In Saaniya’s Room…
Aditya sat on the bed, and right in front of him — directly across — Saaniya sat on a chair, her eyes fixed solely on him.
Almost 15 minutes had passed, but Saaniya hadn’t uttered a word. She just kept looking at him… as if her gaze could pierce through and reach his soul.
Aditya was restless — but not because of her gaze, rather because of the storm inside his head. His legs shook with nervousness. All he wanted… was a glimpse of Anamika. Just one glance. That’s all. Even if distance had to remain forever after that, it wouldn’t matter.
Tired of the silence, Aditya finally spoke, “Please… just let me see her once! I promise I won’t go near her… I won’t try to talk to her either! I’ll do exactly what you say — just once… just let me see Anamika!”
Hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Saaniya’s face, like she was amused — as if she wanted to tease him with it.
With that same smile, she replied,
“If all you wanted was to see her from a distance, then why did you go near her in the first place? If you were only going to stay away, why even come close? If you had to follow my words anyway, then why fight with me? Why did you force that agreement and call Anamika to work in your office? Why did you do all this?!”
Aditya lowered his gaze and answered,
“Because I believed in myself… I believed that even if Anamika stayed close, my heart wouldn’t break. I thought… even in her presence, I wouldn’t long for her to be mine, to stay with me… but… I was wrong. That’s why… that’s why I—”
“You’re punishing yourself for dreaming something you were never allowed to dream, aren’t you?” At her words, Aditya gently nodded, and Saaniya stood up from her chair.
She walked closer and said, “Who gave you the right to choose a punishment for your own mistake?”
Her question made Aditya lift his eyes. Saaniya now stood right in front of him — her eyes blazing with a silent fury.
Avoiding her gaze again, Aditya whispered, “I thought… it was the right punishment for me.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Saaniya smiled again, but this smile was laced with the fire of anger burning inside her.
Controlling that emotion, she said, “Maybe it is the right punishment — for you. But do you know… it’s more of a punishment for Anamika than for you!”
Aditya looked up, stunned, as Saaniya took a few steps away, now standing with her back turned to him.
She continued, “Aditya… do you know? If a bird is kept in a cage for years… and then one day, it’s suddenly set free into the open skies… it gets scared! Sometimes, even after being freed, the bird refuses to leave the cage. Not because it loves the cage… but because it has gotten used to it. That habit becomes stronger than freedom. But sometimes, when that caged bird meets other birds, that habit — that fear — can be broken before death.”
Aditya didn’t quite understand what she meant, so he asked softly, "But… why are you saying all this?"
“Anamika is that caged bird. After years, she was given the sky, but even then… she was afraid to fly. I didn’t want to believe this, but it’s the truth. When she started working with you, she began to feel that maybe… maybe she could do it. And do you know why she felt that? Because you were with her! You were the first person who didn’t belong to her world… and still, you believed in her. But now that you’ve started avoiding her… all her courage, all her dreams… they’ve started to blur. She’s beginning to feel like she’s worthless again… and that’s why she had a panic attack yesterday!”
Aditya lowered his eyes. He thought he was punishing himself… but unknowingly, he had ended up hurting Anamika.
He bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry… I didn’t know what was right or wrong. I thought I was just punishing myself… I never wanted to hurt Anamika. I…”
He was still speaking when Saaniya cut in, “What were you punishing yourself for? Loving someone? That’s not a sin, Aditya! Look… I don’t know what love truly feels like, but I know this much — there’s no feeling greater than love! Love isn’t a crime. And just because you loved someone, that doesn’t make you a sinner! You don’t deserve punishment for that. You only need to do one thing — wait. Even if she never loves you… the fact that you love her — that alone should be enough for you. That’s a noble thought. And even if you dare hope that maybe one day she will love you — even that isn’t a sin!”
Aditya asked softly, hesitantly, “But… you said once… that there’s no future for the two of us.”
Saaniya replied, her voice firm and unshaken, “I still say that. There’s no future for you both — and maybe never will be. But I can’t change your present. Right now, she considers you her foundation… someone she relies on. Maybe she doesn’t see you the way you see her — but even then… you’ve become a part of her life. Whether I like it or not, that’s the truth. But by ignoring her… you’ve made her doubt herself. She’s scared now. She wonders if she’ll even be good enough to stay someone’s friend!
Please… don’t ignore her. Because you… you were the first person who wasn’t from her world… and yet, you saw her. Because of you, she believed that she existed in the world outside her bubble. Don’t ignore her and make her question whether she even deserves to exist in this world at all!”
And with those words — all of Aditya’s inner chaos, all the questions that had been tormenting him — began to fade. The question that haunted him: Was there a place for him in Anamika’s life? And if there was — what kind of place would it be? — he finally had the answer.
He realized… he was that one person in her life who could connect her small world to the world outside.
Her tiny universe — where only Saaniya existed — now had a bridge to something bigger, something real… something free. And that bridge… was him.
Aditya finally understood — love never deserves punishment, as long as it is selfless.
And today, he made a decision —
He will love Anamika until his last breath.
He will live with the hope that someday, she’ll understand his love.
And if she never does… he will never complain.
He will never try to force his dreams into reality.
Because love isn’t stubbornness. Love is devotion.
Aditya has chosen to turn his love into devotion…
But will he be able to?
And more importantly — why does Saaniya keep insisting that Aditya and Anamika have no future together?
What is the secret she knows…
That makes her so certain their love story can never have a happy ending?
