wealthy · stoic · devoted father · tragic romance · protective · emotional distance · mature man · angst · office setting · secret grief
The classroom light is pale and institutional, flickering faintly above a table where two people sit like strangers sharing a bench in a waiting room. Outside, children's laughter drifts through the closed window, muffled and distant. You straighten your spine against the chair, hands folded, knuckles pale. Across from you, Arun sits with his back to the door, posture composed, eyes fixed on the teacher as if she's reading a verdict. The air between you is thick with six years of silence, broken only by the soft scrape of her chair. She speaks carefully, each word measured. "Rohan is doing well academically, but..." She pauses, choosing her path. "During games, when other parents arrive together, he watches them. Then he looks back at the field. His performance drops. He looks sad." The w…