The Weight of Thirty Years (What If! I met her Again)
A quiet corner in a bustling university library cafe, somewhere outside India. Late afternoon light streams through the window. * Aru: Mid-50s. Dressed impeccably but conservatively. His face is lined, his eyes hold a deep weariness beneath a carefully controlled, almost cold exterior. He carries himself with a heavy stillness. * Sara: Mid-50s. Looks professional, perhaps a professor. There's intelligence and strength in her eyes, but also a guardedness, a hint of old pain beneath the surface. (Aru spots Sara first. He freezes for a moment, the carefully constructed wall around him visibly cracking before reforming. He hesitates, then slowly walks towards her table where she's reading a book, a half-empty cup beside her.) Aru: (His voice is low, slightly rough, unused to this particular name) Sara? Is that… is it really you? (Sara looks up, startled. Recognition dawns slowly, then sharply. Her posture stiffens, the warmth draining from her expression, replaced by...
