The Stars from the river

On a warm spring evening, when summer had already begun to settle into the air and the sun had just started sinking into the horizon, Keshav walked home with a strange heaviness in his chest. Today it was heavier than the backpack he carries . Tomorrow would be his last day of school. After that, he would begin a new chapter of his life, leaving behind his friends, teachers, and classrooms. He felt anxious and curious about what would come next, but more than anything, he did not want things to change. For the past three months, he had not walked this road alone. Every day, somewhere along this path, a man would appear someone who claimed he was Keshav himself, just from the future. Keshav had never fully believed him, but he had never completely dismissed him either. Today felt different. Today, for some reason, he felt like he might.

The narrow, rocky path stretched ahead, familiar yet long. On one side, endless cornfields swayed gently, growing without pause, much like Keshav stepping out his adolescence. On the other side, a stream flowed steadily, quiet and continuous, like time itself. He had often thought about it this way. The path always led him home, though on some days it felt longer than it really was. Luckily, for the past three months, he had company. But today, that company felt different. Today, Keshav felt anxious, restless, and slightly irritated, as though the ticking weight of time had finally caught up with him. It had hit him all at once after tomorrow, there would be no school. No friends to laugh with, no teachers to greet, no bench to return to, and perhaps no reason to walk this path again, the same path he once thought was long and boring when his only worry was exams. He looked at the stream beside him, watching it move without hesitation. It reminded him of time. He kicked a stone toward it, but it fell short.

Just as he gathered himself to kick another, he heard a bicycle approaching from behind. A red bicycle slowed beside him, and the man riding it got off, choosing instead to walk beside Keshav, dragging it gently along.

“You again? And late today?” Keshav said, rolling his eyes.

The man, slightly older, with thinning hair, loose clothes, and the early build of someone growing into himself, glanced at him while catching his breath. “Why? Were you expecting me… or starting to miss me?”

Keshav let out a small laugh and kicked another stone, this time watching it reach the stream. The sun had already made its quiet decision to set. They walked side by side for a moment before the man spoke again.

“After tomorrow, you won’t see me.”

Keshav’s expression tightened. “Don’t patronise me. I still don’t believe anything you say.”

The man paused, then said calmly, “Easy… you don’t have to get worked up. I know it’s your last day. I know what’s going to happen.”

That was enough to trigger something in Keshav. He stopped walking.

“This is what I mean,” he said, his voice rising. “This… this ‘I know everything but won’t tell you anything’ act. Why don’t you just tell me? For the last three months, all we’ve done is talk about my day, things I already know. None of it helps. Why do I have to keep repeating my own life instead of you giving me some idea of what’s coming next? I know why you can’t do that… because you’re not what you say you are. You’re a liar.”

Keshav let it all out. Above them, the first stars began to appear, as if even they were curious about his sudden outburst. The man, however, only smiled softly.

“Keshav… how was your day?”

That only irritated him further. Keshav walked ahead and sat near the stream, on the grass overlooking the mountains behind which the sun was now setting. After a moment, the man followed and sat beside him. The red bicycle rested nearby, as though it too needed to pause. The sky deepened into a soft purple, and the stars slowly began to scatter across it.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Keshav broke the silence. “Was it really like this for you too?”

The man smiled slightly. “Do you mean… for us?”

Keshav shot him a look.

“Relax… I’m just kidding,” the man said softly. “Yes, it was. The last day is always special. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it will be special for you too. From the moment you reach home, it begins.”

Keshav seemed calmer now, more invested. He got up and picked up a small stone, testing its shape, and tried skipping it across the water.

“What’s going to be so special?” he asked.

The man looked ahead. “You’ll leave your school,” he said slowly, “but your school will never leave you. This will be the last time you see some of your classmates, the last time you see your teachers… and maybe even the last time you walk this path that you hate so much.”

“Yeah,” Keshav replied, almost defensively. “It takes forty minutes to walk home. That’s why I hate it.”

“I know,” the man said.

Keshav paused, then asked quietly, “What should I do? I don’t want things to change this much.”

“Sit,” the man said gently.

Keshav sat beside him again. The man pointed toward the stream. “Look at it. Does this river seem calm to you… or restless?”

Keshav observed it carefully. “It looks like it’s going somewhere… but it doesn’t feel calm.”

The man nodded. “Do you know where it’s going?”

Keshav followed its flow until it disappeared beyond the bend. “No… but I’m sure it’s going somewhere.”

“Look again… what else do you see?”

Keshav looked closer this time. The water moved steadily, brushing against small rocks. After a moment, he noticed it.

“The stars,” he said softly. “I can see them in the water.”

The man nodded.

“That river is you” he said gently. “You’re moving, heading somewhere you don’t fully understand yet. Those rocks it touches… Those are the moments, the changes, the things that shape you. Today is one of them. You’re leaving your school, your childhood, everything you’ve known. But even though things change some memories will be stuck with you...”

Keshav looked at the water again.

“Like the stars?” he asked.

“Just like the stars,” the man replied. This lands on Keshav. 

The man watched the water for a moment before speaking again. “I remember this day… how heavy everything felt, even though nothing had changed yet. You keep thinking something is about to be taken from you… but it doesn’t leave all at once.”

He picked up a small stone, turning it in his hand.

“Tomorrow will pass. The days after that will too. Some people will stay, some won’t… and you won’t even notice when it happens. But this this feeling right now you’ll remember it. The walk, the silence, the way the sky looked… even this conversation.”

He glanced at Keshav, softer now.

“Not because you were told anything… but because you were here for it.”

Keshav didn’t respond immediately. He looked back at the stream. The water was still moving the same way it always had, slipping past the stones, carrying the sky within it. But something about it felt different now quieter, easier to sit with.

He picked up a small stone and held it in his hand for a moment before tossing it gently into the water. This time, he didn’t try to make it reach further. He just let it fall.

The ripples spread, then disappeared.

Keshav let out a slow breath. They both stood up, not in a hurry, just… ready. He looked at the man again. “Why do you love stars so much?”

The man paused, as though the answer had always been there. “Because of you,” he said . “Because today happened.”

Just like every other day, the man got on his bicycle and began to ride ahead. Keshav watched him for a moment, then called out, a little lighter now, “One last question… when do we get that red bicycle?”

The man looked back and smiled.

“Go home…Me….”

Keshav stood there for a moment, not confused, not frustrated, just still. Then he turned and continued walking. The sun had completely set, and the stream now reflected the stars more clearly than before.

When he reached home, he called out, “Aai?” He checked his room…. nothing. The hall…. empty. The kitchen ….quiet.

Then he heard voices from the backyard.

He stepped outside and saw his mother, sister, his father, and his cousins gathered together, smiling as they waited for him. They pointed toward something in the centre, covered with a white cloth. Keshav walked toward it slowly.

He pulled the cloth away to find out…

Underneath it was a red bicycle…

The end….