CHAPTER 4-- RAIN & UMBRELLA

The week after the festival seemed quieter. The fairy lights were gone, the college walls bare again, but Ayla’s laughter still echoed in Aariz’s head more often than he admitted to himself.

Classes slipped into routine, but she had a way of making even routine feel new. Sometimes, she would wave to him in the corridor, her smile lingering just long enough to throw his thoughts off balance. Other times, she’d sit beside him in lectures, tapping her pen absentmindedly while he pretended to stay focused on the professor.

That afternoon, as the last lecture ended, the sky outside had already turned gray. Students shuffled out of the hall, books clutched tight as a light drizzle began tapping against the windows.

By the time Aariz stepped outside, the drizzle had turned into a steady downpour. He opened his old black umbrella, slightly bent on one side but still doing its job. As he adjusted it, a familiar voice called out.

Ayla: (pouting, holding her books against her chest) “Great. Of course, it had to rain today. And of course, I forgot my umbrella.”

Aariz paused, his grip tightening on the handle. Fate seemed to enjoy placing him in these quiet little tests.

Aariz: (gently) “Come.”

He shifted, raising the umbrella higher and tilting it toward her. She slipped under its cover with a relieved sigh, brushing back a damp strand of hair that had already escaped the drizzle.

Ayla: (grinning) “You’re a lifesaver. I swear, I’m cursed when it comes to weather.”

As they walked side by side, the umbrella wasn’t wide enough for both. Aariz instinctively tilted it toward her, his shoulder and half of his sleeve getting soaked. Cold drops slid down his arm, but he didn’t flinch.

Ayla: (noticing, with a laugh) “Hey, you’re getting drenched. You’ll catch a cold!”

Aariz: (shrugging, softly) “Doesn’t matter.”

Ayla: (shaking her head) “Silly.”

Her laugh rang out, light as the rain around them, and somehow warmer than the umbrella itself. Aariz smiled faintly, saying nothing. In moments like this, silence was his safest refuge.

They reached the bus stop where a small crowd huddled under the tin shade. The sound of rain hitting the metal roof was almost deafening, yet all Aariz could focus on was the nearness of her — the way she hugged her books tighter, the way droplets clung to her eyelashes.

She leaned slightly forward, peering at the rain like a child staring into a mystery.

Ayla: “You know what? I don’t hate rain anymore. Not today.”

Aariz looked at her from the corner of his eye, his lips curving faintly. If only she knew the reason why the rain would forever stay his favorite.

When her bus finally arrived, she turned to him before stepping in.

Ayla: (with a playful salute) “Thanks again, Mister Umbrella . I owe you one.”

And with that, she was gone, leaving Aariz standing in the drizzle, umbrella still tilted to the side as though protecting someone no longer there.

His sleeve clung cold and damp to his skin, but inside, he felt strangely full.