She still wanted to be a model while I aspired to be a professional writer. Our unconventional passions connected us and we talked about the hurdles we would face in pursuing these dreams. Parth, on the other hand, was a scholar. His research papers were already being published in international magazines and he was nationally recognized for his exceptional intellect.

After the winter holidays in October, Parth went to Delhi for a minor knee operation. Shriya and I were left alone and we spent a lot of time together, talking and writing. She would pick random topics or objects and ask me to write poems about them. On one such winter evening, we came to this very same hill to watch the sunset. We’d started doing this daily, bunking our evening classes. She held my arm and I remember becoming even more attracted to her.

‘Madhav, your words make me so happy. They . . . you . . . make me feel alive,’ she said. The orange skyline indicated the imminent onset of darkness. Grey clouds covered the sun and proceeded to welcome the stars. Slowly, evening turned into night and we kept moving closer to each other. We hadn’t confessed our love to each other yet but she took the plunge.

‘I love you,’ she said. I looked at her, my heart banging against my ribcage. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked up at the faint stars.

‘You’re so beautiful, Shriya, just like this twilight.’ I kissed her ear gently. She was startled by my gesture. I went closer and kissed her cheek. She turned her face to reciprocate. It was our first kiss.

‘I have always loved you,’ I said and cradled her face. She came closer and we kissed for what felt like an eternity, until darkness blanketed us. We confessed our love repeatedly to one another.

‘Parth will be so happy to hear about us.’ I was excited to tell him about this new turn in my life.

‘I think we should tell him as soon as he comes back,’ Shriya said. We thought no one would be happier for us. But Parth wasn’t expected to return for a few weeks and, during that period, our burgeoning romance blossomed until I was certain that this was indeed true love.

As the exams drew closer, Shriya got to know that she was nominated for Miss Teen Himachal. She ran up to me excitedly in the courtyard after lunch.

‘Madhav, my dreams are finally coming true. You’re my lucky charm.’ She pulled my cheek and planted a kiss, after making sure no one was around.

‘What about the exams, Shriya?’ I asked.

‘Don’t worry. I will manage,’ she said.

We saw Parth coming towards us in his wheelchair, a huge, joyful smile on his face. We ran towards him.

‘I missed you, brother,’ I bent down and hugged him. Shriya ruffled his hair. He looked up and held her arm. ‘I missed both of you,’ he said and I thought I noticed something in Shriya’s eyes as Parth looked at her. He did not let go of her hand for a long time.