A mutual friend's dinner, a forgotten wallet, and a very convenient excuse to meet again — that's how Kaushik and Kavya found each other.

An evening walk by Marine Drive turned into a midnight conversation neither of them wanted to end. Two chai refills later, they knew.

Lakshmi Puja at her place, diyas everywhere, the smell of incense and mithai in the air and somehow, in all that golden light, Kaushik found the courage he'd been saving all year. Best Diwali gift she never saw coming.