that light around, hoping—just hoping—it would notice me one day. But that didn’t stop me. In fact, it only pulled me closer. I did everything I could for her—quietly, from the sidelines. I carried her burdens when she didn’t ask. I stayed up late just to reply to her messages within seconds, even if all she said was something as simple as “Hey, what’s up?” I listened…
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Quiet Drafts
It was August in Biratnagar. I was in my third year at Western Engineering College, waiting outside the main gate with a notebook in my hand while new first-year students searched for their rooms. A small girl came up to me, hair a little messy, clutching her file like it might float away. “Brother, can you show me Block C?” she asked in a shy, light voice. I pointed, then decided to walk with her so she would not get lost. At the classroom door she gave a quick bow. “Thank you, brother.” The word was only courtesy, yet it settled on my heart like a quiet weight. From that…
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Empty Day
Every day, I used to find a way to see her. Sometimes from far away, sometimes just for a second—but somehow, I always did. I never talked to her, never told her how I felt. But that one little moment when I saw her… it was enough. It made my whole day better. I didn’t even realize how much I needed it, how much I looked forward to it. Her face, her smile, the way she walked—it brought life into my boring, quiet days. She didn’t know. She had no idea that someone was out there, waiting just to catch a glimpse of her. But today… I didn’t see her.…
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Boundary
Rahul wasn’t looking for love when he first met Rhea. She was just another girl in his group project—smart, expressive, a little chaotic, but kind. What he didn’t expect was how effortlessly she’d start slipping into his thoughts. It began with the small things. The way she laughed more at his jokes than others. The way she’d text late into the night, sharing random thoughts, sometimes even personal stories. How her eyes seemed to search for him in crowded rooms, how she once said, “I feel safe around you.” Hints. Rahul started collecting them like fragile artifacts. Every smile, every message, every slight touch on his shoulder felt like a…
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Boundary
Our brain is a brilliant yet biased machine. It constantly works to make sense of the world around us, especially in moments of emotional ambiguity. When someone gives us a hint—be it a look, a gesture, a word—we don’t just see it as it is. We run it through the filter of our desires, expectations, and personal narratives. If we’re hoping for love, we might decode a simple smile as affection. If we’re craving connection, even silence can seem like an invitation. We interpret hints not based on what they meant, but on what we want them to mean. We prioritize our emotional benefit, our hope for validation, affection, or…
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Whispers Before the Storm
The New Girl in the Lane Setting: A newly built society on the edge of a village near Biratnagar. Only a few families live here. Binay sat on the porch, sipping chiya, when a small truck rolled into the society. A middle-aged couple, a teenage boy, and a girl stepped out. He watched quietly from a distance. The girl caught his eye. She wore a yellow kurti and helped her younger brother carry boxes inside. She didn’t look around much, just focused on settling in. [For the next two weeks] Binay noticed her every evening—watering plants, helping her mother, sometimes standing quietly on the rooftop. She never looked his way,…
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Perspectives
Yesterday, a drunk man from our area lost control of his motorcycle and fell off the road. Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously hurt. But instead of being concerned about his fall, he stood up and began searching frantically for a package he had brought along. Despite help from nearby people, the package was never found. Eventually, still drunk and empty-handed, he went home—accepting whatever had happened. Today, I spoke with someone who had witnessed the incident. She laughed and said how funny it looked—seeing a drunken man stumbling around, searching for something he might have already lost on the way. I get it—sometimes, things do look funny from a distance. But…
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The First Touch
People say you never forget the first touch from someone you really like. It’s not always big or dramatic—but it stays in your heart forever. For me, it happened on a normal Sunday, inside Central Mall. But that moment was anything but normal for me. I was standing near the escalator, holding two iced coffees. I looked calm on the outside, but inside, I was a complete mess. We had planned to meet “just as friends”—which made my heart a little sad, but also nervous and excited. She was my crush. And she had no idea. I was busy looking around, wondering if I looked okay, when I felt something.…
