SOMEWHERE BETWEEN US

Somewhere Between Us He thought she forgot him. She thought he never wanted her to stay. Some people are a part of your childhood. And then there are the ones who make your childhood feel like home. Sunehri Mehra and Ekansh Malhotra grew up next door to each other, sharing stolen mangoes, summer afternoons, silly arguments, and the kind of friendship that made forever seem easy. Until one day, Sunehri left for America. She was eight. He was old enough to remember. Years passed. Life moved on. And somewhere between unanswered calls, unsent words, and memories neither knew how to let go of, two best friends became strangers. Now, Sunehri is back in Delhi. The houses are still next door. Their families still share meals, festivals, and a lifetime of memories. Their cousins are just as chaotic, their grandparents are still hopelessly in love, and the familiar streets haven’t changed nearly as much as they have. But Ekansh isn’t the boy who used to save her the last piece of chocolate. He’s quieter now. Colder. Harder to read. And Sunehri isn’t the little girl who could follow him around all day without wondering whether she was wanted. They have years of catching up to do, a thousand things left unsaid, and a childhood neither of them has quite managed to outgrow. Between family celebrations, cousin chaos, old photographs, almost-forgotten promises, and the smallest gestures that somehow mean the most, they might discover that growing up doesn’t always mean growing apart. Because sometimes, the heart remembers what pride tries to forget. And sometimes, the longest way home is the one that leads you back to the person who always felt like home. Somewhere between who they were and who they’ve become, there’s still an us. A story of childhood best friends, first love, family, second chances, and finding your way back to each other. Because maybe they were never meant to be strangers. Maybe they were just somewhere between goodbye and home.