Chapter 60: Familiar Strangers
The morning light spilled through the clouds like it had forgotten how to shine—dim, tired, barely there. It smeared across the school walls in patches, not warm enough to feel real. I pulled my jacket tighter, but it didn't help.
The cold wasn't what made my chest feel like it was caving in.
Fear did that.
I gripped the strap of my bag like it might anchor me to something real and kept walking. Fast. Like I could leave the feeling behind if I just moved quickly enough.
Nami was sitting by the garden. Perched on a low stone wall, hunched over her phone, but not really looking at it. Her eyes were somewhere else. Like she was waiting for a text that would never come. Or remembering something she wished she hadn't.
"Nami."
She blinked up, her eyes blurry like she hadn't really woken up yet. "Aira? You okay? You look like..." She paused. "Like you've seen a ghost."
I sat beside her. I didn't realize I was out of breath until I stopped moving.
"Suhina... its About her. She went. In her sleep. To Shubh's house."