Aditi's POV
By the fourth day, I had discovered something important about motherhood.
Sleep was no longer guaranteed.
I stood in front of the mirror, trying to fix my hair while balancing my baby against my shoulder.
The woman staring back at me looked exhausted.
Dark circles.
Messy hair.
Oversized T-shirt.
I barely recognized myself.
A small cry escaped my baby's lips.
Instantly, my attention shifted to her.
"Okay, okay, princess."
I gently rocked her.
"Mama's here."
The crying stopped.
For now.
A sigh escaped me.
The apartment suddenly felt too small.
Maybe we both needed a little fresh air.
After making sure my baby was comfortable, I grabbed the diaper bag and headed outside.
The hallway was quiet.
Peaceful.
For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.
Slowly, I walked toward the elevator.
The doors opened.
I stepped inside.
Just as they were about to close, someone placed a hand between them.
The doors reopened.
A tall man entered.
For a moment, I didn't think much of it.
Just another resident.
But something about the way he looked at me made me glance up.
His expression shifted ever so slightly.
Almost as though he recognized me.
Then it disappeared.
The elevator doors closed.
Silence settled between us.
My baby shifted in my arms.
I adjusted her blanket.
The man looked away immediately.
As if he didn't want to make me uncomfortable.
For some reason, I appreciated that.
The diaper bag suddenly slipped from my shoulder.
A small bottle of baby lotion fell onto the floor.
"Oh."
Before I could bend down, the man picked it up.
"Here."
His voice was calm.
Deep.
I accepted it.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The elevator continued moving.
A few seconds passed.
Then he spoke.
"You look a little more rested today."
I blinked.
"What?"
His expression immediately changed.
As if he realized he had said something strange.
For a second, he looked almost uncomfortable.
"I mean..."
He paused.
Then smiled slightly.
"Than most new parents do."
I stared at him.
Something about the comment felt oddly specific.
Before I could ask anything, my baby let out a tiny sound.
His attention instantly shifted toward her.
A faint smile touched his lips.
A genuine one.
The kind people couldn't fake.
"She's beautiful."
The words caught me off guard.
Most people said babies were cute.
Or tiny.
Or adorable.
Beautiful wasn't the word I expected.
"Thank you."
The elevator reached the ground floor.
The doors opened.
We stepped into the lobby.
At that exact moment, my baby started crying.
Loudly.
Very loudly.
I closed my eyes.
Perfect timing.
Absolutely perfect timing.
"I'm sorry."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
The man looked amused.
"Pretty sure she's not crying because of me."
A reluctant smile appeared on my lips.
My baby continued crying.
Nothing I did seemed to help.
The stranger watched quietly for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Have you tried walking?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"My niece used to stop crying whenever someone walked around while holding her."
I blinked.
"You have a niece?"
"Two."
That surprised me.
He didn't seem like someone who spent time around babies.
Then again, appearances could be deceiving.
I started walking slowly across the lobby.
A few seconds later, the crying softened.
Then stopped completely.
I stared down at my baby.
"You're kidding."
The man laughed softly.
"Looks like it worked."
For the first time in days, I found myself laughing too.
The sound felt unfamiliar.
But nice.
Really nice.
A comfortable silence settled between us.
Then his phone rang.
The moment broke.
He glanced at the screen.
"I should take this."
I nodded.
"Of course."
He took a step backward.
Then paused.
"I'm Aryan."
For a second, I simply stared at him.
Then realization hit.
He was introducing himself.
"Aditi."
Something flashed across his face.
Recognition.
Brief.
Gone almost immediately.
But I caught it.
His smile softened.
"Nice to meet you, Aditi."
Before I could respond, he answered the call.
As he walked away, he glanced back once.
Just once.
And for reasons he couldn't explain...
Aryan couldn't stop thinking about the exhausted young mother from the hospital.
Because yes.
He remembered her.
The woman holding a newborn baby.
As he walked away, he glanced back once.
Just once.
And for reasons he couldn't explain, Aryan couldn't stop thinking about the young mother from the hospital.
Because yes.
He remembered her.
The woman holding a newborn baby.
The woman who looked exhausted.
The woman he had watched leave the hospital a few days ago.
She clearly didn't remember him.
Not that he expected her to.
Still...
Life had brought her back into his path.
And something told him this wouldn't be their last meeting.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading! ❤️
Aryan remembered Aditi the moment he saw her.
What was your first impression of Aryan?
Do you think this unexpected encounter is the beginning of a friendship?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! ✨
❤ Vote
💬 Comment
📚 Add to Library
See you in the next chapter! ❤️
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Write a comment ...