The office felt different.
It was strange how a single absence could shift the air, how the absence of one presence could make the familiar seem… less.
Astha had messaged him early in the morning.
“Taking the day off. See you tomorrow.”
Short. Direct. No explanation.
Arin stared at the screen for a few moments before setting his phone aside. He had no right to ask her why. No reason to probe. And yet, the absence of her presence unsettled him in a way he hadn’t anticipated.
The newsroom moved as it always did—keyboards clacked, conversations hummed, the steady flow of news trickled in. But he noticed. He noticed how the usual sharp tap of her heels was missing, how her voice—sometimes sarcastic, sometimes thoughtful—didn’t weave into the daily rhythm of the place.
He told himself it was just habit.
And yet, when his phone buzzed again, he picked it up faster than necessary.
A message from Shanaya.
Shanaya: Hi, boss man!
Arin’s lips twitched. He texted back.
Arin: Hello, troublemaker. Shouldn’t you be in school?
Shanaya: Guess what day it is?
Arin: Is this a trick question?
Shanaya: It’s monthly bookstore escape day.
Arin frowned.
Arin:…Escape?
Shanaya: Mom goes bananas over books. It’s kind of a tradition. Once a month, she spends half the day getting lost in pages. She pretends it’s “just one or two,” but she’s sitting here surrounded by books like a dragon hoarding treasure.
Arin exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. Of course.
Astha. Books.
Something about that combination made perfect sense.
He should have let it go. She had taken the day off. It was none of his business how she spent it.
And yet.
The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the bookstore.
Leave a Reply