The morning sun cast a pale, golden glow over the modest Thakur household, but inside Aarohi’s mind, the world was entirely illuminated by a quiet, lingering warmth.

Aarohi woke up later than usual. Having spent the better part of the previous night talking to Akash on the phone—debating fine points of criminal jurisprudence long after the rest of her neighborhood had fallen silent—she felt a delightful, pleasant exhaustion pulling at her limbs. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up to get ready for college, her gaze drifted automatically toward her bedside table.