"Still awake?" Shreya’s voice came through, soft and slightly raspy from sleep—or the lack of it.
His phone vibrated in the cup holder. The name on the screen made his heart skip.
"The AP Dhillon one?" she laughed gently. "The one where they talk about staying on the phone saari raat ?"
They talked about everything and nothing—the way the moon looked from her balcony, the dreams they were too scared to chase during the daylight, and the melody that seemed to loop perfectly with the hum of the engine.
By the time the sky began to turn a bruised purple, signaling the dawn, the audio version of the track had played a dozen times. Kabir pulled into his driveway, but he didn't turn off the engine. He didn't want the music to stop, because as long as the song was playing and the line was open, the night didn't have to end. "You still there?" he asked. "Saari raat," she promised.
The neon glow of the dashboard clock ticked past 2:00 AM, casting a soft blue light over Kabir’s face. Outside, the highway stretched into a blur of black asphalt and yellow lines, but inside the car, the world felt small and intimate.
"Just driving," Kabir replied, leaning back. "And listening to our song."
"Still awake?" Shreya’s voice came through, soft and slightly raspy from sleep—or the lack of it.
His phone vibrated in the cup holder. The name on the screen made his heart skip.
"The AP Dhillon one?" she laughed gently. "The one where they talk about staying on the phone saari raat ?"
They talked about everything and nothing—the way the moon looked from her balcony, the dreams they were too scared to chase during the daylight, and the melody that seemed to loop perfectly with the hum of the engine.
By the time the sky began to turn a bruised purple, signaling the dawn, the audio version of the track had played a dozen times. Kabir pulled into his driveway, but he didn't turn off the engine. He didn't want the music to stop, because as long as the song was playing and the line was open, the night didn't have to end. "You still there?" he asked. "Saari raat," she promised.
The neon glow of the dashboard clock ticked past 2:00 AM, casting a soft blue light over Kabir’s face. Outside, the highway stretched into a blur of black asphalt and yellow lines, but inside the car, the world felt small and intimate.
"Just driving," Kabir replied, leaning back. "And listening to our song."