"Dard ko chupana... ek din tumhe andar se kha jaata hai. Par jab kisi ke samne ro lete ho, toh voh dard... thoda kam lagta hai.""Hiding pain eats you alive. But when someone sees it… it starts to hurt less."— Akari Fujiwara
Aryan hadn't returned to class for two days.
He trained harder.Ate less.Spoke nothing.
Until Akari appeared one evening, holding a brown envelope in her hand.
"I found this," she said softly."It was between your old textbooks."
He stared at it.
The envelope had his name —in his mother's handwriting.
For a long time, Aryan just held it.
Didn't open it.
Akari sat beside him in silence.
Finally, under the pale yellow light of his apartment's corner lamp,he broke the seal.
Inside was a letter.Old. Faded. Smelled like sandalwood and home.
His hands shook as he unfolded it.
And then he read:
"Mere Aryan,
If you're reading this, maybe I am not beside you anymore.But my love still is.
You were always quiet — not because you were weak, but because you felt too much.You never needed to shout to be heard, because your silence always had depth.
Promise me, when the world gets too loud — don't become like them. Stay soft.That's your strength.
And when you meet someone who sees your silence, not as emptiness but as music...Hold on to them. Because that's love.
Fight for your dreams, my son.But don't forget to live.
— Maa"
The words blurred.
Aryan didn't even realize he was crying until his shoulders started shaking.
He dropped the letter on the floor, knelt, and held his head in both hands.
"I wasn't there," he whispered.
"She was dying… and I was training."
"I didn't even say goodbye."
Akari moved forward and gently wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"I'm here," she whispered.
"You don't have to be strong right now."
They sat like that.No words.Just heartbeat and breath.Tears and warmth.
And in that silence,Aryan began to heal.
Later, Akari said softly:
"She wrote this… because she knew the boy you'd become."
Aryan wiped his face.
"I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"That if I stop fighting… I'll break."
She looked into his eyes.
"Then break.Because I'll be here… when you rebuild."
And just like that, in that broken moment,Aryan realized:
Pain doesn't mean you're weak.It means you're real.
[End of Episode 14]📝 Next: "Kuch Kehna Zaroori Hai" – Aryan writes his first ever letter back to his mom… but ends up giving it to Akari instead.