Four guys connected by family.
Four girls connected by friendship.
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"Dont give me that look." I say, trying to break the eye contact.
"Like what?" He steps closer.
"Like if I ask you to burn this world, you...
And in that small moment, with the sky wide above us and the shore humming below, I realized something: We may not have won. But at least we'd go down loud.
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The ocean never shuts up. That's what I kept thinking.
It just goes on-crashing, receding, humming-like it has something to say, but never the right words to say it. Kind of like me.
Amira sat beside me, hugging her knees, her face turned to the sea like it had answers she couldn't find anywhere else. We'd said everything, and still, nothing felt fixed.
I leaned back on my hands, letting the sand dig into my palms.
And that's when I heard the cane.
A slow, firm crunch of wood against wet sand. Measured steps. Heavy. Familiar.
Dadajaan.
I sat up a little straighter. Amira did too, her entire body going rigid like she'd just been caught mid-crime.
He approached slowly, a silhouette against the rising sun-white kurta fluttering in the breeze, his shawl draped neatly over one shoulder, walking stick tapping a steady rhythm beside him.
He didn't say anything right away. Just stood there, looking out at the ocean with us. Like he'd been here before. Like he knew.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he finally said, voice soft and deep.
Neither of us answered.
Then he walked a few steps forward and slowly lowered himself onto the sand beside us with the kind of effort only age demands.
I moved instinctively to help, but he waved me off with a quiet grunt.
We sat in silence again. Just three people. And the ocean. And too much unsaid between us.
After a moment, Dadajaan spoke again-this time to no one in particular.
"I proposed to your Dadi on a morning just like this," he said. "Different shore. Same sunrise."
I glanced sideways. Amira stayed frozen.
"I hated her," he added casually.
That made both of us turn.
He gave a slow, nostalgic smile. "Hated her confidence. Hated how she made me feel stupid in front of my brothers. Hated that she never listened, never nodded just to agree. She was fire. And I was too proud to admit I liked burning."
Amira blinked, stunned.
Dadajaan chuckled quietly. "She said no when I asked her. First time. Second time too. Third time, I didn't ask. I just showed up with my mother and a ring. She glared at me through the whole ceremony."
