Aarav sat at the edge of the frozen lake, his fingers curled around a pebble, rolling it between his palms. The sky stretched endlessly above, a pale blue washed in soft gold as the sun began to dip. The air was cold, crisp, and still—too still. Like everything had frozen in place.

Like he had frozen in place.

He sighed, staring at the ice. It had been weeks since that feeling crept in, the one that made him question everything. Was he really moving forward, or just standing in the same spot, waiting for something to change?

Behind him, a laugh rang out, light and effortless, breaking through the silence.

"Your brooding is getting serious," Ira teased, stepping beside him, her boots crunching in the snow. She was wrapped up in his oversized hoodie, her hands tucked into the sleeves. "At this rate, the ice might crack from all the weight of your thoughts."

Aarav huffed a soft laugh, shaking his head. "That’s not how it works."

Ira smirked. "You sure? Maybe you’re overthinking that too." She crouched beside him, reaching out to touch the ice. "It’s strange, isn’t it?"

"What is?"

She turned her palm up, letting the winter air chill her fingertips. "That ice and water are just one degree apart."

Aarav frowned, glancing at her. "What do you mean?"

She smiled, eyes flickering to his. "One tiny shift in temperature, and everything changes. Ice melts. Water freezes. Just one degree, and what felt solid becomes something fluid. It’s weird how close they are—how close everything is to changing."

Aarav stared at her, something stirring deep in his chest. One degree. One small shift.

How many times had he felt stuck, believing nothing would change? Maybe he wasn’t waiting for something big to happen. Maybe he just needed one more small step. One shift in perspective. One quiet moment of realizing things weren’t as frozen as they seemed.

Ira nudged him. "Maybe you're just one degree away from feeling better."

He swallowed, her words settling somewhere deep inside him. She had a way of doing that—of making things seem simpler, lighter. Of making him believe that even when life felt frozen, warmth was never too far away.

A gust of wind blew past them, and she shivered slightly. Without thinking, Aarav reached for her hand, tucking it into his own. It was cold, but within seconds, it started to warm.

"Come on," he said softly. "Let’s go home."

Ira smiled, squeezing his hand. "Race you."

She took off running, laughter spilling into the air. Aarav watched her for a moment before following, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Maybe today, he was just one degree closer to something better.

And for the first time in a long time, that felt like enough.

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