A Paper Swan In The Wild (Short Story)

A Paper Swan In The Wild

Description 

A Paper Swan in the Wind follows Lucky, a boy who silently admires his classmate Nidhi from a distance throughout their school years. Despite his strong feelings for her, he struggles with shyness and fear of rejection. When a paper airplane, crafted by Nidhi, lands near him in the playground, Lucky has a chance to connect but hesitates. As time passes, he keeps the airplane as a cherished memory of his unexpressed love. Ultimately, Lucky learns to embrace his feelings and finds beauty in loving Nidhi from afar, realizing that his emotions have shaped his journey, even if they remain unspoken.

And The Story Begins......

The soft hum of the evening settled over the empty playground as the sky faded into hues of orange and purple. Lucky sat quietly on a worn wooden bench, his fingers tracing the creases of a small paper airplane he had kept for years. Its edges were frayed now, but to him, it was a treasure—an artifact of a love that never blossomed, a memory held in delicate folds.

He had seen her for the first time in 6th grade, and she, a year younger, was in 5th. They weren’t in the same class, but their worlds crossed in the hallways, on the playground, and in fleeting moments that left an indelible mark on his heart. She was always surrounded by friends, her laughter light and carefree, a melody that stayed with him long after the day had ended.

"What is this feeling?" Lucky had often asked himself, confused by the sudden pull he felt whenever she was nearby. He didn’t know her name then, and yet, she occupied his thoughts more than he could explain. His heart raced whenever she passed by, and his hands would grow clammy, as though he had something important to say but no words to express it.

Then came the dream. It felt so real, so vivid, that when he awoke, he was left breathless. In the dream, she had stood in front of him, her eyes soft and kind. She had spoken her name: “Nidhi,” like it was the answer to a question he hadn’t even known he was asking. When he woke up, the dream stayed with him, and for the first time, he had a name to match the feelings that had been quietly growing inside him.

But Lucky had never been bold. His fear of rejection overshadowed his desire to know her, to speak to her. "What if she doesn’t feel the same?" That thought played over and over in his mind, holding him back like an invisible chain.

For three long years, he avoided her. Not because his feelings had faded, but because he couldn’t bear the thought of seeing indifference in her eyes. His heart remained locked in silence, his love for her a quiet companion that followed him wherever he went.

By the time he reached 10th grade, his feelings for Nidhi had only deepened. He had tried to let them go, but they clung to him like the scent of rain after a storm—impossible to ignore, even if fleeting. One afternoon, while he was sitting on the edge of the playground, watching from a distance as the other students played, something happened that would stay with him forever.

Nidhi was there, laughing with her friends, the sound of her joy carried on the wind. As he watched, she folded a small paper airplane from a torn-out sheet of her notebook. Her friends giggled as she aimed it into the air, and with a flick of her wrist, the airplane took off, gliding aimlessly through the breeze.

It was a simple moment, one Lucky might have dismissed as nothing. But the wind, as if it had its own plan, carried the paper airplane off its intended course. It drifted across the playground, and in a twist of fate, it landed right at Lucky’s feet. His breath caught in his chest as he stared down at the small, delicate creation.

His mind raced. “This is my chance,” he thought, heart pounding. “I could return it to her. I could talk to her, even if just for a moment.” The airplane, small and fragile, felt like a bridge between their worlds—a chance for him to finally break the silence.

With trembling hands, he picked it up, holding it carefully as though it were made of something precious. He stood up, ready to walk over to her, to give it back. But as he took a step forward, he hesitated. Nidhi hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t seen the airplane land near him, and her laughter continued with her friends as though nothing had happened.

Lucky stood there, frozen in place. “What if she doesn’t care?” The familiar fear crept back in, the fear that had held him captive for years. Slowly, he sat back down, the weight of the moment pressing on him. He looked at the airplane one last time before tucking it into his pocket.

The opportunity slipped away like the breeze that had carried the airplane across the playground. He hadn’t spoken to her, hadn’t returned the paper plane, but he held on to it like it was a piece of her, a small fragment of the world he wished he could be part of.

Lucky kept the paper airplane, tucking it away in the pages of an old notebook. It wasn’t just a piece of paper anymore—it was a memory, a reminder of the moment he almost bridged the gap between them. He would often pull it out when he was alone, tracing the folds with his fingers, feeling the weight of what was left unsaid.

As the weeks turned into months, and months into years, Nidhi remained in his thoughts, her laughter echoing in his mind like a song he couldn’t forget. He watched from afar, just as he always had, while she moved through her days, seemingly unaware of the silent admirer who had carried this love for so long. She was like a star in the night sky—distant and bright, yet unreachable.

In quiet moments, Lucky would imagine what might have happened if he had spoken to her that day in the playground. Would she have smiled? Would they have shared a conversation, even if it was brief? Or would she have brushed him aside, uninterested in the boy who had admired her from afar for so long?

But reality had been different. Their lives continued on separate paths, never truly crossing in the way he had hoped. Nidhi remained the same—laughing with her friends, immersed in a world that felt so far from his own. And yet, Lucky could never bring himself to fully let go. The love he held for her was like the paper airplane—delicate, fragile, and never meant to fly.

One afternoon, long after the paper airplane incident, Lucky found himself back on the playground. The school was nearly empty, the day coming to a quiet close. He sat on the same bench, feeling the weight of the years that had passed. The paper airplane was still in his pocket, folded and worn, its once crisp lines now soft with age.

He pulled it out, unfolding it gently. Inside, there was nothing remarkable—just a few scribbles, probably a note Nidhi had written to one of her friends. But to Lucky, it was a link to a moment in time that he couldn’t let go of, no matter how hard he tried.

As he sat there, staring at the paper, a wave of realization washed over him. He had held on to this love for so long—this silent, unspoken adoration—and yet, it had never grown beyond the confines of his own heart. He had been content to admire from a distance, to keep his feelings tucked away like the paper airplane, never daring to set them free.

But now, as he sat on that bench, he realized that it wasn’t the paper airplane that mattered, nor the missed chance to speak. What mattered was that he had loved, even if it had been in silence. His feelings for Nidhi had shaped him, given him a sense of purpose, even if that purpose had been nothing more than to cherish her from afar.

Lucky stood up, feeling lighter somehow, as though the weight of all those unspoken words had finally begun to lift. He looked at the paper airplane one last time before folding it carefully and tucking it away in his notebook. It was time to let go—not of the love he had felt, but of the hope that it would ever be returned.

As he walked away from the playground, the evening breeze rustled the trees, carrying with it the sound of distant laughter. For the first time, Lucky smiled. He knew now that his love for Nidhi, though unspoken, had been real. And in some quiet, unassuming way, that was enough.

The paper airplane would remain a symbol of that love—a love that, like the wind, was invisible but ever-present. And though he may never have the courage to tell her, Lucky understood that sometimes, loving someone from afar was its own kind of beauty.

-Lucky