The first thing people noticed about Kanika Verma was her smile.
It was gentle.
Comforting.
The kind of smile that made people believe everything in her life was perfect.
"Kanika, you always look so positive," her classmates often said.
She would simply smile and reply,
"Maybe I just choose to focus on the good things."
It was not completely a lie.
She did see the good things.
She just didn't know how to feel them anymore.
The sound of her alarm filled the quiet room at 6:30 in the morning.
Kanika opened her eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling.
For a few seconds, she stayed still.
Not because she was tired.
Because mornings gave her a few peaceful moments before the world expected her to pretend.
She finally got up, arranged her books, and looked at the small blue diary placed on her study table.
Her fingers touched its cover.
A habit.
A reminder.
A place where she kept words she couldn't say.
She opened it.
Then closed it again.
Some memories were easier to carry than to write.
"Kanika!"
A familiar voice came from outside her room.
She smiled slightly.
Only one person entered without waiting for permission.
Aarohi Sharma.
Her best friend.
Her biggest supporter.
Her forever person.
Aarohi stood at the door with a dramatic expression.
"Madam, are you planning to reach college today or next semester?"
Kanika laughed softly.
"Good morning to you too."
Aarohi crossed her arms.
"Good morning? That's all? I deserve a better welcome."
Kanika shook her head.
"You are impossible."
"And you are pretending again."
The smile on Kanika's face froze for a second.
Aarohi noticed.
She always noticed.
"Kanika..." she said softly.
Kanika picked up her bag.
"I'm fine, Aarohi."
Aarohi sighed.
"Tu har baar yahi bolti hai."
Kanika looked away.
Because Aarohi was right.
She had become too good at saying those two words.
"I'm fine."
The college campus was full of life.
Students laughing.
Friends making plans.
People running late for lectures.
Everything looked normal.
Kanika watched them quietly.
Once, she was also someone who believed in forever.
Someone who believed promises were meant to be kept.
Someone who thought loving someone completely was a beautiful thing.
Now...
Love felt like a story someone else wrote.
Not hers.
During lunch, Aarohi placed a coffee cup in front of her.
Kanika looked at it.
"You didn't even ask what I wanted."
Aarohi smiled.
"I know you."
"You think you know everything."
"I know enough."
Kanika smiled.
For a moment, she forgot to pretend.
Aarohi noticed that too.
"See? That smile was real."
Kanika looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Aarohi leaned back.
"Bas, kabhi kabhi apne aap ko bhi importance de diya kar."
Kanika didn't answer.
Because she didn't know how.
That evening, Kanika returned home.
The Verma house always felt peaceful.
The smell of food.
The sound of her parents talking.
The little things she had grown up with.
"You're home, beta?"
Mrs. Verma smiled from the kitchen.
"Yes, Mom."
"How was college?"
Kanika placed her bag down.
"Good."
One word.
One safe answer.
Mr. Verma looked up from his newspaper.
He studied her face for a moment.
Parents didn't always need explanations.
Sometimes they just knew.
"Khana kha lena time pe," he said.
Kanika smiled.
"Ji, Papa."
That night, she sat near her window.
Rain drops touched the glass.
She opened her blue diary.
After many days, she wrote —
"I don't miss the person who left anymore.
I miss the person I was before they left."
Her eyes stayed on those words for a long time.
Then she closed the diary.
Because tomorrow morning...
She would wear the same smile again.
The smile everyone believed.
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