Author’s POV

The day had begun like a sigh of gold over two houses that stood miles apart but carried the same fragrance in their courtyards—turmeric and anticipation. The sun rose slowly, wrapping both homes in the kind of warmth that promised laughter, nostalgia, and something deeper still—a quiet, insistent ache that love often leaves in waiting hearts. This golden hue was not just the colour of the Haldi paste; it was the colour of a promise being kept, of two separate lives preparing to merge into one luminous path. The world outside those two walls was muted, but inside, an electric current flowed, connecting Esha and Aakash across the distance, a shared tremor of readiness and profound, terrifying joy.