Behind the Screen - Episode 3 — Echoes in the Night

✨ Meera’s POV The morning sunlight felt sharper than usual, cutting through the remnants of last night’s thoughts. Aarav’s words lingered in my mind like smoke: “Only if you let me be.”

I tried to focus on the day ahead—coffee, emails, errands—but my fingers itched for the phone. I swore I wouldn’t message him first… but by noon, a small part of me wanted to see if he would.

12:03 PM

Meera Sharma (fl)

You’re… still there?

Aarav (ml)

Always. Even when you’re not looking.

Meera Sharma (fl)

That’s… unsettling.

Aarav (ml)

Good. Some things are meant to unsettle.

I could feel my pulse quicken, but it wasn’t fear. Not exactly. It was… anticipation. A magnetic tug I couldn’t explain. And for the first time, I wondered: who was this man, really?

Meera Sharma (fl)

Why me? You’ve said it before, but it doesn’t make sense.

Aarav (ml)

Because you notice. Because you feel. Because you don’t pretend to sleep through the quiet moments when the world forgets to watch.

I blinked at the screen. The words were poetry—and somehow, piercingly accurate. He didn’t just see me on the surface. He saw me.

Meera Sharma (fl)

That’s… poetic. And terrifying.

Aarav (ml)

Terrifying is just the other side of unforgettable.

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The hours passed unnoticed. Messages pinged, sometimes minutes apart, sometimes long stretches of silence that made me wonder if I’d imagined the connection at all.

By evening, a gentle rain began outside, tapping against the glass. I curled into my blanket, the phone warm against my chest.

7:42 PM

Meera Sharma (fl)

Does it ever scare you? Talking to someone you’ve never met?

Aarav (ml)

Every time. That’s why it’s real.

Meera Sharma (fl)

You make it sound… beautiful.

Aarav (ml)

Some truths are, even when they’re frightening.

He had this way of weaving danger and comfort into the same sentence. I didn’t know how—or why—but I wanted to know more. To unravel him, slowly, piece by piece.

Meera Sharma (fl)

I shouldn’t feel this… drawn to someone I don’t even know.

Aarav (ml)

Sometimes the heart notices what the eyes cannot.

Meera Sharma (fl)

That sounds like a warning.

Aarav (ml)

Or an invitation.

An invitation. The word lingered in my mind longer than it should have. I pressed the phone to my forehead, eyes closed, imagining the stranger behind the screen. His presence was invisible, yet undeniable.

Meera Sharma (fl)

And what if I refuse?

Aarav (ml)

Then you’d miss something worth remembering.

I smiled, a small, trembling smile. Something about the way he phrased it—the certainty, the calm—made it impossible to look away. And somewhere deep inside, I knew: this was far from over.

Meera Sharma (fl)

Fine. But don’t think this means I trust you.

Aarav (ml)

I wouldn’t dare.

The rain outside softened to a whisper, mirroring the quiet storm he had stirred inside me. The night had stretched its fingers into my chest, and I realized… I was waiting. Waiting for the next message, the next word, the next brush with the man who existed in shadows but felt real in ways no one else ever had.

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Authorshi

My Dahlias 🌸, Episode 3 is where the tension grows, the pull becomes undeniable, and the mystery thickens. Meera’s curiosity is stronger, her heart a little more entangled. Aarav remains elusive—but his words leave marks. Would you ever let yourself feel this drawn to a stranger, if every message felt like a heartbeat? 💜

Meera thought she understood the rhythm of her nights… but the shadows have started to whisper back. Aarav’s messages still pull her heart, but a new presence is stirring the quiet—someone whose intentions she cannot yet read.

💌 Teaser Text 🌙 Secrets deepen. 💔 Curiosity sparks. 💫 A stranger enters the night… ✨ Will they be an ally, or someone who challenges everything Meera thought she knew?