I received a message. The name Aaru on the notifications brought warmth to my body and a smile to my face. I had known her for many years, yet every time her name pooped, I still got butterflies.

"Finally done packing all my luggage… cannot wait to see you tomorrow,” read her message.

Her name is Aarushka, but I call her Aaru. When I initially did that, it used to get on her nerves. Nevertheless, I did not stop. But you see, girls are strange creatures. One evening, when we were on our usual stroll, with my fingers filling the gap between hers, I addressed her by her actual name.

She pinched me hard and said, "Don't call me by my name. Call me Aaru, like you always do. It feels special, coming from you."

Saying so, she encircled my left arm with her right hand and rested her head on my shoulder. With dusk looming and the sun hidden behind the mountain already, I could not resist kissing her. "I love you, Aaru," I whispered.

Currently, she is in Bangladesh. She recently completed her MBBS and is flying back tomorrow. We have been in a long-distance relationship for the past 5 years; the last time I saw her was 11 months ago. The prospect of long-distance relations startled me at first. I mean, how often do we see such relations last these days? When she first told me she would go to Dhaka, I remember how distraught I was. I remember talking to my friend, Sahas, about it.

He had said, "I just want to remind you a line from my favorite book: Will a thirsty man quench his thirst from a spring of a dream?"

I would be lying if I say his words did not bug me then. I had witnessed relationships that I thought to be ideal fall down like a house of cards by a gust of wind. Nevertheless, we made through, and it is coming to an end tomorrow. In less than 24 hours, she will be here. If the void I felt in her absence in these years has taught me anything is to treasure people I have in my life every day.

The next morning, I was still asleep when her call woke me up from my slumber.

"Heyyyyyy," I answered somnolently.

"Unbelievable! You are still in bed. But I love your drowsy voice," she giggled.

"Haha...what are you doing right now?" I asked.

"Just made past the security check. We will be boarding in less than an hour," she said.

"I will head to the airport now. I cannot wait to see you. You have a good flight, okay?" I replied ecstatically, throwing my blanket and getting off my bed.

"Oye, ani ni, my parents are coming to the airport; since they do not know about us, can we meet later in the evening?" she asked solemnly.

"Okay," was all I could say.

"Listen, I am going to tell mamu about us. I cannot wait to be in your arms; please, wait a little more. Got to go, okay, bye," she said and ended the call.

Her words "cannot wait to be in your arms" made my heart pound.

I took a shower, had breakfast, but time hardly passed. The evening looked light years away, and I was dying to hold my Aaru in my arms. But the fact that her parents would be at the airport got me between the devil and the deep blue sea. I tried watching videos on YouTube and scrolling on Facebook to digress my mind.

Contrary to what she said, I decided to go to the airport. I had no patience to wait until the end of the day to meet her. I put on my favourite hoodie, wore some cologne and the watch she had gifted me, grabbed the motorbike keys and rode towards the airport. The ride on the dirty and busy roads of Kathmandu felt different that day. It was as though I was flying.

I saw Aaru's parents and her sister, with their eyes locked at the arrival gate when I reached the airport.

"Darshan uncle, darshan aunty," I greeted namaste.

"K chha babu? What brought you here?" aunty asked enthusiastically.

"My friends, Sailesh and Rahul, are coming back from Dhaka, aunty. I am here to welcome them back. A little surprise, you know." I answered, feeling proud of my made-up answer.

"Even our Aarushka is returning today. You can meet your three friends now," said uncle with a smile.

"Oh wow! I did not know that," I said.

I could see Akesha, Aaru's sister, who knew very well about our relationship, was enjoying every bit of my awkwardness there. To make the matter worse, she said, "You did not bring any bouquet for your friends?"

"Flowers? Umm, you know… boys do not care about flowers," I replied and frowned at her.

I checked my watch: it was 15 past 2, still 5 minutes for her scheduled arrival time. All our eyes were glued on the arrival gate. I could have easily identified her by just her silhouette, but still, my eyes were looking as far as I could see, scrutinising every person, hoping it was her.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the distance that startled every person at the airport. Within a couple of minutes, there was a huge commotion. I heard the alarming sound of fire trucks and ambulances. An accident had occurred.

As I looked above, into the sky, I saw the dark smoke of despondency slowly devouring the sunlight. All around me there were people rushing and an announcement being made. I was impervious to it all. Finally the announcement made sense to me: US Bangla aircraft has crashed on the runway.

A cold bolt shot down my spine.

It was then that I realised Aaru and I were like dewdrops. We were excited about the dawn, but little did we know we were not meant to survive the light.