The Price of Hope

one | perfect match

She is my beauty, and I'm the fading scar on her forehead. She is my wanderer, and I dream of traveling around the world. She is my love story, and I'm the writer. She is my hope, and I'm going to die soon.

Aarya looks up, scowling at the spitting sky, and from the frown lines on her forehead, I can tell she is annoyed a hundredth time today. I hate rain. So she doesn't like it either. I'm wearing a raincoat, but the umbrella in her hold still covers my skinny frame more than it does her. How did I get her as my friend when my lucky stars have only ever betrayed me?

I think it is fate, but it's also the sorcerer coursing through my veins. From the day I met her for the first time in the playground across from my house, I knew I had found the one. We are the perfect match.

"Do you think he must have read the letters?" She chews on her bottom lip, and I marvel at how perfectly she has copied it from me. A gesture I thought until now was a unique trait of mine. She is slowly getting there, my perfect little plan. But I'm afraid we don't have much time to practice.

I wrap my fingers over her shaking hand around the handle of the umbrella and squeeze it gently. "I tucked them inside his diary, the one he carries everywhere around. I don't think he wouldn't notice."

"What if he gets angry instead?" She looks down at her faded black sneakers, and I hate to see the disappointment etches on her face. She has to be happy. I'm here to ensure that, and I will, even though I know the truth might leave her sad. So, I heed the lie.

"Do you have trust in my words?" I lift the corners of my mouth in the most convincing smile I can muster.

"More than Newton's law of physics." The downpour thickens as I see a ray of hope flickering in her deep brown eyes, the same as mine.

"Then you've nothing to worry about. He's going to be here, A."

She is my one chance at love. Through her symphony, the melodies of my romance shall be heard.

But not the truth.

That's a secret I shall never reveal to her. It's the plot twist I shall hide from her. No. Maybe not a plot twist. A mere fate we can't escape. If I had kept my curious fingers away from those mysterious pages, this tragic revelation could've been avoided. But as I said earlier, my lucky star and I don't see eye to eye with each other.

Because as I stand beside my hope on a bridge where she waits for the boy she is in love with, I know she isn't the one he wants.

Her cheeks dust red, and I don't have to look where her eyes are to know why.

He is here. Rehan is here, the boy with the sparkling sun as his eyes, midnight hue as his hair, the guitar strings as his rhythm, and sad poetry as his love.

His poetry.

"Are you sure this wasn't a bad idea? I'm scared." Her hushed whisper pulls me back into the scene, and I hear the light creaks of the rusty bridge.

It was a bad idea.

"Do you believe me?" I ask.

Her nervous eyes find mine. She can surely see anxious eyes looking right through her if she concentrates. She doesn't, and I'm relieved.

"More than my life."

"He is here for you," I say, cupping her face in my palms and brushing away the showers of rain settled on her cheek.

It is true. Rehan is here for her. He will be here for her even when I won't be.

I push the umbrella toward her head when she shivers. My fingers withdraw from the handle, missing the warmth of her hand.

"Thank you for making me reach out to him." Hope etches her throat, and the bridge shakes with the upcoming arrival. I have to leave before his silhouette casts a shadow on mine. It is the only way.

I have to run.

I have to run.

I have to -

The creaking stops.

"Don't you think it's inappropriate to go through someone's journal?" Rehan's deep voice seeps through my tired veins like a clap of thunder, startling us. Aarya nearly loses her grip on the umbrella, and I curse so loud that I'm sure he can hear it.

And the second we turn toward him, chaos surrounds me to do one last dance with me before I exist no more. The orchestra playing in my head ever since I read his secrets reaches its crescendo and stops there. Everything stops.

I go silent. Too tired to run anymore.

He is not here for her.

He is here for me. 

***

Word Count: 807

Author's Note: Hey Wattpad readers! So finally, a new story begins! I'm starting this new YA romance as part of ONC2023. If you are enjoying it, please add your comments and votes.

Thank you so much for reading this story.